Anton Bilchik Explains How Soy Foods Protect Against Colon Cancer

Anton Bilchik Explains How Soy Foods Protect Against Colon Cancer

Anton Bilchik MD is following a new report that suggests soy foods protect against colon cancer. Nutritionists have long been endorsing the health benefits of food products made from soy, and now it seems scientists from the University of Illinois agree. Hong Chen, a U of I professor of food science and human nutrition, and author of the study, says that diets rich in soy foods can change a chemical signal in the body that promotes the growth of colon cancer.

Colon cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells, or tumors, in the lining of the lower part of the large intestine. A healthy person’s body completely replaces the cells in the lining of the colon every week. In this healthy body, a growth-promoting signal turns on and off to tell the cells when to grow. However, these growth-promoting signals are always on, in 90 percent of people with colon cancer, leading to uncontrolled growth.

The University of Illinois research suggests that genistein, a bioactive component in soy foods, protects against colon cancer by repressing this signal. Chronic exposure to genistein reduced the number of pre-cancerous lesions in the colons of laboratory rats exposed to a carcinogen by 40 percent.

Anton Bilchik recommends eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet that includes foods rich in soy to reduce your risk for colon cancer.