Could Soy Help You Lose Weight?

Could adding soy to your diet help you lose weight? University of Illinois scientist John Erdman says preliminary findings are intriguing. Although reports in recent days have downplayed the research that links soy to heart health, Erdman said the evidence indicates that soy can help alleviate some of the symptoms of the chronic diseases related to obesity.

"A number of studies do link consumption of soy to improved cardiovascular health, including lower cholesterol and blood lipids," said the U of I food science and human nutrition professor. "A 3 to 4 percent reduction in LDL cholesterol is not insignificant, and several studies have reported similar findings."

He noted that other studies show that soy appears to reduce blood pressure and enhance vascular function. "And we've also seen evidence that soy slows the progression of diabetes and kidney disease," he said. "We need to continue to study the effects of soy, but if you're overweight, it makes sense to incorporate soy into your diet for these reasons alone."

But there's more to this story than the debate over soy's heart-healthy benefits, he said. Soy protein may be of special benefit to weight watchers for its effects on satiety and body composition. The benefit of high-protein diets in weight loss has been documented, Erdman said, and soy is an excellent source of vegetable protein.

"High-protein diets are effective because protein gives you a feeling of satiety so you eat less and lose more. Protein-rich diets also preserve lean body tissue so that you lose fat and not muscle," he said.

At least one study has raised the question of whether soy protein may be better at promoting weight loss than other protein sources, he said.

Source: John Erdman - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Easy Addition of Soy to the Diet

The easiest way to add soy to your diet is to switch to soy milk which can be used for shakes, smoothies, cooking, cereal and anything you would use milk for. Smoothies are a great way to lose weight since you can pack them full of nutrition with minimal calories and you can sip them to make the meal last longer. Variety can be had simply by changing the fruit you add or the flavoring. Check out the recipe below.

Tofu Moo soy milk powder is a great way to make only as much soy milk as you need. No worries about containers going back before you finish them. If you're making smoothies, you can mix the powder and water in the blender container so no need to keep a bottle of soy milk in the refrigerator.

Don't like the beige or tan color of most soy milks? No worries with Tofu Moo. It's white like milk!

Read more about and purchase Nature's Sunshine's Tofu Moo