Eating Soy Foods May Reduce Fracture Rate
Eating Soy Foods May Reduce Fracture Rate
Sept. 12, 2005 -- Women who eat the most soy foods have the fewest bone fractures after menopause.
That's the word from a study of 24,403 postmenopausal Chinese women. Within 10 years of menopause, the 20% who ate the most soy foods reported half as many fractures as the 20% who ate the least soy.
Soy protected against fracture at every level of consumption over 5 grams a day. But those who ate more than 13 grams of soy a day -- getting more than 60 milligrams of soy isoflavones a day -- got the most benefit.
Soy protected against bone loss but did not appear to strengthen weak bones, says researcher Xiao-Ou Shu, MD, PhD, MPH, professor of medicine at Nashville's Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Shu and her colleagues report the findings in the Sept. 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
"We saw the protective effect of soy was much better for women who just had menopause, within 10 years," Shu tells WebMD. "Afterward, soy is still protective, but it not as much as in the recently menopausal women."
If you think that these Chinese women ate more soy than you possibly could, think again.
The highest level of consumption among Chinese women was about 13 grams of soy protein a day. A cup of soy milk contains about 6.6 grams. A half piece of tofu contains about 8 grams.
"That is definitely manageable," Shu says. "Please note that women in the middle consumption group also had a 30% risk reduction for bone fracture. The amount of soy food consumption in that group is about a half piece of tofu or a little more than 1 cup of soy milk per day."
Just about everyone knows that calcium is needed to build strong bones. But soy has a different bone-protecting effect, says soy isoflavone expert Kenneth D.R. Setchell, PhD, of Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.
Setchell's research team is in the middle of a long-term experiment. The researchers are giving postmenopausal women two glasses of soy milk every day. Half the women get soy milk with a major soy component -- soy isoflavones -- removed.
That's the word from a study of 24,403 postmenopausal Chinese women. Within 10 years of menopause, the 20% who ate the most soy foods reported half as many fractures as the 20% who ate the least soy.
Soy protected against fracture at every level of consumption over 5 grams a day. But those who ate more than 13 grams of soy a day -- getting more than 60 milligrams of soy isoflavones a day -- got the most benefit.
Soy protected against bone loss but did not appear to strengthen weak bones, says researcher Xiao-Ou Shu, MD, PhD, MPH, professor of medicine at Nashville's Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Shu and her colleagues report the findings in the Sept. 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
"We saw the protective effect of soy was much better for women who just had menopause, within 10 years," Shu tells WebMD. "Afterward, soy is still protective, but it not as much as in the recently menopausal women."
2 Cups of Soy Milk -- or Less
If you think that these Chinese women ate more soy than you possibly could, think again.
The highest level of consumption among Chinese women was about 13 grams of soy protein a day. A cup of soy milk contains about 6.6 grams. A half piece of tofu contains about 8 grams.
"That is definitely manageable," Shu says. "Please note that women in the middle consumption group also had a 30% risk reduction for bone fracture. The amount of soy food consumption in that group is about a half piece of tofu or a little more than 1 cup of soy milk per day."
The Preventive Power of Soy
Just about everyone knows that calcium is needed to build strong bones. But soy has a different bone-protecting effect, says soy isoflavone expert Kenneth D.R. Setchell, PhD, of Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.
Setchell's research team is in the middle of a long-term experiment. The researchers are giving postmenopausal women two glasses of soy milk every day. Half the women get soy milk with a major soy component -- soy isoflavones -- removed.
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