Meals as Medicine: Anti-Obesity Effects of Soy in Rat Model of Menopause

Research presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, finds that a diet rich in soy prevents weight gain in post-menopausal female rats.

Previous research suggests that reduced levels of the hormone estrogen during menopause are responsible for the increased body weight and abdominal fat often experienced by postmenopausal women. However, while estrogen replacement therapies can reduce weight gain, they also have unwelcome side effects, prompting a search for alternative methods of treatment. Soy naturally contains estrogen-like compounds called phytoestrogens, and so dietary soy may provide an alternative to typical estrogen replacement therapies...