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http://www.newsmax.com/health/soy_belly_fat/2008/01/14/64158.html
Soy May Thwart Postmenopausal Belly Fat
Monday, January 14, 2008
A daily serving of soy may help postmenopausal women avoid gaining fat
around the middle, preliminary research suggests.
In a study of 18 postmenopausal women, researchers found that those who
drank a soy-based shake every day for three months tended to gain less
abdominal fat than those who had a milk-based shake.
Soy contains compounds called isoflavones that are structurally similar to
estrogen and bind to estrogen receptors in fat tissue. So in theory, soy
isoflavones could help regulate body fat metabolism.
The new findings appear to be the first to show that soy protein may affect
abdominal fat distribution, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Cynthia
K. Sites of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. They report the results
in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility.
The study included 18 women in their 50s who had been menopausal for one to
five years. Half were randomly assigned to drink a soy-based shake each day,
while the rest were given a shake containing the milk protein casein.
The women were told to drink half of a shake with breakfast, and the other
half with dinner, and to substitute the daily drink for other foods in their
diet in order to avoid weight gain.
After three months, the researchers found, women who drank the soy shake
showed less of a gain in abdominal fat, even though both groups showed
similar changes in weight and overall body fat.
It's not clear why soy protein might affect belly fat in particular,
according to Sites and her colleagues.
"Whatever the mechanism," they write, "our data suggest that soy protein
containing isoflavones may prevent the accumulation of fat in the abdominal
depot."
Because excess abdominal fat is especially related to higher risks of
diabetes and heart disease, limiting the well-known middle-age spread is
important, the investigators point out. They think larger, longer-term
studies should continue to investigate the potential of soy protein.
SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility, December 2007.
Soy May Thwart Postmenopausal Belly Fat
Monday, January 14, 2008
A daily serving of soy may help postmenopausal women avoid gaining fat
around the middle, preliminary research suggests.
In a study of 18 postmenopausal women, researchers found that those who
drank a soy-based shake every day for three months tended to gain less
abdominal fat than those who had a milk-based shake.
Soy contains compounds called isoflavones that are structurally similar to
estrogen and bind to estrogen receptors in fat tissue. So in theory, soy
isoflavones could help regulate body fat metabolism.
The new findings appear to be the first to show that soy protein may affect
abdominal fat distribution, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Cynthia
K. Sites of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. They report the results
in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility.
The study included 18 women in their 50s who had been menopausal for one to
five years. Half were randomly assigned to drink a soy-based shake each day,
while the rest were given a shake containing the milk protein casein.
The women were told to drink half of a shake with breakfast, and the other
half with dinner, and to substitute the daily drink for other foods in their
diet in order to avoid weight gain.
After three months, the researchers found, women who drank the soy shake
showed less of a gain in abdominal fat, even though both groups showed
similar changes in weight and overall body fat.
It's not clear why soy protein might affect belly fat in particular,
according to Sites and her colleagues.
"Whatever the mechanism," they write, "our data suggest that soy protein
containing isoflavones may prevent the accumulation of fat in the abdominal
depot."
Because excess abdominal fat is especially related to higher risks of
diabetes and heart disease, limiting the well-known middle-age spread is
important, the investigators point out. They think larger, longer-term
studies should continue to investigate the potential of soy protein.
SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility, December 2007.