Soy is a basic food ingredient of traditional Asian cuisine used for thousands of years. In
Western countries, soybeans have been introduced about a hundred years ago and recently …

Equol [7-hydroxy-3-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)-chroman] is a nonsteroidal estrogen of the
isoflavone class. It is exclusively a product of intestinal bacterial metabolism of dietary …

Substantial evidence indicates that diets high in plant-based foods may explain the
epidemiologic variance of many hormone-dependent diseases that are a major cause of …

Incidences of breast, colorectal and prostate cancer are high in the Western world compared
to countries in Asia. We have postulated that the Western diet compared to the …

The importance of estrogens in homeostatic regulation of many cellular and biochemical
events is well illustrated by the pathophysiologic changes that occur with estrogen …

Flaxseed is emerging as one of the key sources of phytochemicals in the functional food
arena. In addition to being one of the richest sources of α‐linolenic acid oil and lignans …

Evidence is emerging that dietary phytoestrogens play a beneficial role in obesity and
diabetes. Nutritional intervention studies performed in animals and humans suggest that the …

This review focuses on the possible role in human health of the consumption of lignan-rich
foods. Most of the plant lignans in human foods are converted by the intestinal microflora in …

Background: The isoflavones daidzein and genistein occur naturally in most soyfoods,
conjugated almost exclusively to sugars. Controversy exists regarding the extent of …

Human studies provide evidence for beneficial effects of polyphenol-rich foods on
cardiovascular health. The antioxidant activity of polyphenols potentially explains these …