Fern Lawson

March 6, 2008
NTR 302
Soy Protein and Cardiac Health

The soybean is a legume plant that originated in eastern Asia. The bacteria living

within the roots help in the utilization and production of nitrogen in a process called

nitrogen fixation, which is used in the soy plant to produce proteins. The pod, or flower

is where the nutrients of the plant are housed, and this is the part of the plant that is

harvested for human consumption as well as several other uses (1). As technology and

knowledge about the soybean have developed so have the uses for soy expanded. Only a

few examples of some the ways soy is being utilized include: soy adhesives, insulation,

crayons, fiber, and soy-based furniture, paints, pesticides, cleaners, and plastics. Another

innovative discovery for the use of soy is making biodiesel fuel that runs as well as diesel

fuel, but burns cleaner for the purpose of lowering greenhouse gas emissions (2).

Although the latter uses of soy plants are readily utilized, one of the main purposes of

soybean production is for consumption. Soy milk, cereal, edamame, flour, protein

powder, tofu and soybean oil are only a few of the food products made with soybeans.

Soy and soy products have become increasingly popular amongst the food market

because several studies have demonstrated that soy protein may help lower cholesterol,

therefore reducing the possible incidence of developing cardiovascular disease. It is

important to note that the protein found in the soybean is a complete protein, meaning

that soy contains all of the essential amino acids needed to be equivalent to animal

protein. This characteristic of soy allows it place in a diet to substitute out animal

protein, but the consumer can still receive the benefits of animal protein minus the

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cholesterol-causing saturated fats (3).

Several studies have shown that the isoflavones and protein in soy may reduce the

risk and risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD).

Being the number one killer in the United States, the prevention of heart disease is

thoroughly researched especially in the area of correlation between personal nutrition and

cardiovascular health. Risk factors typically associated with heart disease that are

included in most researches include HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides,

lipoproteins, and blood pressure. In reading and interpreting several researches

conducted about the effects of soy on potentially lowering the risk of CVD and CHD,

both evidence supporting and evidence not supporting this possible correlation were

found.

A double-blind study was conducted that involved the comparison of two groups,

one consumed cow’s milk and the other group consumed soy milk for a period lasting

three months (4). The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effect and

differences in effectiveness of either cow’s milk or soy milk in lowering blood pressure

in both women and men. Subjects in this experiment ranged from 25 men between the

ages of 18 to 70 years and 15 women between the ages of 50 and 70 years who had been

diagnosed with hypertension. Blood pressure ranges of the persons for diastolic pressure

included between 90 and 109 mmHg and for systolic between 140 and 179 mmHg. A

brand of commercial soy milk and skim cow’s milk were issued to the individuals at

500mL, two times a day for three months, with the request that no one alter any other

typical diet habits. After three months, results of the experiment indicated that there was

a significantly larger decrease in blood pressure amongst the experimental group,

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drinking the soy milk, as compared to the control group, drinking the skim milk. Results

demonstrated a decrease in diastolic blood pressure of about 18.4-10.7 mmHg and in

systolic a decrease of about 15.9-9.8 mmHg, as compared to a decrease in 7.2-1.4 mmHg

and 5.0-3.7 mmHg (respectively) in the control group consuming cow’s milk. The study

states that the presence of the isoflavonoid genistein in urine also had a strong correlation

with a lowered blood pressure especially in the diastolic measurements. This data

suggests that certain isoflavones may be controlling the blood pressure lowering effects

of soy, but there is also a chance that the protein and other components of soy milk could

be doing the same thing (4). It’s important to note that the study was performed on

groups of people that had mild to moderate cases of hypertension, and that no research

was conducted on the effects of soy milk in the severely hypertensive community. In

interpreting the explained experiment, it is important to note that the study group was a

small sample size of only 40 people, which potentially limits the validity of any

experimental data. Also the differences between soy milk and cow’s milk is more than

just the presence of isoflavonoids, but also the difference in levels of protein,

carbohydrates, and the types of lipids in the milk. This study supports the hypothesis of a

correlation between the consumption of soy and reduction in the risk factors contributing

to CVD and CHD.

