Plant Compounds - Soy Isoflavones

The secondary metabolites of plants are all non-nutrient components except for individual vitamin precursors (such as β-carotene), which are now collectively referred to as plant compounds.

Some scholars believe that if essential nutrients are essential for human growth and development, bone and muscle composition, etc., then plant compounds have more subtle and specific functional sites than essential nutrients, and only affect a certain organism. The subtleties, such as cell nodes, regulating metabolic pathways, etc., can provide health benefits beyond the basic nutrition of the human body.

Plant-derived chemicals are diverse and complex in function, and can be classified according to their chemical structures or functional characteristics. Common phytochemicals such as carotenoids, phytosterols, saponins, glucosinolates, polyphenols, protease inhibitors, monoterpenes, phytoestrogens, sulfides, phytic acid, etc.

Soy isoflavones are a mixture of polyphenols. Food sources include all kinds of soybeans and their products, such as yuba, soy flour, soy protein extract, dried tofu, tofu, and soy milk. Baking and other methods will partially destroy soybean isoflavones, but cooking and other methods will not easily cause them to be lost.

Soy isoflavones can significantly reduce total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein, apolipoprotein β, etc., and can promote the increase of high-density lipoprotein, repair the damage caused by lipid oxidation in peripheral arteries, and inhibit atherosclerosis. formation of hardening. Therefore, soybean isoflavones have a strong lipid-lowering effect.

Soy isoflavones have estrogen-like effects and have obvious preventive and therapeutic effects on chronic diseases related to estrogen levels in the body. Can show benefits, especially improvement in perimenopausal syndrome.

In addition, soy isoflavones can slow down bone loss, prevent osteoporosis, and reduce the discomfort of menopause in women. Soy isoflavones also have a good inhibitory effect on tumors, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer.