Soybean, Glycine max, is a vegetable in the plant family, Fabaceae. The first written record of soybeans was found in Chinese books that described plants of China,in 3000 B.C. So, soybeans first took root five thousand years ago in northern China, where they were among the first crops grown by man. The ancient Chinese honored soybeans as one of the five sacred grains essential to the existence of Chinese civilization and considered the soybean both as food and as medicine. These crops include soybean, rice, wheat, barley, and millet. Over the next several centuries, the Chinese cultivated the wild soybean plant. By the first century, soybeans appear to have spread to central and southern China and Korea. Six centuries later, soybeans made their way to Japan, and then to Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal and northern India.
From East to West
Even in its early history, the soybean was highly regarded as the source of a wide variety of foods. But the three most important soy foods in traditional Asian cuisine were miso, tempeh and tofu. It wasn’t until the 17th century that European visitors to the East became aware of this unfamiliar bean from which Asians made many different foods. Soy first reached Western shores as imported soy sauce, and soybeans were grown in Europe by 18th century. Just before American independence, the first soybean plant hit North American soil. Furthermore, Benjamin Franklin had a hand in introducing soybeans to America when he sent seeds from London to a botanist friend in North America. Gradually, soybeans spread to farming areas that remain soy-growing states today, and were grown primarily to feed animals. It indeed became an important food crop by the 1920’s. The U.S. soybean crop has increased to 2.8 billion bushels in 1998, of which a one-third is sold to other countries, like Japan, where soy foods are dietary staples.
Soybeans – latest researches on cancer
Cancer research on soy has bloomed in the past 5 years. So far there are over 600 of them in that period of time. Most of the studies are on one of its components genistein which interfere with hormone dependent cancers like prostate cancer and breast cancer. Furthermore, the angiogenesis process which all types of cancer use to spread seems to be potently affected by soy product. Those cancer research also showed that cancer proliferation, inflammation and apoptosis, which is when the cells auto-destruct themselves, are affected by soy product. Interestingly, a few articles talk about a synergy effect of soy with tea on cancer.
Soy looks like a good weapon to use against cancer. However, the presence of the phytoestrogen may interfere with some cancer treatments like tamoxifen and you need to talk to your oncologist about it. If you want to find more about how to incorporate soy in your daily diet go to Soy Smoothie
Types of cancers affected
-Breast cancer
-Prostate cancer
-Colon cancer
-Lung cancer
-Stomach cancer
-Myeloma
-Leukemia
-Bladder cancer
-Liver cancer
Cancer Protection Level
| Apoptosis |  |
| Angiogenesis |  |
| Inflammation | |
| Proliferation | |