Got fat? Soyrry but soy won’t help!

Posted by Liz on Mar 22, 2010 in weight | 1 comment

Novel research suggests that eating soy protein won’t affect overall body composition, even though there has been some past evidence that isoflavones in soy may help build muscle mass and break down fat. What’s the 4-11?

In this latest bit of data, 299 postmenopausal women with body-mass indices of around 25 (signifying “overweight”) too either placebo or soy isoflavone tablets for a year. The findings? Ingesting soy isoflavones had no significant effect on either body composition or on specific hormones that control appetite. The one factor that contributed to fat mass? The amount of total fat consumed.

Seems that the way to a more muscle mass is not through soy but rather, through a healthy diet and of course, exercise. Still, can we women ‘of a certain age’ get rid of the tire that’s forming around our middle? I’d love to hear how if you’ve got some ideas. Even my trainer admits that hormonal changes add to the roll and that it’s difficult to get rid of it completely.

Fortunately, the folks at Rush University Medical Center will be studying this midlife dilemma over the next five years. While they say that there’s no way to completely eliminate the tire, there are ways to minimize it. Stay tuned!