In recent years, some foods have proclaimed super powers. This fruit can help prevent cancer and that grain can cut cholesterol. One such superfood is soy. Its advocates, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, have long claimed that soy can reduce the risk of heart disease. But in October 2017, the FDA changed course and said, not so fast.
The FDA has officially recognized that some foods and nutrients can help reduce the risk of certain diseases or conditions based on scientific evidence. Since 1990, the agency has authorized 12 health claims, including the effect of calcium and vitamin D in helping to lower the risk of osteoporosis or certain fruits and vegetables to lower the risk of cancer. In 2007, the FDA announced its intention to reevaluate the evidence for certain health claims, including the authorized health claim for soy protein and a reduced risk of heart disease.
“We stated that we were reevaluating the scientific basis for the soy protein and [heart health] claim due to numerous studies published since the 1999 approval of the claim which had inconsistent findings,” says Susan Mayne, the director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. For example, she says, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a report in July 2005 outlining the effects of soy products on health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease. It concluded that soy products appear to exert a small benefit on LDL cholesterol — the so-called “bad” cholesterol — but that “the duration of these studies were generally short, and it is uncertain whether the results would be sustained.”
As a result of this and other research, “We no longer believe there is conclusive evidence that soy protein may reduce the risk of heart disease,” Mayne says. “The FDA’s reevaluation of this claim is driven by inconsistent scientific evidence on the relationship between soy protein and the reduced risk of coronary heart disease.”
[See: The Facts on Heart Disease.]
Is Soy Still on the Menu?
Is soy off the menu for the heart-health conscious? Not necessarily. “The FDA is not questioning the health benefits of soy. The authorized health claim addresses only soy protein and reduced risk of coronary heart disease, and some soy foods may be beneficial to heart health because they are a source of soluble fiber and low in saturated fats,” Mayne says. Both of those nutrients still make the cut when it comes to healthy eating habits in general and heart health in particular. Some soy-based foods that may be beneficial to heart health include tofu, soy milk and edamame.
Dr. Li Zhou, assistant professor of cardiology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, agrees that “soy is definitely not bad. Soybeans are rich in protein and have been consumed for a long time especially in Asian countries. There are also other healthy components in it, like polyunsaturated fatty acids and others, that have been shown to be good for health, for sure.”
Polyunsaturated fats are healthful because they help lower LDL, Zhou says. “That is the major thing. You should stay away from saturated fats. These are metabolized differently by the body, and eventually they cause a higher incidence of obesity and a change in cholesterol.” Saturated fats increase LDL and lower HDL, the “good” cholesterol, he says.
[See: The 12 Best Heart-Healthy Diets.]
What’s on the Menu?
What else should make up a heart-healthy eating plan? “It is increasingly difficult to isolate a specific food group and say it is related to heart health,” says Dr. Robert S. Nierzwicki, a specialist in cardiovascular disease and nuclear cardiology at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. “There are many confounding factors. When I look at a heart-healthy diet, I look at food patterns as opposed to individual foods.”
Certain eating plans, including the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet, have been shown to improve the markers of heart health, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and weight. These diets and others like them have certain things in common. And one of them is, in fact, soy. Mayne suggests that people continue to follow advice from the federal government’s 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines, which state that a healthy eating pattern can include soy beverages and a variety of protein foods, including soy products.
Foods high in fiber, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, are also on the heart-healthy list. Fiber has been shown to improve cholesterol levels. Beans and legumes are also rich in fiber and are a low-fat source of protein.
[See: Your Plant-Based Diet Needs These 10 Foods.]
Another smart source of protein is fish, especially cold-water species like salmon and tuna, which contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. The American Heart Association says that omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to decrease the risk of arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats), which can lead to sudden death. Omega-3 fatty acids also decrease triglyceride levels, lower blood pressure slightly and slow growth rate of atherosclerotic plaque (made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances found in the blood and which, over time, clogs arteries and limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to organs and other parts of your body).
Is diet really that important in preventing heart disease? The experts say, emphatically, yes. “Most patients have the assumption they are destined to have heart disease because of family history or genetics, but an overall healthy lifestyle, with diet a part of that, can have a significant impact on preventing disease they otherwise think is inevitable,” Nierzwicki says. “Even if you have a family history, diet will help.”
More from U.S. News
6 Drugs That Can Worsen or Increase Risk for Heart Failure
The 12 Best Heart-Healthy Diets
We Now Know Soy Can’t Reduce Heart Disease — But What Foods Can? originally appeared on usnews.com
