In a new study, researchers found that eating tofu and foods that contain higher amounts of isoflavones was linked to a lower risk of heart disease, especially for younger women and postmenopausal women not taking hormones.
The research was conducted by a team at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
The team analyzed data from more than 200,000 people who participated in three prospective health and nutrition studies; all participants were free of cancer and heart disease when the studies began.
After eliminating a number of other factors known to increase heart risk, the team found:
Consuming tofu, which is high in isoflavones, more than once a week was associated with an 18% lower risk of heart disease, compared to a 12% lower risk for those who ate tofu less than once a month.
The favorable association with eating tofu regularly was found primarily in young women before menopause or postmenopausal women who were not taking hormones.
The team noted that populations that traditionally consume isoflavone-rich diets including tofu, such as in China and Japan, have lower heart disease risk compared to populations that follow a largely meat-rich and vegetable-poor diet.
However, the potential benefits of tofu and isoflavones as they relate to heart disease needs more research.
Tofu, which is soybean curd, and whole soybeans such as edamame are rich sources of isoflavones. Chickpeas, fava beans, pistachios, peanuts, and other fruits and nuts are also high in isoflavones.
Soymilk, on the other hand, tends to be highly processed and is often sweetened with sugar. This study found no significant association between soymilk consumption and lower heart disease risk.
In 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved health claims that soy edibles protect against heart disease.
However, since then, clinical trials and epidemiological studies have been inconclusive, and the agency is reconsidering its now twenty-year-old decision.
One author of the study is Qi Sun, M.D., Sc.D., a researcher at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
The study is published in Circulation.
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