Take Soya for Lower Cholesterol

Some people have been talking about taking soya to lower cholesterol levels. How much of this is folk-lore and how much of it is true?

The FDA have allowed companies to claim that 25g of soya protein a day, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, "may reduce the risk of heart disease". This is based on the agency's evaluation of studies and they concluded that soya is able to cut cholesterol.

In 2006, an Americal Heart Association advisory panel reviewed a decade of studies and determined that soya product had no significant effects on good cholesterol or HDL, or triglycerides (fat in the blood), and little or no ability to lower "bad" cholesterol or LDL.

Another study published in August in The Americal Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that taking 24g of soya protein daily had no "significant effect on plasma LDL." in people with mildly elevated cholesterol.

Yet another line of research shows that soya seems to help if soya is taken with foods that's low in fat and high in fibre.

The evidence is rather inconclusive, but there are indications that it might be possibly true. For sure, it has no negative effect. So, try it and let us know.

Source: The New York Times