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Would Soy Lower Bad Cholesterol Levels? Our body needs some cholesterol in order to function properly. Cholesterol is a waxy, soft fatty substance made in the liver and other cells and can also be found in certain foods including dairy products, eggs, and meat. There are good and bad cholesterol in our body. The good one is called high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and the bad one is low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Presence of high level of LDL in the bloodstream can cause atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries), which can in turn lead to coronary heart disease and other vascular diseases. On the other hand, when a person has lower than normal level of HDL, he or she can also be at risk of cardiovascular disease. This is because HDL helps the body get rid of bad cholesterol that does not dissolve well in water in the blood. In order to minimize the risk of getting heart disease, one should have high HDL and low LDL. According to American Heart Association (AHA), having HDL levels below 50 mg/dL is a major risk factor for heart disease in women, while 60 mg/dL is believed to help protect the heart. Diet plays an important role in controlling one’s cholesterol level. It is generally believed that soy products can help control cholesterol level. Soy is cholesterol-free and contains soluble fibers that can reduce amount of cholesterol circulating in the blood. Meanwhile, most of the fats in soy products are poly-unsaturated, and soy isoflavones might prevent atherosclerosis. Because soy protein contains all of the amino acids the body needs, soy has become very popular as a substitute for animal protein.
Many clinical studies had highlighted the soy’s ability of lowering LDL cholesterol levels. One of the studies, published in the ‘New England Journal of Medicines’ in 1995, concluded that soy protein could significantly reduce total and LDL cholesterol as well as triglycerides. Triglycerides are another type of fat formed because of excess calories, alcohol, or sugar in the body. They are stored in fat cells throughout the body. High level of triglycerides is another leading risk factor of heart disease. Since 1999, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has allowed soy product to claim that diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol, along with 25 grams of soy protein daily, might reduce risk of heart disease. Nevertheless, some studies have expressed doubts on such benefits. AHA even changed their standing in 2000 to say that the benefit of soy protein or isoflavones is minimal at best. In 2010, researchers from Florida State University in Tallahassee reported that eating extra soy for 1 year did not help postmenopausal women lower their cholesterol levels. Their findings were published in May/June 2010’s issue (Volume 17 - Issue 3) of the journal ‘Menopause’. When a woman stops having her period, her estrogen levels drop. This would in turn raise her level of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, and at the same time reduce her HDL cholesterol. Containing estrogen-like substances known as isoflavones, soy has been promoted as having health benefits for women after menopause, including lowering cholesterol levels and strengthening bones. The study was conducted to investigate the long-term effects of soy protein in food, specifically 25 grams of soy protein and 60 milligrams of isoflavones every day for a year, in women after menopause. 87 postmenopausal and overweight women who were younger than 65 years old were enrolled in the study with 62 women completed the study. The study participants were divided into 2 groups: soy and control group. Participants in the soy group were randomly assigned to eat soy products or comparable products containing the milk protein casein, for a year. It was found that total cholesterol and HDL levels showed a small increase in the women given soy products, while soy had no effect on LDL cholesterol levels or triglyceride levels.
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