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Dr. Mark Messina

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Women’s Health
September 1, 2016

Isoflavones Deserve More Attention for Their Effects on Hot Flashes

There is good reason to encourage clinicians to recommend isoflavones for women who experience hot flashes and wish to avoid hormone therapy, despite the limitations of research, as noted below.…
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ObesityWomen’s Health
September 1, 2016

Assertion by Actress Blake Lively Incorrect Regarding Soy and Weight Loss

Actress Blake Lively says she got in shape for her new movie The Shallows by giving up soy and gluten. The 28-year-old actress, best known for her role as Serena…
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Women’s Health
August 16, 2016

Soy Isoflavones and Hot Flashes: Getting to the Bottom of Conflicting Findings

The June 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) includes a new meta-analysis of clinical trials on isoflavones and hot flashes.1 The study concluded that both…
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Fermented Soyfoods and Health: Are They Really Better for You Than Tofu and Soymilk?
Heart HealthNutrition
August 9, 2016

Fermented Soyfoods and Health: Are They Really Better for You Than Tofu and Soymilk?

Hundreds of studies published over the past 25 years have quantified soy intake among Asian populations using food frequency questionnaires and, to a lesser extent, dietary records. The research clearly…
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Cholesterol-lowering effects of soy protein: Historical and clinical perspective
Heart HealthNutrition
July 14, 2016

Cholesterol-lowering effects of soy protein: Historical and clinical perspective

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the first clinical study demonstrating the hypocholesterolemic effect of soy protein.  Although it was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,…
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Nutrition
June 30, 2016

Soy Plays Important Role in Asian Diets, But Consumption Varies Among Countries

Despite their long history in Asian cuisine, there is plenty of confusion about how much soyfoods people in China, Japan and other Asian countries consume. A quick search of the…
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Nutrition
June 21, 2016

How Much “Hidden” Soy is in the American Food Supply?

A recent paper in Food Chemistry suggested that isoflavone intake in Western countries might be greatly underestimated because dietary intake assessments don’t capture the “hidden” soy protein in many foods.1…
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Phytate and Mineral Absorption: An Updated Perspective
Nutrition
June 15, 2016

Phytate and Mineral Absorption: An Updated Perspective

Absorption of minerals from soyfoods is of considerable research interest. Because soyfoods often replace animal foods in the diet, there are questions about how they compare as sources of iron,…
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Nutrition
May 26, 2016

Science Supports Safety of Genetically Modified Soybeans

Genetically modified (GM) foods generate a lot of heated discussion about safety and product labeling. Given that 94% of the soybeans grown in the United States are GM, these discussions,…
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soy-protein-supplements isoflavine
Nutrition
May 4, 2016

Isoflavone Supplements Are Safe According to the European Food Safety Authority

Soybean isoflavone supplements have no adverse effects on the breast or uterus of postmenopausal women or on thyroid function according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The organization’s comprehensive…
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Nutrition
May 4, 2016

Soybeans and the U.S. Food Supply

Soybeans play a critical role in the U.S. food supply but not in a way that is often thought. Some soyfoods are consumed directly. But mostly Americans consume soy-derived ingredients…
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soy foods
NutritionSoy Oil
May 3, 2016

Lessons about Soy from Observational Studies

The health effects of soyfoods have been rigorously investigated for more than 25 years. Early research focused on the cholesterol-lowering effects of soy protein, leading to a health claim for…
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