Commonly referred to as “atherosclerosis,” vascular inflammation is a progressive condition that is usually managed with medication and/or lifestyle changes.
Boston, MA (PRWEB) June 21, 2012
The Doctors Health Press, a publisher of various natural health newsletters, books and reports, including the popular online Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin, reports that a new study shows this super-nutrient found in soy blocks inflammation.
As reported in Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin (http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/food-and-nutrition-articles/super-nutrient-blocks-inflammation), genistein exploded onto the health scene a number of years ago after researchers started to delve into the health benefits of eating soy. It turns out that soy could help inhibit the growth and spread of certain cancers, and one of the key players in this is genistein. Genistein is what’s known as a phytoestrogen—or, in other words, an estrogen-like chemical compound present in plants that binds to estrogen receptors and has both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects.
There are three major classes of phytoestrogens that have estrogen-like actions in the human body; they are lignans, isoflavones and coumestans. Genistein is an isoflavone. Researchers are still discovering new information about this super-nutrient’s health benefits. Just recently, a team of scientists from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the U.S. studied the effects of genistein on a common symptom associated with diabetes: vascular inflammation.
Vascular inflammation is a potentially serious medical condition caused by the buildup of plaque in arterial walls. Commonly referred to as “atherosclerosis,” vascular inflammation is a progressive condition that is usually managed with medication and/or lifestyle changes.
The Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin article, “The Argument for Canned Nutrition,” reports the Virginia research team investigated the link between hyperglycemia-induced vascular inflammation and enhanced monocyte-endothelial cell (EC) interaction—which is, according to the researchers, the key event in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in diabetes patients.
Six-week-old diabetic mice were either untreated or treated with a diet containing one gram genistein per kilogram of consumed food for eight weeks. Non-diabetic mice were used as controls. The researchers found that genistein treatment suppressed diabetes-induced EC interaction by 87%. They concluded that genistein improves diabetes-caused vascular inflammation.
To boost your intake of genistein, soybeans are the best choice. Besides being full of genistein, soybeans are also a cholesterol-free, high-protein legume—so they’re a healing food all around. Other legumes, such as chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), contain only small amounts of genistein. Genistein can also be found in food products containing soy, such as tofu, soymilk, soy flour, textured soy protein, tempeh and miso.
(SOURCE: Babu, P.V., et al., "Genistein prevents hyperglycemia-induced monocyte adhesion to human aortic endothelial cells through preservation of the cAMP signaling pathway and ameliorates vascular inflammation in obese diabetic mice," J. Nutr., Apr. 2012; 142(4): 724–30.)
Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin is a daily e-letter providing natural health news with a focus on natural healing through foods, herbs and other breakthrough health alternative treatments. For more information on Doctors Health Press, visit http://www.doctorshealthpress.com.
The Doctors Health Press believes in the healing properties of various superfoods, like pistachios, as well as the benefits of taking vitamins and supplements, Chinese herbal remedies and homeopathy. To see a video outlining the Doctors Health Press' views on homeopathic healing, visit http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/homeopathy.
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