Another experiment by a group of scientists was conducted in China examining

the same idea that soy is associated with lowering the risk for developing CHD, but the

experimental group used was much different than the one utilized in the latter study. The

population group utilized in this project consisted of 64,915 women in urban Shanghai

who ranged in age from 40 to 70 years. Purposely, the experiment was conducted using

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the above population because of the tendency for the Asian population to consume high

amounts of soy based food and also have an overall lower risk of developing coronary

heart disease (5). The study found that the median dietary intake of soy protein per day

was 7.36 grams, and that most of the consumed soy protein came from soy milk, tofu,

and other processed soy products. Each subject was involved in a follow-up food

questionnaire at about two years after the initial interview in a time spanning between the

years 1997-2002. After the follow-up visits several trends were found amongst the

population of women and their consumption of soy protein. Women with higher

consumption levels of soy protein tended to be older, more likely to exercise, less likely

to smoke, and coincidentally have higher BMI and waist-to-hip ratio mainly due to being

older and postmenopausal. However, the overall statistics of the study still demonstrated

that the risk of total CHD decreased when women consumed more total soy protein (5).

From interpreting the data, the end results may have been skewed in the fact that the food

questionnaire given in the follow-up visit may not be the best way to calculate total soy

protein intake, because it can’t be as accurate as in a more controlled environment.

One major risk factor associated with cardiovascular disease is the level of both

LDL (low density lipoprotein) and HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol. LDL

cholesterol is considered the “bad” cholesterol out of the two, because LDL can stick to

arterial walls and arteries causing blockages leading to a myocardial infarction and

potential fatality. HDL cholesterol, on the other hand, is cholesterol that is necessary to

carry out proper body functions and maintenance. One study actually focused on the

effects of soy protein on these serum lipids in the bodies of a different type of population,

healthy young men. The conductors of the study stated that much research has been

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conducted on the effects of soy on heart health in relation to an older population

consisting mostly of women with high cholesterol levels. Yet, the author of the study

states that “it is also important to study healthy, normolipidemic subjects” (6). In the

experiment, 35 healthy young men between the ages of 20 to 40 years of age were

required to add supplemental protein powders to their normal diets. The three different

types of powders included milk protein isolate, ethanol-extracted low-isoflavone soy

protein isolate, and high-isoflavone soy protein isolate. Between the 35 participants each

individual was randomly given one of the powders to supplement into their diets, as well

as specific instructions on how to properly incorporate and record food consumption.

Throughout the 57 day period of the study, the individuals filled out three day food

records three times during the experiment and blood samples and urine samples were

taken at both the beginning and end of the study. Analysis of the data shows that the only

notable changes in the diets of participants include higher protein intake, more calcium,

and less fat intake. The levels of isoflavones, genistein and daidzein, collected in the

urine samples had greatly increased with consumption of both the soy protein powders

but not in the milk protein powder. The study concluded that serum lipids of LDL and

HDL cholesterol saw no significant changes with any of the three treatments (6).

Although the study above found that the consumption of soy resulted in no

notable changes in serum lipids in the participants, an article written in Cardiology News

discusses another study conducted that produced evidence supporting the effects of soy

protein supplementation as being lipid lowering (7). In several controlled studies,

dietitian Deborah Bujnowski (who conducted the studies) found that mean soy protein

intake averaged around 43.2 grams per day. After the participants completed the study,

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which lasted about an average of nine weeks, an average of around 5.16 mg per dL was

noted in patients as a decrease in total serum cholesterol. A decrease in both LDL

cholesterol, of 6.83 mg per dL, and triglycerides was more noticeable in

hypercholesterolmic subjects in comparison to those with out the disorder (7). Other data

collected involved that of the potential relationship between isoflavones and a decline in

the same serum lipid levels. After consuming large doses of isoflavones of 92.5 mg per

day, the subjects found a trend in the reduction of total cholesterol levels including LDL

levels (7).

