Study Shows Benefits From Soy, Water-Soluble Fiber

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Small Changes Give Low Cholesterol Diet Added Punch

 

Study Shows Benefits From Soy, Water-Soluble Fiber

 

By Jeanie Davis

WebMD Medical News

 

Feb. 11, 2000 (Atlanta) -- Veggie burgers, soy milk, heart-healthy margarine --

consider them options in a well-diversified, cholesterol-lowering 'portfolio,'

say authors of a new study. Their results show that small daily investments in

these readily available foods can improve blood cholesterol levels significantly

-- when combined with a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. Ratios of 'good' and

'bad' cholesterol are important indicators of heart disease risk.

 

Describing his results as " very hopeful, " lead author David J. A. Jenkins, MD,

PhD, professor of metabolic/nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto

School of Medicine, tells WebMD that 13 to 14 grams daily of soy or vegetable

protein foods -- such as the typical veggie burger -- increased good cholesterol

(HDL) levels and reduced total cholesterol. The study was published recently in

the scientific journal Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental.

 

" We showed that people can make big differences in their cholesterol ratios --

and without eating particularly large portions. [People in the study] quite

easily accommodated 14 grams of soy protein on a regular basis, just one meal in

the day, " says Jenkins. " Many companies are producing soy products, taking it

quite seriously. There's much to choose from. It's much easier for our

Western-diet eaters to get satisfaction from the manufactured products than from

a block of tofu. "

 

Previous research has shown that dietary changes can reduce bad cholesterol

(LDL) by as much as 18%. By increasing intake of soluble fiber and vegetable

protein, total cholesterol levels can be reduced by an additional five to 10% or

more. Also, other plant products -- including flavonoids in fruits and

vegetables, isoflavones in soy, and lignans in flaxseed -- may help prevent harm

from cholesterol.

 

Cholesterol-lowering medications can achieve reductions of 15-20% -- but Jenkins

says the same can be achieved through dietary changes.

 

In this study, the authors recruited 15 men and five women, average age 58, and

all with high cholesterol. The 20 people were already participating in an

eight-week National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) study that required a

daily diet low in saturated fat (less than 7 mg daily) and cholesterol (less

than 200 mg cholesterol daily). Every day, each person in the study substituted

a meal item with something from a list of readily available soy, fiber, or

vegetable protein foods.

 

The study participants were divided into two groups. Frozen dinners, veggie

burgers and wieners, and vegetarian cold cuts were among the treatment group's

choices. Soluble-fiber food choices consisted of dried soups and breakfast

cereals containing oat, barley, and legumes. On the comparison group's list:

typical low-fat items such as skim-milk yogurt, low-fat cheese, and cottage

cheese, and a number of low-fat, low-soluble-fiber microwavable frozen foods.

 

At the end of the eight-week study, the treatment group's cholesterol levels

showed significantly higher HDL cholesterol. The LDL cholesterol was also

significantly reduced. While one woman was on hormone replacement therapy and

one man was being treated with a cholesterol-lowering medication, neither

responded differently from the other subjects, says Jenkins.

 

While describing this study as " a modest attempt at introducing soy foods into

the diet, " Jenkins says that even higher dietary levels of soy, water-soluble

fiber -- and other new options like cholesterol-lowering margarines -- could

bring the 15-20% reductions possible with medications.

 

Providing objective commentary, William Wong, PhD, research scientist at

Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, tells WebMD, " The findings are

very interesting. ... But at this time, you cannot tell if it was the soy

protein or the soluble fiber [that created their results]. Especially since the

amount of soy protein they were given was 14 grams a day, which was pretty

small. To my knowledge, the lowest amount [of soy protein] to be shown effective

is about 20 grams. I wish they had put one group on soluble fiber, one group on

soy protein, then combined the two. That would be a very, very interesting

study. "

 

Erica Frank, MD, lipid researcher at Emory University School of Medicine in

Atlanta, tells WebMD, " They did a really good job. ... It's pretty fair to say

that the results were attributable to soy. Putting this in the context of other

studies, it's pretty clear this is another vote for plant-based diets and soy.

.... People need suggestions for good-tasting soy products ... soy milk, soy

nuts, smoked tofu is fabulous. It's easy to marinate tofu, sprinkle soy sauce on

it and marinate it for an hour and it actually tastes pretty good. "

 

 

webmd.com/content/article/1728.55026

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