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Soy - It
Does A Body Good
From
eDiets - The online diet, fitness, and healthy living resource In
recent years, psychologists and other health professionals have made us realize
that our health depends largely on our behavior. Eating soy, it now appears, is
one of the simplest things we can do to boost our health.
Once revered
as a sacred crop in China, soybeans are one of the richest plant sources of
protein. In fact, the World Health Organization considers it on par with meat
and dairy proteins. But not only is this low-fat dietary protein great news for
vegetarians or dieters, a growing body of research indicates that soy may help
prevent many chronic diseases. Many of its therapeutic benefits are believed to
come from its vast stores of isoflavones. These bioactive plant chemicals
function like weak estrogen--a female hormone necessary for normal growth and
development--by adjusting the hormone's effects when levels are too high or
low.
To get the most out of soy, health experts suggest eating whole
foods like tofu, soymilk and tempeh because they contain higher levels of
isoflavones than processed foods or supplements. Fortunately, there are now a
variety of soy and tofu products that are both convenient and tasty. Soymilk
can be found nationally in refrigerated sections of supermarkets, and it easily
replaces cow's milk for both drinking and cooking.
The biggest news is
that soy lowers cholesterol and protects against heart disease. An analysis of
38 studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that eating
soy lowers total levels of cholesterol by 10% and LDL or "bad" cholesterol by
13%. In 1999, the FDA gave soy the green light, stating definitively that
eating 25 grams of soy protein each day as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol
diet reduces the risk of heart disease. Recently, the American Heart
Association revised its dietary guidelines to recommend soy as part of a
heart-healthy diet.
While research on other diseases isn't yet
conclusive, scientists believe that soy may also help with the
following:
OSTEOPOROSIS: A 1998 study published in the American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition found that postmenopausal women who ate 40 grams of soy
protein a day significantly increased the bone density in their spines. And a
University of Iowa study found that women who consumed soy with isoflavones
maintained bone density, while those who didn't consume isoflavones actually
lost bone density. "The isoflavones in soy are identical to a drug called
Ipriflavone, a synthetic isoflavone used for bone loss, so there's reason to
think that isoflavones will do something for bone health," says Mark Messina,
Ph.D., an adjunct associate professor of nutrition at Loma Linda University in
California and former program director for the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
"In general, if you substitute soy for animal protein, you'll lose less calcium
from your bones because animal protein causes calcium loss."
MENOPAUSE:
Although some studies suggest that soy isoflavone pills are no more effective
than a placebo in fending off menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and night
sweats, several other studies suggest otherwise. A 12-week-long Italian study
found that postmenopausal women taking soy containing 76 mg of isoflavones
experienced a 45% reduction in their symptoms, while those taking placebos
reported only a 30% reduction. And a study of 177 menopausal women presented at
the Third International Symposium on the Role of Soy in Preventing and Treating
Chronic Disease found that those who took 50 mg of soy isoflavones had fewer
and less severe hot flashes and night sweats than those who didn't take
isoflavones.
"Soy won't make hot flashes and night sweats go away, but
it will make them milder and slightly less frequent," says Gregory Burke,
Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest
University School of Medicine in North Carolina. "And that may be enough for
many women."
CANCER: According to the NCI, soy is believed to coax
cancerous cells to revert to normal. It may also prevent tumors from obtaining
nutrients and block free radicals--compounds that normally attack bacteria and
viruses--from damaging healthy cells. "There are several potent anti-cancer
compounds in soy," says Clare Hasler, Ph.D., executive director of the
Functional Foods for Health program at the University of Illinois. "I suspect
that when the ongoing trials are completed, we'll see that soy may protect
against cancer." Because of its estrogenic properties, soy appears most
effective against hormone-related cancers like prostate and colon. Another
study presented at the same symposium on soy found that soy reduced tumors by
40% to 60% in mice with prostate or bladder cancer.
Epidemiological
studies suggest that soy also protects against breast cancer, and researchers
often point to Japan and China where soy consumption is high and breast cancer
rates are low. Even so, scientists recently discovered that, because consuming
soy promotes breast cell growth, doing so later in life may actually raise the
risk of breast cancer for postmenopausal women with a personal or family
history of the disease. To play it safe, consult your doctor if you're at risk
for breast cancer.
For those who want to stock up on soy, now's the
time. April is National Soy Foods Month, and supermarkets typically carry a
wide variety of soy foods like soy nuts, snack bars and instant shakes, all
ready to grab on the go. One easy--and satisfying--way to include 25 grams of
soy protein in your daily diet is to down a shake made with instant soy protein
powder. Other convenience foods like soy-based burgers, hot dogs, deli meats
and bacon have a taste and texture that's very similar to real meats. So this
April, think health and think soy. |
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