The Benefits of Soy for Your Cardiovascular Health

If you’re trying to be more mindful of your cardiovascular health, you’ve probably wondered if soy can be beneficial to your heart. Most likely you’ve heard contradicting information about whether or not soy can be safe to consume.

In short, replacing meat or other animal protein with soy products can be beneficial to cholesterol levels, if cholesterol levels are already high, as well as offering other cardiovascular benefits.

We’ll go over some of the confusion about the benefits of soy and why some medical professionals may be hesitant to recommend it to their patients. Knowing the best types of protein to consume and who would benefit most from adding soy to their diet can help clear things up.

Can Soy Be Good for Your Heart?

Soy foods are considered to lower the risk of heart disease due to the isoflavones they contain, which are estrogen-like substances made by soy plants. The production of estrogen lowers as women age, especially during and after menopause. The belief is that adding soy foods to your diet can help to compensate for that estrogen loss.

However, there is some confusion about the benefits of soy. Let’s take a look at some of the studies that have been conducted on the subject.

One study published in Circulation, the American Heart Association’s journal, showed that the risk of heart disease was 18% lower in those who consumed at least one serving of tofu per week.

However, for people with low or normal cholesterol levels, there didn’t appear to be the same cholesterol-reducing effects of eating soy products.

Multiple studies have taken place adding soy protein to the diets of people with healthy cholesterol levels and each of them found no significant difference in cholesterol levels by the end of the study. Considering that the participants’ cholesterol levels were already in a healthy range, this doesn’t fully discount the benefits of soy since it offers other perks for the cardiovascular system.

For people with high cholesterol levels, studies have shown a decrease in both the total and LDL cholesterol levels after switching to a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol with the inclusion of soy protein. The difference in cholesterol levels was less perceptible in those who incorporated soy protein with lower isoflavone content though.

When soy protein was used as a replacement for animal proteins and consisted of more than half of a person’s daily protein intake, LDL cholesterol was seen to lower slightly.

Soy and the Western Diet

The countries that consume the most isoflavones in their diets, China and Japan, have lower rates of heart disease than other countries following a typical Western diet. For example, the average soy consumption of a person in Japan can be up to 55 grams per day, whereas a typical diet in the United States consists of less than 5 grams of soy per day. In 1998, there were twice as many cardiovascular disease-related deaths of American men compared to Japanese men and triple the rate in American women compared to Japanese women. Although soy products can not take full credit for this drastic difference, the isoflavones definitely play a role in protecting heart health.

What Cardiovascular Benefits Can Soy Offer?

Medical professionals still don’t agree on the efficacy of soy protein or isoflavones for cardiovascular health. However, certain soy products such as tofu, soy butter, soy nuts, and some soy burgers are still believed to promote cardiovascular health due to other nutritional factors, such as polyunsaturated fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Some possible cardiovascular benefits of isoflavone-rich soy include:

Decreased cholesterol in those with high LDL levels
Decreased triglycerides in those with high levels
Decreased overall cholesterol levels in those with high levels
Increased HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol)
Less fat buildup around the organs

When referring to the health benefits of eating isoflavone-rich soy foods, it is often recommended that they be used in place of animal protein foods. Using soy protein in this way can help to keep your fat and carbohydrate consumption under control, which can have a positive effect on heart health.

Does All Soy Have Cardiovascular Benefits?

While soy foods can help improve cardiovascular health, not all soy products are created equal. Soy milk is a more processed form of soy and often has added sugar. It wasn’t found to have the same impact on heart health as other isoflavone-rich foods. If you’re looking for cardiovascular support, skip the soy milk and opt for soy foods that contain more isoflavones.

Top choices for isoflavone-rich soy foods:

Tofu
Edamame
Soy nuts
Tempeh
Miso soup

Tofu is one of the most commonly consumed soy foods packed with isoflavones. If you’re not a fan of tofu, edamame can also do the trick. There are also other non-soy sources of isoflavones. You can boost your heart health with chickpeas, fava beans, pistachios, and peanuts.

Isoflavone-rich foods can help lower the risk of heart disease, but they shouldn’t be relied on as your only cardiovascular-supporting effort. It’s essential to consume a well-rounded healthy diet and put healthy lifestyle changes into practice for optimal heart health. A diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol is one of the most important components of a heart-healthy lifestyle.

How Do You Know if You Should Add Soy to Your Diet?

There are some indicators that you may want to consider adding soy protein to your diet.

Family history of heart disease, you may want to add isoflavone-rich soy foods to your meals.
High cholesterol, replacing some of the animal protein in your diet with soy or other foods that contain isoflavones.
If you are postmenopausal, soy protein can help offset symptoms of estrogen loss.

Summary

Now you know how soy can be beneficial for your physical and mental wellbeing. You also know the signals your body may be sending out to tell you that it needs some additional support for your cardiovascular health. You’ve seen how easy it can be to eat your way to a healthier heart. Adding more soy to your diet can help alleviate or prevent some of the symptoms of poor cardiovascular health.

While a healthy diet and lifestyle are extremely helpful for a strong cardiovascular system, it’s important to seek out professional care if the problem persists. If you’re experiencing symptoms of poor cardiovascular health that don’t respond to diet and lifestyle changes, contact us today to book an appointment.