Introduction

Many women are fearful of developing cancer, but hip fractures are more common than cancer of the breast, cervix and uterus combined. Seventeen percent of people with hip fractures die within four months ¹ , while about 50% of hip fracture survivors are discharged to a nursing home because they can no longer cope at home ² .

Women from certain Asian countries have lower rates of hip fractures than women from Western countries ³ . There may be several possible reasons for this finding and diet has been acknowledged as an important factor.

Interestingly, calcium intake (mainly from soybean products, small fish with bones and vegetables) is lower in Japan for example, than in Western countries. While an adequate calcium intake is important, it clearly does not provide the complete solution to protecting us against osteoporosis. Researchers are now focusing on the potential benefits of soy foods in relation to bone health, in particular soy protein and its constituent phytoestrogens (isoflavones), since there is a marked difference in the consumption of soy foods between traditional Asian and western diets ⁴ .