Taking soy supplements may help postmenopausal women slim down, suggests a new study.
Taking soy supplements may help postmenopausal women slim down.
Researchers have been interested in soy's potential for treating problems that affect women during and after menopause. These range from hot flashes to heart attack risk factors like high cholesterol. As oestrogen levels drop sharply when menstruation stops, it is believed that soy's estrogen-like properties could help with these symptoms. But studies have yielded conflicting results.
To determine the effect of daily soy supplementation on abdominal fat and glucose metabolism in postmenopausal women, researchers used soy-stuffed shakes, which included 20 grams of soy protein and 160 milligrams of soy isoflavones, or placebo shakes containing a milk protein called casein. They assigned 16 African-American women and 17 Native-American women to drink the shakes daily for three months.
X-rays found no difference in total body fat percentage between the soy and placebo groups after three months. But more precise computerised tomography (CT) scans did find 7.5 percent less abdominal fat in women given soy, compared to 9 percent more of such fat in the placebo group.
African-American women taking soy lost an average of 1.8 kilograms, or 4 pounds, while whites given soy put on 0.8 kilograms. But while Native-American women lost visceral fat -the fat surrounding the organs in the abdominal cavity - African-American women gained it. Deep abdominal fat is believed to be particularly important in the risks of health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
The findings of this study suggest that soy supplementation reduces abdominal fat in obese postmenopausal women even though the pattern of fat loss varies in different ethnic groups. While Native-Americans have greater abdominal fat reductions, African-Americans primarily show a reduction in total body fat.
Researchers have been interested in soy's potential for treating problems that affect women during and after menopause. These range from hot flashes to heart attack risk factors like high cholesterol. As oestrogen levels drop sharply when menstruation stops, it is believed that soy's estrogen-like properties could help with these symptoms. But studies have yielded conflicting results.
To determine the effect of daily soy supplementation on abdominal fat and glucose metabolism in postmenopausal women, researchers used soy-stuffed shakes, which included 20 grams of soy protein and 160 milligrams of soy isoflavones, or placebo shakes containing a milk protein called casein. They assigned 16 African-American women and 17 Native-American women to drink the shakes daily for three months.
X-rays found no difference in total body fat percentage between the soy and placebo groups after three months. But more precise computerised tomography (CT) scans did find 7.5 percent less abdominal fat in women given soy, compared to 9 percent more of such fat in the placebo group.
African-American women taking soy lost an average of 1.8 kilograms, or 4 pounds, while whites given soy put on 0.8 kilograms. But while Native-American women lost visceral fat -the fat surrounding the organs in the abdominal cavity - African-American women gained it. Deep abdominal fat is believed to be particularly important in the risks of health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
The findings of this study suggest that soy supplementation reduces abdominal fat in obese postmenopausal women even though the pattern of fat loss varies in different ethnic groups. While Native-Americans have greater abdominal fat reductions, African-Americans primarily show a reduction in total body fat.
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