**Abstract**

Soy is a highly nutritious yet widely underutilized food. Because of the controversy surrounding soy, individuals with chronic disease states that may benefit from soy or soy isoflavone consumption may avoid this food. The relationship of soy to estrogen, breast cancer, osteoarthritis, and other chronic disease states is discussed. Osteoarthritis is a specific focus, as the immobility brought about by this disease state may lead to other chronic diseases that are also positively affected by soy consumption, and because there is no clear etiology or cure for this debilitating disease. Conclusions and future directions for soy research as it relates to healthy aging are also discussed.

**Keywords:** soy, osteoarthritis, aging, breast cancer, longevity
