According to a report from Reuters in Washington, a study released on the 4th showed that male mice carrying a gene mutation for heart disease experienced a worsening of their heart condition after eating soybeans. A study by the University of Colorado, Boulder, published in the monthly journal "The Journal of Clinical Investigation," found that eating soy had a severe impact on male mice carrying hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) mutations, causing their heart muscles to thicken and eventually leading to heart failure.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of death in young athletes, with 1 in 500 people suffering from the disease. Leslie Leinwand, a professor at the University of Colorado, stated that 18 genes related to the disease have been identified.
Soy foods are considered extremely beneficial for human health. Consumers spent about $4.7 billion on such foods in 2005 alone.
"The findings are shocking," said Leinwand. He pointed out that when the male mice in the study were switched to a diet containing milk protein, their condition significantly improved.
The study found that the impact of eating soy on female mice carrying HCM mutations was relatively minor. The University of Colorado research team therefore concluded that the heart failure in male mice was at least partially caused by the plant estrogens found in soy foods.