ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 25, 1997 TAG: 9703250104
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: what's on your mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: I've heard and read that eating tofu regularly helps reduce many of the symptoms associated with menopause. I wonder whether the regular consumption of soy milk would have the same benefits. After all, tofu is made from bean curd milk.
I have very mixed feelings about hormone replacement therapy. Too many medical professionals push HRT and don't believe in, let alone suggest, alternatives.
I.S., Blacksburg
A: Numerous benefits have been attributed to soybean-based foods, including healthier hearts, cholesterol control and cancer prevention.
You've picked up on one of the lesser-known, but apparently legitimate, benefits of soybean products.
Pure soy milk contains the same properties as tofu for menopause's symptoms, according to the United Soybean Board and the medical studies it cites.
Eating these products may require a venturesome attitude, though.
Tofu is a widely known health food, but it's pretty much flavorless. However, tofu readily assumes the flavor of other foods when it's mixed with them.
How can we consume soy in a palatable form? Some medical studies indicate it would take at least eight ounces per day of soy milk to do the job. It could be poured over cereal or made into a milkshake flavored with bananas or other fruit.
Dried beans could be added to chili. Fresh beans work in a salad. Soy flour can be substituted for some of the wheat products in pancakes or dessert foods.
Bean particulars
Soy milk is a whole-soybean food. It's made by mixing ground soybeans with water to form a milk-like liquid.
It's a milk substitute for people with dairy-product allergies, although soy doesn't have milk's calcium.
But wait. Other factors must be weighed.
The key ingredient in soybeans that affects menopause symptoms is isoflavone, a plant hormone found primarily in soybeans. In the human body it can act like estrogen and reduce the severity of hot flashes and bone loss.
At least, that's what medical studies indicate.
Consumers need to know they'd have to drink twice as many ounces of soy milk as they would chew of tofu to get enough isoflavone.
The soy milk would have to be manufactured without additives. Flavoring it with chocolate, carob or vanilla in the manufacturing process can reduce the isoflavone content substantially, according to a study at the University of Alabama reported in 1993.
Soy ice cream, if it's made with textured soy protein, is rich in isoflavones. Made with soy protein isolate, though, an ice cream has much less isoflavone. So, read the label closely.
It's also fair to say that despite the benefits credited to soy products, there is no single cure for everything that ails us. Neither soy products nor oat bran - another recent fad food among the heart-conscious - will compensate for a diet heavy in fats or alcohol.
Doctors, for their part, don't like to rely on natural foods to treat conditions or illnesses because the dosages are hard to measure and control.
Manufactured drugs, on the other hand, can deliver the same amount of medication at the same time every day so doctors and patients can regulate the amounts.
Have a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Maybe we can find the answer. Call us at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RAYR@Roanoke.com
LENGTH: Medium: 73 linesby CNB