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We recently hosted an exclusive webinar, “Navigating the Importance of Nutrition After a Cancer Diagnosis” with Rachel Beller, MS, RDN, an established registered dietitian, best-selling author, and founder of The Beller Nutritional Institute, specializing in oncology nutrition and weight management.
Rachel has been featured on TV programs including The Biggest Loser, Good Morning America, The Dr. Oz Show, and more. In this discussion, Rachel shares the latest research on how nutrition can support your treatment outcomes, recovery, and overall health after a cancer diagnosis. She provides practical strategies for creating a balanced diet, explore advancements in oncology nutrition, and address common challenges that cancer patients face. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to learn directly from a leading registered nutritionist.
**Transcript below**
So I want to address, if we can, just a couple of questions from our community. We get quite a few questions in regards to soy and hormone-positive cancer—breast cancers certainly, but prostate cancers as well. Do you have an opinion on soy consumption?
Suzan, I get this question all the time, and last night as I was putting things together, I thought, “You know, they’re going to ask about soy,” so I threw a couple of slides here to address it. It comes up every single time, during my master class, office hours, all the time—what kind of soy, how, and how to integrate it.
The consensus, looking at tons and tons of studies, is yes, it’s beneficial. In fact, it should no longer be a question. That’s how strongly we feel about it, especially when comparing it to other proteins like animal-based proteins. People won’t think twice about eating grilled chicken, and I’m not saying that’s bad, but they’ll second-guess soy, which you can’t even compare in terms of how much more beneficial it is to eat, even daily.
The reason it’s protective is because our cells have receptors, right? So, looking at breast tissue here, there’s an alpha receptor and a beta receptor. Phytoestrogens, which come from foods like soy, flax, sesame, lentils, apples—there are so many foods rich in these plant estrogens. What happens is these phytoestrogens have an affinity for the beta receptor, and the beta receptor tells the cell, “Something’s going on, don’t multiply, don’t divide.” That’s a good thing. The stronger estrogen has an affinity for the alpha receptor, which tells the cell to multiply and divide—something we don’t want. That’s why people are concerned about soy, but it’s actually doing the opposite.
When the plant-based estrogen goes to the beta receptor (which is 1,600 times more likely), it sends a signal to the alpha receptor saying, “Hey, I’m here, go away,” acting as a decoy, so it’s protecting you. We want more of these phytoestrogens from wholesome foods. Soy can help reduce the risk of breast cancer—reduce, not prevent—by stimulating the beta receptor and blocking the more powerful effects of the stronger estrogen that comes from various sources.
If by some weird chance it makes it to the alpha receptor, the good news is it’s much weaker, so it’ll barely have an impact. We have these estrogen receptors throughout our body, and this also affects uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer—it’s important. This is a good question because you want to feel empowered and have clarity and confidence with your food. Women who are estrogen receptor-negative will ask, “What about me? You keep talking about these plant hormones being beneficial.” The good news is that soy, edamame, and similar foods are rich in antioxidants, minerals, fiber—good stuff all around, good for heart health, and so much more.
So, yeah, it’s good stuff all around.
