The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    Defining the cholesterol-lowering effects of soy

    An earlier review concluded that replacing foods high in saturated fat, trans-saturated fat, and cholesterol with soy protein might have a beneficial effect on coronary risk factors.

    This re-analysis of the literature concurs and goes a step further.

    Soy isoflavones, soy depleted in isoflavones, and soy enriched in isoflavones were compared. The following findings are significant.

    Soy isoflavones

    • Total cholesterol: -3.9 mg/dL or 2%
    • LDL (bad): cholesterol: -5.0 mg/dL or 4%

    Isoflavone-depleted soy protein

    • LDL cholesterol: -3.9 mg/dL or 3%

    Soy containing enriched isoflavones

    • LDL cholesterol: -7.0 mg/dL or 5%
    • HDL cholesterol: +1.6 mg/dL or 3%

    The bottom line?
    Soy isoflavones significantly reduced blood levels of total and LDL cholesterol. Soy protein that contained enriched or depleted isoflavones also improved lipid profiles.

    Reductions in LDL cholesterol were greater in people with high cholesterol levels compared to people with normal cholesterol levels.

    This work helps define the effects of soy constituents responsible lipid fractions.

    4/10/07 21:59 JR

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