FARMINGTON — Some doctors say soy may help prevent breast cancer; others say it may cause it.

an opportunity to get educated on one side of the debate is coming to Farmington.

the Piñon Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church at 12:45 p.m. Sunday will host a soy luncheon in an attempt to make tofu tasty and spread the message that some doctors believe several servings of soy per day may save lives.

Dr. Donald Casebolt, a retired family practice physician who specializes in preventive medicine, said in the past six months he read ample and credible evidence proving there is a benefit to a high-soy diet. Casebolt will hold a question-and-answer session after the lunch.

Tempeh, tofu, miso and endamame are some of the more common soy dishes that will be served at the luncheon, along with desserts such as soy cheesecake.

“We don’t want somebody to think we’re saying soy is the Holy Grail,” Casebolt said. “But if people will take a balanced look at all (healthy lifestyle practices) and include soy in their diet, then it’s clear there are things they can do to lower their risk.”

Some doctors think the tests proving the benefits of a high soy diet are far from conclusive, and that soy may actually be harmful.

“The data is really weak as far as whether soy helps or hurts,” said Dr. Linh Nguyen, a radiation oncologist at San Juan Regional Medical Center.

Nguyen advises his breast cancer patients not to eat more than two or three servings of soy per week because it may increase the chance of cancer recurrence.

Casebolt said he read several studies to develop the opinion that soy reduces the risk of breast cancer.

One was a seven-year observational study performed by a doctor of epidemiology at Vanderbilt University, which concluded the four-year-survival rate among breast cancer survivors at a Chinese hospital was 8 percent greater among patients who ate between 9.5 and 11 grams of soy per day. the study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

the opposing theory, that soy can lead to breast cancer recurrence, comes from studying organic compounds in soy called isoflavins, which act like estrogens and can become attracted to cancer receptors of people who have or previously had cancer, Nguyen said.

“The soy isoflavin can act like an estrogen and dock onto the cancer receptor,” Nguyen said. “But that’s just a theory.”

It’s not rare for doctors to come to different conclusions after observational studies, Nguyen said. It can be tricky to use cancer studies in Asia to reach conclusions about patients in America.

“There are a bunch of different factors other than soy that can cause cancer,” he said. “Who’s to say it’s soy? Western women drink more alcohol than eastern women, they are more obese, their diets have a higher fat content. It may be the soy, but we really don’t know.”

Carol Miller and her husband, who is a doctor, are going to the luncheon to learn more about the benefits of soy.

“I would like to try some of the soy recipes they have and maybe do a little more cooking with soy products,” Miller said.

she was on both sides of the debate. she used to avoid soy dishes because she heard it may increase the chances of developing breast cancer, but now she thinks soy prevents breast cancer after discussing it with Casebolt.

“It’s kind of confusing,” she said of deciphering the different opinions. “It’s hard to know what to think when you read one thing and then read another but I would tend to think that soy is probably good for you.”

Ryan Boetel: