The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    Soy pros and cons

     Dr. Aaron Michelfelder from the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois has published a review of soy.

    Here’s a summary of what we know about soybeans.

    • They contain all the essential amino acids for human nutrition.
    • Populations with diets high in soy protein and low in animal protein have lower risks of prostate and breast cancers.
    • Increasing dietary whole soy protein lowers total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and triglyceride blood levels.

    In addition, soy “may” be useful for the following…

    • Hot flashes
    • Maintain bone density
    • Decrease fractures in postmenopausal women.

    But, there are “not enough data” to…

    • Recommend soy in women with a history of breast cancer.

    And, soy’s limitations…

    • Refined soy isoflavone taken as supplements, have not yielded the same results as increasing dietary whole soy protein.

    The bottom line?
    Dr. Michelfelder recommends taking soy “as a dietary substitution for higher-fat animal products.”

    Greater detail on the effects of soy on cholesterol levels is here. Although Dr. Chao Wu Xiao at the University of Ottawa in Canada is not impressed.

    1/17/09 19:40 JR

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