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Soya: the health protector - The health effects of SoyaHeart healthHeart disease is the biggest killer in the UK. Although preventable, it kills more than 70,000 people and 110,000 people have a heart attack in England every year (Department of Health, 2010). Evidence strongly links high blood cholesterol levels to heart disease and the UK population has some of the highest in the world. The government recommends levels should be less than 5mmol/L yet two out of three adults in the UK have levels above this (NHS Choices, 2009). In the 1990’s, researchers found that replacing animal protein such as meat, cheese and fish with soya protein in the form of tofu, soya milk and soya beans could helplower cholesterol and so protect against heart disease (Anderson et al., 1995). The role of soya protein in heart health has since been widely accepted and approved by many different health bodies. The UK government’s Joint Health Claims Initiative (JHCI) offers advice and a code of practice for both the UK food industry and consumers to ensure that health claims on foods are both scientifically truthful and legally acceptable. In 2002 the JHCI approved the health claim: “the inclusion of at least 25 grams of soya protein per day as part of a diet low in saturated fat can help reduce blood cholesterol” (JHCI, 2002). Exactly how soya protein does this is not yet clear. Research suggests that soya isoflavones alone do not lower cholesterol (Zhan and Ho, 2005). The beneficial effects are thought to come from a combination of factors (isoflavones and the types of amino acid found in whole soya), which work together (McVeigh et al., 2006).
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The Soya Story - ContentsResources:
Myth-Busting Soya and the Environment FAQs Soya research |
The Soya Story
The Safety of Soya 
Soya-Based Infant Formula 
The Soya Saga  |
Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation Top Suite, 8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol, BS2 8QH, UK T: 0117 970 5190 W: www.vegetarian.org.uk E: info@vegetarian.org.uk |
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