Soy and other legumes: ‘Bean’ around a long time but are they the ‘superfoods’ of the millennium and what are the safety issues for their constituent phytoestrogens?
- 1 October 2000
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Vol. 9 (S1), S13-22
- https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-6047.2000.009ss13.x
Abstract
The recognition that legumes and, in particular, soybeans provide not only an excellent source of vegetable protein but also contain appreciable amounts of a number of phytoprotectants has increased general awareness of their potential nutritional and health properties. Since the discovery that soybeans are one of the richest dietary sources of bioavailable phytoestrogens, this legume has been elevated to the forefront of clinical nutritional research. These natural ‘selective oestrogen receptor modulators’ have been shown to be bioactive. The recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States for a health claim for soy protein reducing risk for heart disease by its effects on lowering cholesterol levels has led to the increased awareness of the health benefits of soy protein. However, the presence of high levels of phytoestrogens in soybeans has also led to concerns over the potential safety of soy foods. This review will focus on the cardioprotective benefits of legumes and discuss the hypothetical concerns regarding the constituent phytoestrogens.Keywords
This publication has 109 references indexed in Scilit:
- Structure of the ligand-binding domain of oestrogen receptor beta in the presence of a partial agonist and a full antagonistThe EMBO Journal, 1999
- Deglycosylation of flavonoid and isoflavonoid glycosides by human small intestine and liver β‐glucosidase activityFEBS Letters, 1998
- Abnormal thyroid function tests in infants with congenital hypothyroidism: the influence of soy-based formula.Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 1997
- Cloning of a novel receptor expressed in rat prostate and ovary.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1996
- Interactions between phytoestrogens and human sex steroid binding proteinLife Sciences, 1995
- Nutrition and health implications of dry beans: a review.Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 1994
- Breast and soy-formula feedings in early infancy and the prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disease in children.Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 1990
- Identification of phytoestrogens in the urine of male dogsThe Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1988
- Aromatase inhibitors: Their biochemistry and clinical potentialJournal of Steroid Biochemistry, 1987
- The excretion of lignans in rats — evidence for an intestinal bacterial source for this new group of compoundsFEBS Letters, 1981