I forwarded the recent soy article on this list to a veg list,
and got this response:

Mark James writes:
>I would say a couple immediate things.
>
>First, using a drug induced DNA study to attribute claims to a natural
>occuring version, as found in soybeans is flawed.
>
>Second, if this were true, it would be trivial to find epedemiological
>studies where subjects in China, japan, and other heavy soy-based dietary
>regions showed heavier brain damage/aging than countries with little or
>no soy in the diet. There are no studies, either showing any relation
>with soy and alzheimers, in fact, countries with heavy soy consumption
>have lower incidences of alzheimers than, for instance, germany and the
>US, where soy in the diet is minimal.
>
>So I think putting a warning on this news is a long long stretch.
>
>It is interesting news, and may be yet another instnace where synthesized
>chemicals ahve a very different effect than "organically" occuring
>versions of the same chemical. For all we know, the brain damaging effect
>may be caused by left handed versions of the same molecule.

Comments?