According to a new study, published online in the January 13 edition of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the risk of lung cancer is notably lower in men who do not smoke, and eat soy every day.

As per the researchers, led by Dr. Taichi Shimazu, of Tokyo’s National Cancer Center, soy is rich in isoflavones that act like hormone estrogen, and boasts anti-cancer qualities in hormone-linked cancers – breast cancer and prostate cancer.

For the study, the research team studied over 36,000 men and 40,000 women in Japan - all aged between 45 and 74 years; who, at the commencement of the study, were free of cancer.

Observing the study participants for 11 years, the researchers found that 481 men and 178 women were diagnosed of lung cancer.

Out of the almost 13,000 men who were non-smokers, there were 22 lung cancer cases among those who ate the least soy; vis-à-vis 13 among those who ate soy the most. However, the researchers could not draw any such conclusions about the lung cancer risk in women.

Noting that daily soy consumption among the participants varied between 34 grams and 162 grams, Shimazu said that while the study has no evidence to recommend any change in eating behavior, it does highlight the fact that lung cancer risk is reduced by almost 50 percent in the highest soy eaters as against their low soy-eating counterparts.