Soy-rich diet helps prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis

Soy-rich diet helps prevent postmenopausal atherosclerosis
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007; 86: 1369-75
Assessing the effects of isoflavone dietary supplementation on atherosclerosis protein biomarkers in postmenopausal women.

MedWire News: Postmenopausal women who consume a soy-rich diet may have a reduced risk for developing atherosclerosis, German research suggests.

The researchers explain that the research surrounding the cardiac benefits of soy-protein supplementation is sparse.

To address this gap in knowledge, they evaluated 27 postmenopausal women who consumed placebo cereal bars twice a day for 8 weeks, and then cereal bars supplemented with 25 mg soy isoflavone twice a day for a subsequent 8 weeks. Peripheral mononuclear blood cell (PBMCs) samples were taken from 10 women after each of the placebo and soy-supplemented phases and subjected to proteomic analysis.

Following high soy-isoflavone intake, 29 proteins were identified that showed significantly altered PBMC expression. These consisted mainly of cytoskeletal and metabolism proteins, the researchers note.

Inflammatory response proteins such as Heat-shock protein 70 and lymphocyte-specific protein phosphatases were found at increased intensities compared with after eating placebo cereal bars. A protein known to promote vascular fibrinolysis, alpha-enolase, was also detected at elevated concentrations, the study findings show.

After soy extract consumption, proteins found to increase vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation and migration, such as galectin-1, were identified at reduced concentrations compared with samples taken during placebo consumption.

"Further... trials are needed to validate the changes in PBMC proteome... and the in vivo effects of soy isoflavones," Dagmur Fuchs (Technical University of Munich) and team conclude.