A high-soy diet may boost a woman's chances of avoiding coronary heart disease (CHD).
This study investigated how the consumption of soy foods affects the risk of developing coronary heart disease in women. Using a validated food frequency questionnaire, researchers collected and examined data on the soy food intake of more than 70,000 Chinese women between the ages of 40 to 70 years and with no previous history of stroke, cancer, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. The coronary heart disease relative risk of each subject was also ascertained.Researchers found out that women who consumed high amounts of soy foods had less chances of developing coronary heart disease, especially nonfatal myocardial infarction, compared to their counterparts who rarely ate these types of foods. Evidence from this study support the inclusion of soy foods in a heart-healthy diet.