One of the hottest areas is soy research, which has engendered dozens of individual and multidisciplinary, multidepartmental research projects. Soy is a natural product - a food - from soybeans. In fact, the Nutrition Center is a national leader in soy research. More grants for nutrition studies are steadily being awarded. The soy projects are looking at how eating soy foods might reduce heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and even Alzheimer's disease - and also how soy might reduce menopausal symptoms. Some of these projects are funded by the National Institutes of Health, others by businesses and industries who are interested in learning more about the possible health benefits of soy.
Soy research is a major element in the new Center of Excellence in Prostate Cancer. In fact, one-third of its research projects are nutrition-related.
Prostate cancer mortality is a particularly serious problem in the Southeastern United States, with almost every state ranking in the group with the highest mortality..The state of Hawaii, with by far the highest percentage of Asian-Americans, has by far the lowest prostate cancer mortality rate. The key to this, scientists believe, is diet. Many Asian-Americans on the islands are still eating diets that reflect the soy-rich practices of the Pacific Rim, rather than the fast food type "Western" diets of Asian Americans in the continental United States.
Nutrition Center investigators are providing scientific leadership for a national pilot study to test whether soy will reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The pilot study of 160 men, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, is evaluating the effect of soy on markers for prostate cancer risk.
Results of investigations of the effects of soy on other forms of cancer are now emerging. One Nutrition Center investigator made news at this year's American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting when he reported dietary soy given to monkeys may reduce the risk of endometrial and breast cancer by counteracting the cell-proliferating effect of estrogen-replacement therapy.