Soy And Lowering Cholesterol

Researchers connected eating soy and lowering cholesterol by studying different cultures. It was noted that death rates for cardio vascular disease in America were more than double that in Japan which led scientists to study the dietary habits of both cultures and how they affected cardio vascular disease.

The role of soy and lowering cholesterol came under study because what we eat affects the levels of cholesterol in the blood. Soy is a major portion of the protein in traditional Japanese (and many other Asian) foods whereas we eat very little of it in the United States. Since we have a much higher rate of heart disease, scientists felt there may be a good connection between soy, heart disease and cholesterol.

Many studies have been done regarding soy and lowering cholesterol and although researchers haven't figured out quite why, it has been shown that eating soy does in fact have a role in lowering your cholesterol. Research showed that eating 47 grams of soy each day could lower your LDL (bad cholesterol) by 12.9% and increase HDL (good cholesterol) by 2.4%.

One component responsible for the role of soy and lowering cholesterol may be the isoflavones present in soy protein. Isoflavones are a type of phytochemical produced in plants naturally. In studies it was revealed that eating soy with isoflavones resulted in greater lowering of cholesterol so if you are thinking about adding soy to your cholesterol battle, make sure you buy it with the naturally occurring isoflavones!

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