yep, maybe in men the estrogenic activity of soy is more effective than in women, but also it depends on individual genetics. You'll see in the link below, a very good article that summarize a lot of papers about phytoestrogens. After reading that, you can just say: yes, it could wbe helpful as it could be harmful... and maybe it's wise stay in the middle, not exceed:
http://foodforbreastcancer.com/foods/genistein-and-daidzein
an extract of the article: (here it is something in english about equol and its conversion
Equol has been shown to have the strongest binding affinities and estrogenic activities (especially for ERβ) among the daidzin metabolites and has been hypothesized to be largely responsible for the estrogen-like activities of soy and its isoflavones. However, there is a great deal of variation among individuals in the metabolism of genistin and daidzin, which appears to be dependent partly on environmental factors, including other components of the diet, and partly on genetic factors.
Only 25% to 35% of the U.S. Caucasian population is capable of converting daidzein to equol, whereas people in high soy consumption areas of Asia have rates closer to 40% to 60%. There is some evidence that Hispanic or Latino women are also more likely to be equol producers. Approximately 80% to 90% of people harbor the bacteria required to produce ODMA. The frequency of equol producers in one study of vegetarians was found to be 59%, similar to the reported frequency in Japanese adults consuming soy, and much higher than for nonvegetarian adults (25%). One Japanese study found that consumption of dairy products was significantly higher in those who did not excrete equol than in those who did.
other papers that i looked at today:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25789108
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25673549
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25338271
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25302172
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25263312
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25236805
isoflavones in the brain: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25232349
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22510793
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25592466
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24504368
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24531783
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24053483
http://foodforbreastcancer.com/foods/genistein-and-daidzein
an extract of the article: (here it is something in english about equol and its conversion
Equol has been shown to have the strongest binding affinities and estrogenic activities (especially for ERβ) among the daidzin metabolites and has been hypothesized to be largely responsible for the estrogen-like activities of soy and its isoflavones. However, there is a great deal of variation among individuals in the metabolism of genistin and daidzin, which appears to be dependent partly on environmental factors, including other components of the diet, and partly on genetic factors.
Only 25% to 35% of the U.S. Caucasian population is capable of converting daidzein to equol, whereas people in high soy consumption areas of Asia have rates closer to 40% to 60%. There is some evidence that Hispanic or Latino women are also more likely to be equol producers. Approximately 80% to 90% of people harbor the bacteria required to produce ODMA. The frequency of equol producers in one study of vegetarians was found to be 59%, similar to the reported frequency in Japanese adults consuming soy, and much higher than for nonvegetarian adults (25%). One Japanese study found that consumption of dairy products was significantly higher in those who did not excrete equol than in those who did.
other papers that i looked at today:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25789108
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25673549
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25338271
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25302172
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25263312
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25236805
isoflavones in the brain: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25232349
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22510793
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25592466
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24504368
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24531783
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24053483
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