Lee Swanson Research Update

Soy Intake Promotes Favorable Cholesterol Concentrations

March 2005

Clinical trials have suggested that the intake of soy protein reduces blood cholesterol, but few studies have explored this relation in subjects who consume soy as part of their regular diet. Scientists at the University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom decided to take a closer look and found that "moderate intakes of soyfoods as part of a regular diet are associated with favorable blood cholesterol concentrations."

The researchers assessed dietary habits in a group comprised of 1,033 pre and postmenopausal women with widely differing soy intakes using a food frequency questionnaire. The cross sectional study incorporated subjects from the Oxford arm of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, and included 361 non-vegetarians, 570 vegetarians and 102 vegans.

Medical and lifestyle data were collected, blood samples were drawn, and plasma total, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels were measured.

Soy protein intake was inversely associated with total and LDL cholesterol concentration and with the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol, but not with HDL cholesterol concentration. Mean plasma LDL cholesterol concentration in women with a soy protein intake of six grams per day or more was 12% lower than in women who consumed 0.5 grams per day.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 80(5):1391-1396, 2004

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