Investigating New Trends in Cancer Prevention

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Investigating New Trends in Cancer Prevention

• Effects of Soy and Acai Berry on Cancer Risk
• Presented By Kelsey Albright

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• Do you think consuming soy products will increase
  or decrease risk of cancer?

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What is Soy?

• Bean legume
• Forms
• Whole beans
• Flour
• Processed
• Soymilk, tofu, cheese, soybean oil, yogurt, miso,
  tempeh, etc.

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Soy Nutrition

• Depends on form
• Unprocessed vs.
• processed
• Good source of
• protein
• 40 of calories
• Vegetarians

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What Does Soy Have to Do With Cancer?

• Research has shown Asian populations have lower
  incidences of cancers
• Key component isoflavons
• Genitstein, daidzein, glycitein
• Effects are similar to estrogen
• Caused concern for women with high risk
• Focus on breast health

Estrogen
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Navigating the Information

• Most use google and wikipedia
• General information
• What is soy?
• Butbe cautious
• Site biases, falsified information
• Look for .org .edu .gov
• Specific nutritional benefits consequences
• More credible
• Go to the source!
• Does it have a link to a journal article?
• Read abstract

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Research

• Childhood Soy Intake and Breast Cancer Risk in
  Asian American Women
• Participants Asian American women previously
  diagnosed with breast cancer
• Method interviews with women and mothers
• Lifestyle and historical questions
• Dietary intake of soy during childhood,
  adolescence, and adulthood

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Results

• Soy consumption during childhood may be
  preventative against breast cancer

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Research

• Soy May Fuel Estrogen-Positive Breast Cancer
• Estrogen sensitive breast cancer stimulated by
  estrogen
• Genistein mimics effects of estrogen
• Speeds growth of tumors
• I am concerned about the woman with a
  estrogen-dependent cancerShe needs to be very
  careful about the amount of soy isoflavones she
  consumes
• William G. Helferich

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Research

• American Chemical Society (2004)
• Similar results
• Study performed in cell cultures
• Addition of isoflavones genistein and daidzein to
  estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells
• Results Products of isoflavones caused damage to
  the DNA of these cells
• Initiated tumor growth progression

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Soy and Breast Cancer

• Difficult to research and find a
• conclusive result because
• Results vary depending on
• Ethnicity of participants
• Asian, American, or Asian-American
• Cancer status of participants
• Before, during, or after cancer
• Age of participants
• Pre- or postmenopause

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What Do You Think?

• Do you think soy is good or bad?
• Would you include or increase soy in your diet?
• Why or why not?

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NEITHER Soy is Not Good or Bad

• No conclusive argument or recommendation
• More research needed
• Studies in cell culture and animals show negative
  effects
• Unsure if human studies will show same results
• Soy in moderation
• Use your best judgment

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Acai Berry and Cancer Research

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• Do you think acai berry increases, decreases, or
  has no effect on cancer risk?

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What is the Acai Berry?

• Euterpe oleracae
• Fruit of the Amazon palm tree
• Pulp or freeze-dried powder forms
• Superfood
• Cardiovascular digestive health, energy,
  anti-aging
• Dr. Perricone on the Oprah Winfrey Show

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Nutritional Composition of Acai
100 g Freeze-Dried Acai

• Berries have many healthy nutritional components
• High in vitamins, minerals, and fiber low in
  calories
• Acai is a berry
• Fiber, vitamin A, iron, calcium, anthocyanins,
  proanthocyanidins, and flavonoids

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What Does Acai Have To Do With Cancer?

• American Chemical Society Report
• High antioxidant content
• Reduces stress on the body caused by oxidation
• Oxidation produces free radicals
• Antioxidants remove free radicals caused by
  oxidation
• Factors causing oxidation
• Digestion of food, pollution, cigarette smoking,
  radiation, and herbicides
• High anthocyanin content linked to anti-cancerous
  effects

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Research

• Pharmaceutical Research Journal (2010)
• Methods
• Performed in rats
• Fed one of 7 berry types
• Measurement of number, and
• sizes of tumors present in
• esophagus
• Measurement of antioxidant
• capacities of 7 berries

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Results

• All berry types reduced number multiplicity of
  tumors
• Antioxidant capacity was similar
• Anthocyanins proanthocyanidins are key
  chemopreventative components

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Recommendations

• Ignore online scams and claims for fast weight
  loss and energy
• Keep in mind that it is a fruit
• But more research is needed
• Incorporate acai into your diet
• dont go overboard
• choose a sugar-free acai pulp

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Make an Educated Decision

• Tips
• Determine the most reliable sources
• Credible websites journal articles
• Ask a professional!
• Understand both sides of the issue
• Gradually include soy/acai into your diet
• Rule of thumb everything in moderation!

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Recognize Error

• Google search results
• Be wary of .com sites- anyone can create
• Sites that strongly encourage or discourage soy
  and acai berry consumption
• No absolute evidence for a recommendation of
  intake
• Product websites
• Example promotion or advertisements of soy
  acai ? bias
• Focus will always be on
• benefits
• News stories
• Usually based on credible research, but must dig
  deeper to uncover all the facts

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Recognizing Error in Journal Articles

• Cell Cultures
• Provide a simulated environment
• Cannot replicate conditions that would occur
  naturally
• Animals
• Similar genetic make-up to human, but not exact
• Susceptibility to tumors
• Humans
• Confounding factors
• Genetic predispositions
• Lifestyle factors