"The immune response is a complex system of ...agents and cells whose principal purpose is to protect the human body from infectious agents, chemical and physical damage, and tumors. A feature of aging is that the immune response declines, thereby increasing the risk of infection as well as potentially allowing tumor cells to escape immune surveillance. Inflammatory cells 'in the immune response effort] have specialized...pathways that can locally generate 'toxic] compounds that are used to attack foreign cells...

"Conventional thinking about antioxidants has been that they react with either free toxic radicals* or the chemically toxic...species generated by inflammatory cells. This has caused concern for some investigators because it appears to imply that the normal function of the oxidant species in 'killing] invading cells or viruses would be compromised. However, the antioxidants may have a role in preventing the collateral damage associated with the 'oxidant toxic immune cells.]

"...Of course, at very high doses of the antioxidants, a progressive decrease in tissue oxidants may occur and unwanted effects on immune function could result. This emphasizes the importance of using foods and not pills in the the context of preventing chronic disease...Therapeutic drugs may have greater ... activity but they are rarely used...because of their substantial side effects." Emphasis added.
The scientists tested genistein, an "isoflavone" extracted from soy beans. They observed that immune cells called macrophages were present in cancers of the breast, cervix, and bladder. Some, not all, reports showed macrophage presence in prostate, lung, and brain tumors.

"...The present study confirms our previous hypothesis that isoflavones...will undergo rapid reaction with chemical oxidants produced by inflammatory cells." What does this mean? They noted that the macrophages are referred to as tumor-associated macrophages, and are recruited by the tumor cells...'one of their effects being stimulating a blood growth factor**.]

"...Interestingly, genistein has been noted to decrease the production and release of this 'factor]," which is a potent stimulator of tumor growth by enhancing the blood supply to "feed" the growing tumor cells.

DETAILS: Foods as cancer-preventers, over drugs or pills. But that does not mean a small portion of spinach once a week. It means have healthful foods EVERY DAY, including soy beans.

*Radicals are toxic oxygen types. Read Our Book

**The factor is called endothelial growth factor. It stimulates the growth of new blood supplies to feed the tumor cells. Many new drugs are being developed that reduce this factor. Of course the fact that genistein in soy does this now, and at greatly reduced cost and probably side effects is ignored by the popular media. So what's new? The big money will be in the drugs, not in the soy beans. Our book has a full chapter on soy.

FURTHER DETAILS: Although the emphasis of the medical scientists' work was on cancer prevention, limiting the harmful effects of excessive immune activity would also reduce the occurrence of auto-immune diseases, as heart disease, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, etc.

In: Journal of Nutrition, vol. 133, 2003. By: D'Alessandro, Prasain, Benton, Botting, Barnes, et al., Depts. of Pharmacology & Pathology, Center for Nutrient-Gene Interaction in Cancer Prevention; Purdue-UAB Botanicals Center for Age-Related Disease, U. of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294; Dept. of Chemistry, U. of St. Andrews, Fife, UK.