COMPARATIVE HORMONAL EFFECTS OF DIETS CONTAINING SOY AND ANIMAL PROTEIN

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Diet has been implicated in the etiology and prevention of breast cancer. There is evidence to suggest that soy consumption may reduce the risk of breast cancer. However, the active component(s) of soy diets that reduce breast cancer risk are not known. High levels of ovarian steroids are associated with increased risk of breast cancer. Aims: The soy diet that we provided to our study subjects in prior studies contained higher levels of soy protein but less total protein than that consumed by our study subjects on soy-free home diets. We propose to test the hypothesis that the amount and the source of protein are both critical determinants in influencing ovarian hormones of premenopausal women. Methods: Premenopausal women will be placed on identical basal diets during three separate menstrual cycles but will be randomly allocated to two groups (10 per group, total 20) as follows: One group will be fed a 6% soy protein diet, a 12% soy protein diet and a control diet. The other group will be fed a 6% beef protein diet, 12% beef protein diet and a control diet. The control diet will be the same for both groups and will consist of 6% soy protein and 6% beef protein. Numerous studies have examined the effects of dietary fat on ovarian hormone levels, with variable results. In contrast, few studies have examined the relationship of dietary protein to ovarian hormones or breast cancer risk. This study will partly fill this knowledge gap.