PCOS and Resulting Diabetes and Heart Disease Can Be Prevented By Soy

Females who have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which is a common cause of feminine infertility, could also improve their metabolic and cardiovascular well being when they consume soy isoflavones, in line with a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Soy isoflavones are natural plant-based estrogens located within the soybean plant. They are discovered in foods comparable to soy milk, as well as dietary supplements.

The study examined how food containing soy isoflavones would improve the condition of females with PCOS — a condition that impacts an estimated 5 million to six million women in the U.S..

Being the common hormone problems in women of reproductive age, PCOS occurs when a women’s body produces moderately higher quantities of testosterone and other androgen hormones, which are sex hormones generally related to men, but also found in women”than normal. The resultant hormonal imbalance can bring about irregular or absent menstrual periods, infertility, weight gain, acne, extra hair on the face and body, or thinning hair on the scalp. Women who have PCOS additionally face a bigger danger of setting up other health problems, together with diabetes and coronary heart disease.

According to the study author, Zatollah Asemi, PhD, of Kashan University of Medical Sciences in Kashan, Iran, Our research found that women who have PCOS may benefit from incorporating soy isoflavones in their diets. In the first study to examine the connection, we found women who consumed soy isoflavones regularly saw improvement in biological markers that reflect how effectively the body utilizes insulin to process sugars and had reduced levels of harmful cholesterol.

Seventy women who are between the ages of 18 and 40 and who had PCOS joined in this prospective randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled medical trial. The women were observed in the Kosar hospital in Arak, Iran, between December 2015 and February 2016.

Half of the females have been randomly assigned to take a daily dose of 50 mg/d soy isoflavone supplement everyday for 12 weeks. This quantity is equivalent to the amount of soy isoflavones in 500 milliliters of soy milk. The other 35 individuals received a placebo. Participants were told to keep doing regular exercise and to avoid taking different dietary supplements in the course of the study. Blood samples were obtained from the women at the start and end of the study. The blood samples were analyzed to measure hormone and lipid levels, along with biomarkers of insulin resistance and inflammation.

Women who obtained soy isoflavones had decreased levels of circulating insulin within the blood and other organic markers associated with insulin resistance, a condition wherein the body would not use insulin to metabolize sugars effectively and that may lead to type 2 diabetes. The researchers also determined that women who took soy isoflavone dietary supplements tended to have lower levels of testosterone, bad cholesterol often called LDL and triglycerides, or fat within the blood, than their counterparts who had the placebo.

According to the lead author, There is growing interest in how adding soy to the diet can help address metabolic syndrome and related health conditions. Our findings indicate consuming soy isoflavone regularly may help women with PCOS improve their metabolic and cardiovascular health.

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