Study, Soy Reduces Heart Disease For Women

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - A doctor, who heads a government-sponsored study in Japan said Monday, that people, especially older women, who regularly eat traditional Japanese-soy-based food regularly, reduced the risks of heart disease.

In the research, it showed that soybeans, which was eaten as tofu, miso soup or "natto", a Japanese fermented beans, contained high level of isoflavones, a natural and good source of estrogen, which is similar to the female hormone.

It said that a woman who takes soy at least five times a week will lessen the risk of having heart attacks or strokes than those women who consumed the least.

According to Japan's National Cardiovascular Center chief doctor of preventive cardiology Yoshihiko Kokubo, the results of the study were more striking to women past their menopause, with a falling rate of 0.25.

"The fact that women past menopause had fewer risks of disease show isoflavones play a supportive role in preventing heart attacks," he said..

Estrogen decreased once a woman started to menopause thus, making estrogen the most important female hormone, which greatly affects the menstrual cycle of a woman and is essential for the female body to function normally.