Soy Beats Milk in Cholesterol Lowering

ST. LOUISSoy protein reduced total cholesterol and non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol more than milk proteins in a study from Solae (J Clin Lipidol. 2010 Nov-Dec;4(6):531-42). Soy protein reduced total cholesterol by 7.4 percent, while milk protein reduced it by 3.6 percent (P<.05).

The same scenario was observed with non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (soy proteins reduced it by 10.8, and milk reduced it by 3.9 percent), and apolipoprotein B (9.7-percent reduction for soy and 2.4-percent reduction for milk) (P<0.05).

The study also found non-HDL is lowered through an undetermined mechanism that does not involve increased bile acid excretion.

This randomized, controlled, parallel arm trial evaluated the effects of an insoluble fraction of soy protein and total milk proteins with high calcium content on fasting lipid profile in subjects with hypercholesterolemia (low-density lipoprotein [LDL] cholesterol;199 mg/dL). Men and women between the ages of 18 and 79 years followed the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes diet for four weeks, followed by a two-week lead-in with 3.75 g/d colesevelam HCl, a bile-acid binding drug. Individuals whose LDL cholesterol was lowered by 5.0 percent or more with colesevelam HCl were randomly assigned to one of two groups after a three-week washout: 1) 25 g/d of an insoluble fraction of partially hydrolyzed soy protein, or 2) 25 g/d total milk proteins.