But the real reason I give tofu the green light is because it is one of the traditional soyfoods that have been associated with a protective effect against breast cancer in several very large prospective studies out of Asia. Diets higher in traditional soyfoods such as boiled soybeans, tofu, miso, natto and various other other country-specific soy foods have been shown to be more protective against breast cancer than diets lower in these types of foods. Conversely, there is NO data to support the same assertion about diets rich in processed, Western soy foods, such as soymilk, soy veggie burgers, soy-fortified energy bars and breakfast cereals, soy protein powders, etc.. And because these latter foods are all based on industrially fractionated, isoflavone-rich soy derivatives such as soy protein concentrate (SPC) and soy protein isolate (SPI), we can’t just assume they will behave in our bodies the same way as natural soyfoods based on whole soy.