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Question
Do eating soy products help in preventing or treating MPB?
Answer
Equol is a substance produced in the intestines as a metabolite of soybeans and soy foods. Equol is a non-steroidal estrogen that acts as an anti-androgen by preventing the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) from attaching to androgen receptors. Some people are able to produce equol in their intestines, while others cannot.
The results of a study published March 2004 in Biology of Reproduction indicated that equol effectively blocks DHT, which is linked with male pattern baldness (MPB) and benign prostate enlargement. Equol is a form of estrogen that is made when bacteria in the gut breaks down estrogen--mimicking chemicals, known as "isoflavones", chemicals found naturally in soya beans and some other plants. Equol, when injected into mice, did not stop DHT being synthesized, but by chemically forming a complex with DHT, prevented DHT from attaching to the male hormone receptors in the prostate and hair follicles.
"Directly binding and inactivating DHT without influencing testosterone gives equol the ability to reduce many harmful effects of androgens without affecting the beneficial ones," says Professor Robert Handa, an endocrinologist at Colorado State College of Veterinary Medicine, the senior author of the study published in March 2004.
So, can eating increased soy products help treat or prevent MPB? Maybe, but theres no evidence to support the hypothesis. As for 'any herb or natural product for MPB', we have a Catch-22 situation. In fact, there may be some very beneficial herbs and natural products. However, these 'herbs and natural products' arent usually prescribed in Western academic medicine, because they have never been tested or approved by the FDA. It costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars to obtain an FDA approval for a new drug. The FDA will not grant an exclusive patent for 'herbs and natural products'. The pharmaceutical company cannot recapture the cost of its research and development. As a result, its unlikely that we will ever have a well-designed study to prove the value of dietary soy or equol supplementation for the treatment of MPB.
Richard Lee, M.D.