Elsevier

The Journal of Nutrition

Volume 140, Issue 12, December 2010, Pages 2302S-2311S
The Journal of Nutrition

Soy Protein Reduces Serum Cholesterol by Both Intrinsic and Food Displacement Mechanisms, ,

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Abstract

The apparently smaller LDL cholesterol (LDL-C)–lowering effect of soy in recent studies has prompted the U.S. FDA to reexamine the heart health claim previously allowed for soy products. We therefore attempted to estimate the intrinsic and extrinsic (displacement) potential of soy in reducing LDL-C to determine whether the heart health claim for soy continues to be justified. The intrinsic effect of soy was derived from a meta-analysis using soy studies (20–133 g/d soy protein) included in the recent AHA Soy Advisory. The extrinsic effect of soy in displacing foods higher in saturated fat and cholesterol was estimated using predictive equations for LDL-C and NHANES III population survey data with the substitution of 13–58 g/d soy protein for animal protein foods. The meta-analysis of the AHA Soy Advisory data gave a mean LDL-C reduction of 0.17 mmol/L (n = 22; P < 0.0001) or 4.3% for soy, which was confirmed in 11 studies reporting balanced macronutrient profiles. The estimated displacement value of soy (13–58 g/d) using NHANES III population survey data was a 3.6–6.0% reduction in LDL-C due to displacement of saturated fats and cholesterol from animal foods. The LDL-C reduction attributable to the combined intrinsic and extrinsic effects of soy protein foods ranged from 7.9 to 10.3%. Thus, soy remains one of a few food components that reduces serum cholesterol (>4%) when added to the diet.

Abbreviations used:

CHD
coronary heart disease
LDL-C
LDL cholesterol
SMD
standardized mean difference
TVP
texturized vegetable protein

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1

Published in a supplement to The Journal of Nutrition. Presented at the conference, “Soy Summit: Exploration of the Nutrition and Health Effects of Whole Soy,” held in New York, NY, September 21–22, 2009. The conference was organized by the Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia University, through an unrestricted educational grant from Pharmavite, LLC. The supplement coordinators for this supplement are Sharon R. Akabas, Columbia University, and Connie M. Weaver, Purdue University. Supplement Coordinator disclosure: S. Akabas and C. Weaver received travel costs and an honorarium from a nonrestricted educational grant provided by Pharmavite LLC to Columbia University for the Soy Summit, which served as the basis for this supplement. The grant provided funding for the summit and also covered the cost of this journal supplement. Connie M. Weaver serves on Pharmavite’s Advisory Board. The Guest Editor for this supplement is Neil Shay. Guest Editor Disclosure: Neil Shay declares no conflict of interest. The supplement is the responsibility of the guest editors to whom the Editor of The Journal of Nutrition has delegated supervision of both technical conformity to the published regulations of The Journal of Nutrition and general oversight of the scientific merit of each article. Publication costs for this supplement were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This publication must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and are not attributable to the sponsors or the publisher, Editor, or Editorial Board of The Journal of Nutrition.

2

Author disclosures: D.J.A. Jenkins and P.M. Kris-Etherton received an honorarium from an unrestricted educational grant through Columbia University from Pharmavite. D.J.A. Jenkins has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of Unilever, the Sanitarium Company, and the California Strawberry Commission. D.J.A. Jenkins and C.W.C. Kendall have been on the speaker’s panel for the Almond Board of California. C.W.C. Kendall, K. Srichaikul, and S. Abdulnour receive partial salary funding from research grants provided by Unilever, Loblaws, and the Almond Board of California. D.J.A. Jenkins has received honoraria for scientific advice from the Almond Board of California, Barilla, and Unilever Canada. A. Mirrahimi, C.E. Berryman, L. Wang, A. Carleton, J.L. Sievenpiper, no conflicts of interest.

3

Supplemental Table 1 and Supplemental Figures 1–5 are available with the online posting of this paper at jn.nutrition.org.