Too much or too little of this female hormone can trigger breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and the thinning, brittle bones of osteoporosis. He says soy may be more useful when used with a drug in hormone replacement therapy. It may be a win-win situation for everyone. Everybody eats better, and women continue to take hormone replacement therapy. The women in Setchell's program drank about 7.5 ounces of soy milk three times a day or they ate three handfuls of roasted soy nuts, providing 60-70 milligrams of isoflavones which contain phytoestrogen, a compound similar to but weaker than estrogen.
High cholesterol increases the risk of heart diseases.
People in Japan, China and Indonesia, who eat much more soy than Americans, have a lower incidence of breast cancer than people in the industrialized West. What To Do Don't go off your hormone replacement therapy just yet. This is a small study that lasted only three months. Researchers agree that much more study is needed. Check the U.S. Soy Foods Directory , to find much more about soy foods, including recipes.