Study finds no blood pressure gains from soy foods
Source: Agencies |
May 29, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SOY-RICH diets have been linked to lower rates of heart disease, but soy supplements alone may not do anything for older women's blood pressure, a United States study says.
The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, add to the mixed evidence on the benefits of soy isoflavones - compounds that are thought to have weak estrogen-like effects in some body tissue.
Its been known that Asian populations with soy-rich diets have lower rates of heart disease compared with people who eat "Western" diets, but it has not been clear whether soy isoflavone supplements have cardiovascular benefits, such as cutting blood pressure.
A number of studies have found that intravenous infusions of soy isoflavones may boost the body's production of nitric oxide and help blood vessels dilate.
"But we don't take soy by infusion," said William Wong, a nutrition researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who led the study.
On top of that, those studies looked at short-term effects on blood vessel function, and not whether there are "sustained" benefits for blood pressure.
So for their study, Wong and his colleagues randomly assigned 24 menopausal women to take either soy isoflavones or placebo tablets for six weeks.
All of the women started the study with moderately elevated blood pressure. After six weeks, Wong's team found that women on the soy supplement were faring no better than those on the placebo.
The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, add to the mixed evidence on the benefits of soy isoflavones - compounds that are thought to have weak estrogen-like effects in some body tissue.
Its been known that Asian populations with soy-rich diets have lower rates of heart disease compared with people who eat "Western" diets, but it has not been clear whether soy isoflavone supplements have cardiovascular benefits, such as cutting blood pressure.
A number of studies have found that intravenous infusions of soy isoflavones may boost the body's production of nitric oxide and help blood vessels dilate.
"But we don't take soy by infusion," said William Wong, a nutrition researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who led the study.
On top of that, those studies looked at short-term effects on blood vessel function, and not whether there are "sustained" benefits for blood pressure.
So for their study, Wong and his colleagues randomly assigned 24 menopausal women to take either soy isoflavones or placebo tablets for six weeks.
All of the women started the study with moderately elevated blood pressure. After six weeks, Wong's team found that women on the soy supplement were faring no better than those on the placebo.
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