American Heart Association recommends more soy - American Heart Association recommends more soy
The American Heart
Association, which has for
years preached the gospel of
healthy diet and exercise, says
the scientific studies have
shown that eating soy can
lower cholesterol and the risk
of heart disease.
The recommendation adds
soy to the growing list of
foods, such as orange juice,
bananas, leafy green vegetables
and oatmeal, that most people
should try to eat every day.
Heart disease is the single
biggest killer in the United
States and many industrialized
countries.
John Erdman, a professor of
food science and human nutrition
at the University of Illinois
in Urbana, said people who eat
soy cut at least some unhealthy
meat from their diets -- but
also add some goodies.
He noted many studies have
shown that Asians, who have a
high intake of soy and a low
intake of meat and dairy, have
about half the rates of cardiovascular
disease as do
Europeans and Americans.
Studies have also suggested
that substituting soy for animal
protein can reduce low-density
lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called
bad cholesterol, lower triglycerides,
another measure of
blood fat, and raise the good
"HDL" that carries fat out of
the bloodstream.
A recent study published in
the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition showed that
eating 20 grams of soy a day
can reduce levels of cholesterol
in as little as 9 weeks.
The greatest effects are seen
in people with high blood cholesterol,
and Erdman said there
is little risk that people with
lower cholesterol can push it
too low by eating soy.
The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) now
allows makers of food products
that are low in fat and
that contain at least 6.25 grams
of soy to put a health claim on
the label.
"We encourage people to
use soy that is natural," Erdman
said -- as opposed to taking
capsules that claim to contain
soy protein. He said complete
soy seems to have a variety of
ingredients that act together to
lowe ...
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