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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, August 14, 2008

UH seeking BEAN study participants

Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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TO ENROLL ...

The BEAN study has a rolling start date, but recruiting ends in January 2009.

To participate, call 586-2997 or e-mail bean@crch.hawaii.edu.

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Are you a healthy woman between the ages of 18 and 50, not taking any hormone medication — including birth control — and who has no plans to become pregnant in the next year and isn't breastfeeding?

The BEAN (Bean, Estrogens and Nutrition) study wants you.

It's the second phase of a study run by the University of Hawai'i's Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i, The first phase — which looked only at urine, blood and mammographic density — was deemed inconclusive about soy's effects on decreasing breast cancer risks.

This one, requiring a 13-month commitment, go eswhere the first one feared to tread ... into breast fluids. (Now, before you say "Ew!" know they'll be using a pump almost like a breastfeeding pump, said Shana Suzuki, research nutritionist. "I just tell women it's more weird than anything else.")

Only women who can produce the breast fluid will be used in the study.

"We are really grateful for all the women who participated in past studies and we hope more women will be willing to come out and help with this part of the study," said Vickie Ramirez, BEAN study project coordinator. "Each study is a small piece of the larger whole and gives us the opportunity to get a better look at the big picture."

Particulars of the study:

  • Participant will eat a diet high in soy products (at least two servings of soy foods a day every day) for six months.

  • They will also have a lowin-soy-foods phase (no more than three servings a week) for six months.

    All soy foods are provided, and participants receive $300 grocery gift cards. Women who took part in the first study are also eligible, if they still meet criteria.