Written by Simon Shepherdson Tuesday, 07 July 2009 13:34
SOY products have long been lauded for their perceived health benefits. Now a Curtin University research team has discovered that long-term soy consumption can reduce the risk and relieve symptoms of a common and serious lung disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, most commonly affects smokers and is a major cause of lung-related deaths in Australia.
The research, involving Curtin’s Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI) and representatives from four Japanese hospitals, revealed that long-term soy consumption was associated with improved lung function and a reduction in the risk of developing COPD.
Research team leader Andy Lee says results of the 18 month study, conducted in Japan,
show that people who consume more than 75g of soy products daily gain the most health benefits.
“We also found that people who consume at least 50g of soy products per day reduce their risk of developing COPD and related respiratory symptoms.”
Professor Lee says the study was conducted in Japan due to the high occurrence of soy products in the traditional Japanese diet. This includes foods such as tofu, natto, bean sprouts and soy milk.
Although the majority of COPD sufferers are smokers, Professor Lee says the disease can also be brought on by smoky or dusty environments and through genetic factors.
According to the Australian Lung Foundation, COPD is the fourth largest killer of men and sixth largest killer of women in Australia.
The foundation estimates that almost one in five Australians over the age of 40 suffer from COPD and that it is the second most common cause of avoidable hospital admissions. The majority of sufferers also develop emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Professor Lee says while the initial research had focused on prevention of the onset of COPD, follow-up studies would look at the impact of a high-soy diet on sufferers.
“One study will involve going back to those sufferers used in the research to determine if a diet high in soy products can decrease the mortality rate among patients with the disease.
“A second study could incorporate soy products into clinical trials.”
The CHIRI team is currently investigating the nutrients contained in soy products in an effort to determine the reasons for the findings.
“It has been suggested that flavonoids from soy foods act as an anti-inflammatory agent in the lungs,” Professor Lee says.
“Further research is needed to understand the underlying biological reason for this occurring.”
COPD causes lungs to become larger than normal, which leads to the breathing muscles around the lungs becoming stretched and having to work harder.
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