Harvard Study: Soy Counteracts Metabolic Syndrome

Soy Nuts and Soy Protein May Help Control Precursor to Heart Disease and

Diabetes

    ST. LOUIS, March 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Obesity. High blood
 pressure. Abnormal cholesterol levels. Most of us intuitively recognize
 these as warning signs for health problems. Combine these risk factors in
 individuals with insulin resistance, however, and the cluster becomes
 metabolic syndrome -- a precursor to heart disease and type-2 diabetes.
 Now, new research co-authored by the Harvard University School of Public
 Health shows that adding soy to the diet may improve many problems
 associated with the metabolic syndrome above and beyond that of a healthy
 diet without soy.
     The study evaluated both soy protein and soy nut consumption among
 postmenopausal women living with metabolic syndrome. Soy protein and soy
 nuts each exhibited a beneficial effect on components of the syndrome, but
 soy nuts had the strongest impact, perhaps because they provided soy
 protein as well as polyunsaturated ("good") fat and contained a higher
 amount of soybean isoflavones.
     How much should we worry about metabolic syndrome? The condition
 afflicts up to 30 percent of the industrialized world's population, and
 will likely affect 50 to 75 million Americans by the year 2010. Alarmingly,
 this syndrome increases risk of heart disease by two to four times that of
 the normal population, and increases risk of type-2 diabetes by nine to 30
 times. Research also suggests the metabolic syndrome may play havoc with
 the kidneys, liver, ovaries, ability to sleep and even dementia.
     Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the Harvard
 study, which was co-authored by researchers at Shaheed Beheshti University
 of Medical Sciences in Iran, used a randomized crossover design involving
 42 Iranian postmenopausal women. All subjects consumed each of three
 different diets for eight week periods: a healthy diet that had previously
 been demonstrated to lower blood pressure, the same diet in which soy
 protein replaced the original protein source or the same diet in which soy
 nuts replaced the protein source.
     The results showed that all three diets lowered LDL ("bad") cholesterol
 but the decreases were significantly greater in the diets containing soy.
 Even more impressive, the soy-containing diets markedly improved insulin
 resistance, a hallmark of the metabolic syndrome. In this case, soy nuts
 had a greater effect than soy protein.
     Dr. Mark Messina, a nutritionist and noted soyfood expert, commented,
 "The results of this study confirm the well-recognized role of soyfoods in
 reducing cholesterol levels and provide new evidence that soyfoods can
 potentially help millions of individuals with the metabolic syndrome by
 improving insulin resistance."
     About the United Soybean Board:
     The United Soybean Board is a farmer-led organization comprised of 64
 farmer-directors. USB oversees the investments of the soybean checkoff on
 behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers. For more soy and health information,
 please visit www.soyconnection.com.
 
 

SOURCE United Soybean Board