Objective: To ascertain the effects of soy [in the forms of Textured Soy Protein (TSP) and soy-nut] on lipid profiles, apolipoproteins, inflammatory and prothrombotic markers and blood pressure in elderly women with the metabolic syndrome.
Materials and methods: The study is a 12-week parallel randomized controlled trial that was conducted in rural health centres of Babol, Iran. The participants were 75 women 60-70 years old with the metabolic syndrome who were randomized to one of the three groups of soy-nut (35g/d), TSP (35g/d) and control. Blood pressure and blood biochemical markers were measured at baseline and at the end of the study including, triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, VLDL-C, ApoB100, ApoAI, CRP and fibrinogen.
Results: The soy-nut improved significantly LDL-C, VLDL-C and Apo B100 (P<0.05) while fewer improvements but significant were observed in these variables in the TSP group only when compared with the mean changes from the baseline (P<0.001). Similar result was found for Apo AI in the treatment groups (P<0.01). Serum total cholesterol decreased significantly in the treatment groups compared with control group (P<0.005). The differences from control for triglyceride, HDL-C, fibrinogen, CRP and blood pressure were not significant.
Conclusion: Both forms of soy while improved lipids profiles the soy-nut contribution was more to this improvement than the TSP. Therefore, moderate daily intake of soy may be a safe, cheap and practical method to improve cardiovascular disease risk and also reduce the need for medical treatment.