Low cal diet plus soy protein good for cholesterol
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By David Liu, Ph.D. and editing by Aimee Keenan-Green
Statins, anti-cholesterol medications, may not be the only treatment for high serum cholesterol.
Using a low calorie diet with soy protein may be even more helpful.
The new study in the April 2011 issue of Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences showed hyperlipidemic patients who followed a low caloric diet supplemented with soy protein for four weeks had their cholesterol levels reduced significantly.
M. Moroozi of Qazvin University of Medical Science in Qazvin, Iran gave 52 subjects a low-cal diet with 1,400 kcal of which 18 percent came from protein, 24 percent from fat and 58 percent from carbohydrates.
The subjects aged 25 to 65 had hyperlipidemia and they were treated with the low cal diet for four weeks. The study subjects used a low calorie diet supplemented with 30 grams of soy protein per day.
Blood samples collected 12 hours before the study and at the end of the 4-week treatment were analyzed for triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol, and high density lipoprotein. Anthropometric parameters were also measured.
The researchers found all patients on the low calorie diet had their weight, body mass index (BMI) , waist and hip circumference reduced.
Compared to the controls, those who used both a low cal diet and soy protein had lower levels of low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol at the end of the 4-week intervention.
The researchers concluded that the study suggests that a low calorie diet with soy protein may be safe and effective at diminishing the cardiovascular risk in hyperlipidemic patients.
Cholesterol has been linked to higher risk of cardiovascular disease although some researchers found that other factors may play a major role.
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