Soy pros and cons
 Dr. Aaron Michelfelder from the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois has published a review of soy.
Here’s a summary of what we know about soybeans.
- They contain all the essential amino acids for human nutrition.
- Populations with diets high in soy protein and low in animal protein have lower risks of prostate and breast cancers.
- Increasing dietary whole soy protein lowers total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and triglyceride blood levels.
In addition, soy “may” be useful for the following…
- Hot flashes
- Maintain bone density
- Decrease fractures in postmenopausal women.
But, there are “not enough data” to…
- Recommend soy in women with a history of breast cancer.
And, soy’s limitations…
- Refined soy isoflavone taken as supplements, have not yielded the same results as increasing dietary whole soy protein.
The bottom line?
Dr. Michelfelder recommends taking soy “as a dietary substitution for higher-fat animal products.”
Greater detail on the effects of soy on cholesterol levels is here. Although Dr. Chao Wu Xiao at the University of Ottawa in Canada is not impressed.
1/17/09 19:40 JR