Harness The Benefits of Soy

There are very few foods that are allowed by the U.S. FDA to include health claims on the label. Yet, soy is among those that are. You may have even read one of the claims lately saying that diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include twenty-five grams of soy protein daily can lower the risk of heart disease. Soy has a lot of good properties, some of them are mentioned below.

Soy improves a variety of ailments from cardiovascular disease to prostate cancer to menopause symptoms. Even with the powerful benefits soy offers, many people don’t eat it because they aren’t even aware of it. While it may be different that what you are used to, soy is nothing to be afraid of. The soybean is a legume and is made into a variety of foods such as soy milk, tofu, miso, and tempeh.

Soy improves cardiovascular disease by bringing down LDL (bad) cholesterol up to 4% to 5%. Even greater decreases of LDL occur when you replace soy for less heart healthy foods like red meat and other saturated fats. There are current hypotheses that indicate soy has such a advantageous effect because it step-ups the activity of receptors that “trap” low-density lipoproteins.

Soy is replete with isoflavones. These chemicals are very similar to estrogen and bear some of the same effects, but not as strongly as estrogen. Also known as phytoestrogens, isoflavones help arteries relax and expand which helps blood circulation and decreases blood pressure. A few studies have revealed decreases up to fifteen points. Additional blood flow to the body and its organs is always a beneficial thing.

Men will be happy to know the learn that studies have shown that cancer patients who consumed soy isoflavones for six months showed a leveling off of prostate-specific antigen, a key indicator in prostate cancer. Additionally, consuming isoflavones is thought to inhibit enzymes that fuel and feed tumor growth.

Men aren’t the only ones to benefit from consuming soy. Menopausal women also get great benefits from soy because the phytoestrogens in soy are metabolized in the body into equol. Women who have had more than 5 hot flashes each day have found that eating soy can help reduce hot flash frequency up to 40%. Soy has also proven helpful in reducing vaginal dryness in some menopausal women.

Finally soy has been shown to help those with kidney disease. Glomerular filtration rate is a measure of kidney stress that is reduced when soy proteins are substituted for animal proteins. This reduction in kidney stress may help slow kidney damage.

With its unbelievable health benefits for men and women of every age, and its power to provide a beneficial source of high protein, low fat calories, soy is likely to remain a popular, and healthy alternative for dieters all over. So begin integrating soy based foods into your diet now, and harness all the good things soy has to offer.

 

About the Author: Healthy Herbal Guy
For an incredible way to raise the amount of soy isoflavones in your diet try Herbalife Formula 1. Its a tasty waste reducing meal replacement made by the industry leading weight management company Herbalife.