REVIEW ARTICLE

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Soy consumption and its relation with heart diseases and cancer prevention

Lubna Mahmood
 Department of Health Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

Correspondence Address:
Lubna Mahmood,
Faculty of Health Sciences, Qatar University, Doha
Qatar

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

DOI: 10.4103/2278-019X.141545

Soybean is a subtropical annual plant, a species of legumes native to Southeast Asia. It is considered as a member of a pea family that is widely grown due to its edible beans that are processed to be used in in making foods and food additives. There are many categories of soy protein which can be divided into different types according to the production methods to isolate, concentrate, and texture soy protein. Soy is one of those "wonder foods;" the issue of whether soybean has negative of positive effects on the health has been a continuing question; the potential effects of soybean, the health detriments or benefits of it remain a controversial issue. Extensive researches have been conducted to investigate the health effects of using soybean products, some of them admitted the soybean products ability in preventing a wide range of many diseases especially heart diseases and different types of cancer, while others found that soy products have no effect or negative effects on health. Despite all pro-soy studies, a controversy about soy products positive and negative effects still exist, and people are left with a choice whether they should consume soybean or not.

Keywords: Cancer, heart diseases, isoflavones, soybean, tofu