soy beans and weight loss

I saw an interesting article today on ScienceDaily. The article relates how increased soy consumption seems to have the effect of decreasing weight. The dateline was yesterday (6 May 2007) and the story originated from a University of Illinois press release.

The first thought that comes to my head is that anyone who's eating a lot of soy is going to lose weight because it tastes awful and you tend to eat less. Or maybe you just lose your survival impulse. LOL

However, according to Dr. Elvira de Mejia, a University of Illinois assistant professor of food science and human nutrition, "Weight loss is a complex physiological event. It's not always as simple as 'Eat less or exercise more,' losing weight is a cascade of many steps, beginning with the production of certain hormones and continuing with their action in the brain".

Who knew?


Dr de Mejia and Vaughn, a graduate student, noticed a significant weight loss in the group of animals that had received one of the injected soy hydrolysates, even though the animals hadn't changed their eating habits. In this instance, soy protein appeared to have caused weight loss not by reducing food intake but by altering the rats' metabolism.

The experiment not only showed that soy peptides could interact with receptors in the brain, it also demonstrated that eating less isn't always the reason for weight loss, the researcher said.


According to the study some people are resistant to these hormones, just as other people are insulin-resistant. These people never receive the message from the brain that tells them they're full. That strikes me as so weird, but if the numbers are correct from this study--then it's like those late night TV ads say, you can eat more and still lose weight. The downside is that you'd be eating more soybeans--or at least injecting soy protein. So the question comes up--just how much do you want to lose weight??

Just to be upfront about this, while these results have been presented at a scientific meeting there was no mention of having been submitted to a peer reviewed journal. Furthermore the research was funded by the Illinois Soybean Association and SAI Company. Conflict of interest there? LOL

Actually from what I've witnessed in my nearly 30 years of research is that the funding authority rarely ever tries to influence research findings.

Comments

rosemary said…
When I had to either cut out the fat/cholesterol from my diet or die...I cut the fat. I now eat soy sausage, soy hot dogs, soy bacon, soy riblets, soy beans...and yes some of that stuff tasted blaghgh at first. But when you have to use them, eventually if you are hungry, they taste OK. I have lost 30plus pounds and I feel a lot better most of the time.....I'm going to read your Sunday post....maybe I don't feel as good as I think I do!
kenju said…
So.....Do I need to cook a big pot of soybeans, or what?
rennratt said…
This sounds similar to "You - on a Diet". It is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it.
Anonymous said…
I've given up on those ads, and researches for some good time now.
srp said…
We use the low carb bread with soy flour and protein in it. The soy protein helps with diabetics.... the flour made from soy is used in several low carb products. It isn't so bad... a bit cardboard at first but you get used to it.
srp said…
And you can get frozen soybeans at the grocery store... and they are really quite good!
Marie said…
Interesting. I know there are health benefits to using soy for women going through "the change" too.

think I'll go get me some Tofu!!

;-)

Hi from Michele's...
Anonymous said…
My husband loves Gardenburger Riblets! Being a strict vegetarian, the first time he nibbled on one he wouldn't eat it because it "tasted too much like meat". LOL! After months of convincing, he finally agreed to eat one and now I can't buy enough of them.
His favorite Riblet meal is when I prepare Riblet Hoagies. Cook the riblet(s) in the microwave as instructed, then put them on to a toasted whole wheat hoagie roll with chopped onions. Very nutritious, low in fat and takes about 5 minutes to prepare.

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