Sunday 14 January 2007

Too much of a good thing.


Readers of my now defunct chemist's view of food blog will recall that one of my themes was the folly of looking for nutritional 'magic bullets' and the errors of assuming if a little is good for you then a lot must be better. I am not in favour of vitamin tablets, for example.

Or most other tablet supplements. Far better to get the correct levels in their natural matrix as part of a balanced, healthy diet.

How dull! How boring! Sorry.

Today the New South Wales Cancer Council warned against eating too many soy supplements.

The Cancer Council says soy-based products have previously been touted as super foods for breast and prostate cancer prevention. But while consuming soy foods can slightly lower the risk of contracting breast cancer, new research shows high doses of soy can stimulate the growth of existing cancer.

The Cancer Council says soy supplements can also interfere with breast cancer treatment.

However, Cancer Council nutritionist Kathy Chapman says eating a normal amount of soy-based foods is not dangerous.

"For women who've had breast cancer, taking high dose soy supplements could be harmful but having the occasional soy food is not really an issue," she said.

Apparently the phytoestrogens present in large amounts in the tablet supplements are causing some concern.

See!

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4 comments:

  1. Well, I see you have the "food nazis" present there with y'all, too.

    Heck, here in the states they still say that marijuanna is more dangerous than tobbacco.
    HA!
    Yeah, what a crock. 3/4 of a gram of marijuanna is sufficient to "get a buzz on" so to speak.
    Meanwhile, a pack of cigarettes is about 3/4 of an ounce. AND, nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man.

    Oh, but just as long as the FDA can pretend to be doin' the work....

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  2. Oh we just never win do we. I don't like the tast of soy, tried it but eeew. So I'll stick to my normal healthy eating plan with vitamin pills and all, he he he.
    But this does sound like something my mum would have said, too much of a good thing is not good for you.

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  3. gosh you totally were over my head with the beginning of this but alas I got it... I found out the problems with soy when my mom was ill. She thought she was doing good by drinking soy milk over cows milk and it totally messed up her blood counts. She was on cumiden at the time too and they told her the 2 didnt mix well.

    Oh and Boneman, in my opinion Marijuanna is still more dangerous than tobacco... its just not as widely used.

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  4. Why is the word addiction used at all?Natural interests sounds better.Eating what we find from day to day and not worrying too much about it.At least the blood pressure will benefit.Marijuana may be benign but the danger is the path that it leads young people along.A path populated by the criminal and outcast.Nice people dont do drugs.

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