Eating soy is one of the worst things you can do for your health. Now experts are pushing it on women to support heart health… And it could be a deadly mistake.

This “Healthy” Food Won’t Save Your Heart

In All Health Watch, Diet and Nutrition, Featured Article, Heart and Cardiovascular, Heart Attacks

It’s one of the most dangerous health myths out there. For the last 15 years the FDA has said that soy is healthy. In fact, they go as far as to claim that 25 grams of soy protein each day can reduce your risk of heart disease.1

Now a new study is once again pushing soy on women…and this time they say the earlier you start eating it, the better.

Researchers at the Wake Forest School of Medicine wanted to see if a soy-rich diet could help protect women against atherosclerosis. It’s the result of fatty plaques blocking blood flow in your arteries. And not surprisingly, it’s a risk factor for heart disease.

The team fed premenopausal monkeys either a diet rich in animal protein or soy. Next, they removed the monkeys’ ovaries to induce menopause. At this point they also added two more groups: Monkeys that switched from a soy protein diet to an animal protein diet after menopause and vice versa.

After 34 months they found the monkeys that ate soy all along—and those that made the switch to soy—had slightly lower levels of cholesterol. The lifelong soy diet group technically had the lowest levels of plaque in their arteries.2 But here’s the part of the study nobody’s talking about…

There was no significant difference in plaque between any groups. And the team admits it.

Yet this doesn’t stop the researchers—and mainstream news—from praising the “significant” heart benefits of eating soy…and that eating it before menopause will somehow lower heart disease risk.3

Here’s why they’re wrong.

First of all, this study was doomed from the start. That’s because the animal protein was casein. It comes from cow’s milk. Experts believe that most forms of it are to blame for increasing rates of heart disease.4 And considering that it significantly raises inflammation, it’s no surprise the monkeys eating it didn’t see any heart-protective benefits.

The bigger problem is that a soy-rich diet has no effect on preventing heart disease…at best. And experts have known it for years.

One study found that it directly worsens existing heart disease in mice.5 Even a review by the American Heart Association found soy protein to have no effect on HDL, triglycerides, or blood pressure.

In fact, people eating high amounts—about 50 grams or more—only saw about a 3% reduction in their LDL. That’s the “bad” cholesterol. They even pointed out that the only health benefits of eating soy products come from their fiber, fat, and vitamin content. Not anything unique to the soy itself.6

If you want to protect your heart, skip the soy. Go with what actually works.

Research shows that just 10 minutes of running a day can reduce your risk of death from heart complications by 50%.7 And when you make the switch to high-intensity interval training (HIIT), your risk could drop even lower.

Eating enough fiber alone may help lower heart attack risk by around 40%.8 Just be sure to skip the grains. You can get even more fiber from foods like artichokes, peas, and raspberries. But this isn’t even the most important thing you can do to protect your heart…

You have to cut out sugar.

Eating it causes major inflammation. Combine that with the fact that it can raise blood pressure by a terrifying 72% and you have a recipe for a heart disaster…9

It’s just part of the reason why our president, Angela Salerno, is taking on our Sugar Free 30 Challenge this month. And you can join her.

Find out how to start looking younger and feeling better—and why even your most trusted “healthy” supplements may be holding your good health hostage—HERE.

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References:
1http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007204.htm
2http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/280455.php
3http://journals.lww.com/menopausejournal/Abstract/publishahead/Beneficial_effects_of_soy_supplementation_on.98331.aspx
4http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1268481.stm
5http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1323247/
6http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16418439?dopt=Abstract
7http://content.onlinejacc.org/article.aspx?articleID=1891600
8http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8627965
9http://www.drperlmutter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Am_J_Clin_Nutr-2014-Te_Morenga-ajcn.113.081521.pdf