This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nestel, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nestel, P. Pubmed/NCBI databases Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Hazardous Substances DB CHOLESTEROL

(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2002;22:1743.)
© 2002 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorials

Role of Soy Protein in Cholesterol-Lowering

How Good Is It?

Paul Nestel

From the Baker Medical Research Institute (Wynn Domain), Melbourne, Australia.

Address correspondence to Dr Paul Nestel, MD, or Wynn Domain, Baker Medical Research Institute, PO Box 6492 St Kilda Rd Central, Melbourne 8008, Australia. E-mail paul.nestel@baker.edu.au

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

In 1999, the Food and Drug Administration authorized a health claim for the cholesterol-lowering potential of modest intakes of soy protein. This has been controversial partly because much of the evidence was based on a meta-analysis published in 1995¹ that some nutritionists regarded as inadequate. About half of the quoted studies showed minor or no cholesterol-lowering effects and three of every four trials included in the meta-analysis had such wide confidence limits that an alternative conclusion might have been reached with equal validity. The meta-analysis certainly predicted the variability in results that would follow. Nevertheless, there have been sufficient well designed and executed studies to indicate a likely, although quite modest, effect on plasma lipids that seems to be confounded by as yet unidentified variables.

See page 1852

Subsequent clinical trials have approached the problem in several ways. Soy protein containing defined amounts of isoflavones has been compared against another source of protein, mostly casein or whole milk. In some studies, the soy protein has been largely depleted of its isoflavone content through ethanolic extraction. Finally, several trials have focused on purified isoflavones, mostly from red clover. The precise constituent in soy protein responsible for LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering is uncertain. The isoflavone content has been a strong candidate since some trials had shown that isoflavone-depleted protein was ineffective.^2,3 In a statement on behalf of the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee, Dr John Erdman suggested that there might be a synergy between the components of soy protein since no single . . . [Full Text of this Article]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Dewell, P. L. W. Hollenbeck, and C. B. Hollenbeck A Critical Evaluation of the Role of Soy Protein and Isoflavone Supplementation in the Control of Plasma Cholesterol Concentrations J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., March 1, 2006; 91(3): 772 - 780. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Ma, D. Chiriboga, B. C. Olendzki, R. Nicolosi, P. A. Merriam, and I. S. Ockene Effect of Soy Protein Containing Isoflavones on Blood Lipids in Moderately Hypercholesterolemic Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial J. Am. Coll. Nutr., August 1, 2005; 24(4): 275 - 285. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. Mezei, W. J. Banz, R. W. Steger, M. R. Peluso, T. A. Winters, and N. Shay Soy Isoflavones Exert Antidiabetic and Hypolipidemic Effects through the PPAR Pathways in Obese Zucker Rats and Murine RAW 264.7 Cells J. Nutr., May 1, 2003; 133(5): 1238 - 1243. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]