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Better Than Statins? A Popular, Plant-based Staple Could Help You Lower Cholesterol By Whopping 70%

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High cholesterol, often referred to as the “silent killer,” can have detrimental effects on cardiovascular health and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Medicines such as statins are commonly used to lower cholesterol levels, but new research suggests that incorporating soybeans into one’s diet may also be effective.

Soybeans, a staple in plant-based diets, are rich in vitamins and minerals and have been linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular issues.

This study may change the perception that soybeans are only for vegans.

According to research that was published in the journal Antioxidants, eating protein B-conglycinin-rich soy flour may lower “bad” cholesterol levels.

Scientists found that using this soy product reduced levels of harmful lipids (cholesterol and others) by as much as 70%.

Even more impressive was soy’s ability to reduce the danger of metabolic disorders such fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis (the hardening of the arteries due to an excess of fatty substances).

Soybeans have been lauded for their cholesterol-lowering abilities for quite some time, but the method by which they achieve this benefit was the focus of this recent study.

“Soybeans’ effects on cholesterol metabolism are not only associated with their protein concentrations and composition,” points out study author Elvira de Mejia, “but also with the peptides embedded in them that are released during gastrointestinal digestion.”

Different kinds of soybean flour included varying amounts of two proteins, glycinin and B-conglycinin, which were analyzed by the scientists.

These types had a glycinin content that varied between 22% and 60%, and a B-conglycinin ratio that was anywhere from 22% to 52%.

Using a model of how humans digest food, the team found that digestion produces 13 bioactive peptides, most of which come from just two proteins.

Moreover, the researchers discovered that the inhibitory qualities were two to seven times less strong than simvastatin, a famous medicine used to treat excessive levels of “bad” cholesterol and fat levels in the blood.

According to the study author, the digested soybean peptides were found to decrease lipid accumulation by 50-70%, “that’s very important.”

“That was comparable to the statin, which reduced it by 60 percent.”

In addition, the soy types reduce oxidized “bad” cholesterol – the sort that dangerously accumulates on the artery walls.

“One of the key risk factors of atherosclerosis is oxidised LDL [bad] cholesterol,” adds the author, “therefore, we investigated the preventive effects of the soybean digests at eight different concentrations.

“Each of them reduced the LDL oxidation rate in a dose-dependent manner, inhibiting the formation of both early and late oxidation products associated with the disease.”

When there was more B-conglycinin in the blood, it was especially helpful because it cut down on oxidized “bad” cholesterol and other fats in the blood.

Not only did soybean flour help people with high cholesterol, but it also helped people with other health problems.

“We also clearly saw different markers that were influenced by key enzymes that regulate hepatic lipogenesis – the development of a fatty liver,” Mejia adds.

This shows that there may be a way to prevent fatty liver disease.

Image Credit: Getty

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