An article found in the Journal of the American Heart Association discussed the

idea of soy protein and isoflavones decreasing the risk factors associated with

cardiovascular disease. The article discusses that in experiments studying soy protein

with isoflavones, the participants typically consumed 25 to 135 grams of soy protein per

day and got 40 to 318mg of isoflavones. In these studies LDL (“bad”) cholesterol did

decrease at about 3%, which is relatively low. More studies involved the same idea, but

participants were asked to consume 50 grams of soy protein a day and ended up showing

similar results to the other studies. The author of the article indicates that 50 grams of

protein is a large amount that is much higher than the daily average total protein intake in

the United States (8). More studies analyzed included ones involving the consumption of

soy protein without isoflavones. These experiments were highly controlled with fixed,

planned meals and large amounts of soy protein (from 50 to 55 grams) were eaten daily.

Some of the studies showed small decreases in LDL cholesterol and others found no

reduction. Most of the trails involving soy protein found that LDL cholesterol reduction

typically occurred in a certain participant population and only at a very small percentage

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rate of about 2%. Other predictors of CVD including lipoprotein levels and blood

pressure were examined, and no significant changes were seen in the study measuring

lipoprotein levels. One study claimed that blood pressure decreased blood pressure, but

five others still only saw a slight change by a decrease of about 1 mmHg systolic blood

pressure, yet still not notably significant. The article conclusively came to the decision

that any supplements including isoflavones are not necessary, but a diet incorporating soy

protein may be beneficial because of the high levels of polyunsaturated fats, low levels of

saturated fats, high levels of fiber, and vitamins and minerals the plant contains (8).

The growing concern for knowledge relating to heart health, and the growing

popularity of soy food consumption amongst the population has driven many of these

studies to be conducted. In analyzing several studies involving the effects of soy protein

on cardiovascular disease, most tend to support the notion that there is some correlation

between increased soy protein consumption and decreased risk for CVD and CHD.

However, none of the studies admitted to noting a drastically significant lowering effect

of soy on the risk factors of CVD. Although much of the data did not confirm a

correlation between soy protein and lowered risk of CVD, soy is still a healthy food that

can be incorporated into any diet in order to receive many nutritional benefits. Much

research has gone into studying the effects that certain foods have on cardiovascular

disease and the risks associated with the disease mainly because cardiovascular disease

claims the life of over one million Americans a year, and as a result costs the nation

around 120 billion dollars a year (9). One of the main purposes of studying the science of

nutrition is to gain knowledge about the effects that food has on overall health, and to

inform and educate the public so that the growing population may lead an optimal healthy

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lifestyle. Researching the effects of soy on potentially lowering cardiovascular disease

risk is just one of the millions of foods researched everyday that further broadens the

knowledge about food and its relationship with the human body.

References

1. Ritchie SW, Hanway JJ, Thompson HE, and Benson GO. Soybean growth and
management quick guide. 2004. http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/plantsci/
rowcrops/a1174/a1174-2.htm. February 28, 2008.
2. Biodiesel. Illinois Soybean Association. 2008 http://www.ilsoy.org/biodiesel/.
February 28, 2008.
3. Soy, heart health and cholesterol. Silk Soy Nutrition Center. 2008.
http://www.soynutrition.com/SoyHealth/SoyHealthCholesterol.aspx. February 28,
2008.
4. Rives M, Garay R, Escanero J, Cia P Jr, Cia p, Alda J. Soy milk lowers blood
pressure in men and women with mild to moderate essential hypertension. J Nutr
2002;132:1900-1902.
5. Zhang X, Shu XO, Gao Y-T, et al. Soy food consumption is associated with lower
risk of coronary heart disease in Chinese women. J Nutr 2003;133:2874-2878
6. McVeigh B, Dillingham B, Lampe J, Duncan A. Effect of soy protein varying in
isoflavone content on serum lipids in healthy young men. Am J Clin Nutr
2006;83:244-251.
7. Jancin B. Added soy shown to lower serum lipids. Cardiology News 2005:14.
8. Sacks F, Lichtenstein A, Van Horn L, et al. Soy protein, isoflavones, and
cardiovascular health: a summary of a statement for professionals from the
American Heart Association Nutrition Committee. J Am Heart Association
2006;26:1689-1692.
9. Anderson JW, Johnstone BM. Meta-analysis of effects of soy protein intake on
serum lipids in humans. N Eng J Med 1995;333: 276-282.