Dubbed the “silent killer,” high cholesterol can cause problems with cardiovascular health, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. A drug known as a statin is here to lower the amount of cholesterol your body produces. However, soy can be very effective, according to new research.
Whether you’re adding soy milk to your coffee or mixing it into your noodles in stir-fried tofu cubes, soy has established itself as a popular plant over the past century.
And for good reason. Packed with various vitamins and minerals, soybeans are said to reduce the risk of various cardiovascular problems such as heart disease and stroke.
If you thought this plant-based diet was only for vegans, a new study might make you think again.
ResearchA study published in the journal Antioxidants found that consuming soy flour, which is rich in the protein B-conglycin, has the potential to lower “bad” cholesterol levels.
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The team looked at 19 varieties of soy flour, each containing different amounts of two proteins – glycinin and B-conglycinin.
The amount of glycine in these species ranges from 22% to 60%, and the ratio of B-conglycin ranges from 22% to 52%.
By simulating the human digestive process, the team identified 13 bioactive peptides produced during digestion, most of which were derived from these two proteins.
What’s more, the researchers found that it had two to seven times the inhibitory properties of simvastatin, a popular drug used to treat high levels of “bad” cholesterol and blood fat.
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The author of the study added, “The digested soybean peptides were able to reduce lipid accumulation by 50 percent to 70 percent, which is very important.”
“This was comparable to statins, which reduced it by 60 percent.”
In addition, soy varieties also cut down on oxidized “bad” cholesterol – the kind that dangerously builds up on your artery walls.
“One of the key risk factors for atherosclerosis is LDL oxidation,” Mejia said [bad] Cholesterol: Therefore, we investigated the protective effects of soybean meal in eight different batches.
“Each of them reduced LDL oxidation in a dose-dependent manner, inhibiting the formation of early and late oxidation products associated with the disease.”
High doses of B-conglycinin were found to be particularly beneficial, as the protein significantly reduced oxidized “bad” cholesterol and other lipids in the blood.
Moreover, high cholesterol was not the only condition benefiting from soy flour.
Mejia added: “We clearly saw different signals affected by key enzymes that control hepatic lipogenesis – the development of fatty liver.”
This shows the immunity of fatty liver.