Eating soya improves human memory

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

 

Interesting study which supports the old age high cognitive abilities of the

Okinawan Elders, who also consume ~ 100 mg

of isoflavones a day.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=1\

1605103 & dopt=Abstract

Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2001 Oct;157(4):430-6 Related Articles, Books, LinkOut

Eating soya improves human memory.

File SE, Jarrett N, Fluck E, Duffy R, Casey K, Wiseman H.

Psychopharmacology Research Unit, Centre for Neuroscience, Hodgkin Building,

King's College London, Guy's Campus, London

SE1 1UL, UK. sandra.file

 

RATIONALE:

Soya foods are rich in isoflavone phytoestrogens with weak agonist activity at

oestrogen receptors. Oestrogen treatment

has been found to improve memory in men awaiting gender reassignment and in

post-menopausal women.

 

OBJECTIVE:

To examine the effects of supervised high versus low soya diets on attention,

memory and frontal lobe function in young

healthy adults of both sexes.

 

METHODS:

Student volunteers were randomly allocated to receive, under supervision, a high

soya (100 mg total isoflavones/day) or

a low soya (0.5 mg total isoflavones/day) diet for 10 weeks. They received a

battery of cognitive tests at baseline and

then after 10 weeks of diet.

 

RESULTS:

Those receiving the high soya diet showed significant improvements in short-term

(immediate recall of prose and 4-s

delayed matching to sample of patterns) and long-term memory (picture recall

after 20 min) and in mental flexibility

(rule shifting and reversal). These improvements were found in males and

females. In a letter fluency test and in a

test of planning (Stockings of Cambridge), the high soya diet improved

performance only in females. There was no effect

of diet on tests of attention or in a category generation task. Those on the

high soya diet rated themselves as more

restrained and, after the tests of memory and attention, they became less tense

than did those on the control diet.

 

CONCLUSIONS:

Significant cognitive improvements can arise from a relatively brief dietary

intervention, and the improvements from a

high soya diet are not restricted to women or to verbal tasks.

 

PMID: 11605103 [PubMed - in process]

 

========================

Good Health & Long Life,

Greg Watson,

gowatson

[Guest guest]

Greg wrote:

> Interesting study which supports the old age high cognitive abilities of the

> Okinawan Elders, who also consume ~ 100 mg of isoflavones a day.

>

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_ui

ds=11605103 & dopt=AbstractPsychopharmacology - Eating soya improves human

memory.

 

> CONCLUSIONS:

> Significant cognitive improvements can arise from a relatively brief dietary

> intervention, and the improvements from a high soya diet are not restricted to

> women or to verbal tasks.

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I think the keywords are " can " and " relatively brief " .

 

Recently raised concerns focus on specific components of soy, such as

the soy isoflavones daidzein and genistein, not the whole food or intact soy

protein. These isoflavones, available over the counter in pills and powders,

are often advertised as dietary supplements for use by women to help lessen

menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. It's just too big a leap to assume

that a pill could do the same thing as whole food.

 

Daniel Sheehan, Ph.D., director of the Estrogen Knowledge Base Program at

FDA's National Center for Toxicological Research, urges caution in

consumption of soy isoflavones. In formal comments submitted to the public

record of his own agency while FDA was reviewing the health claim, Sheehan,

along with colleague Daniel Doerge, Ph.D., wrote, " While isoflavones may

have beneficial effects at some ages or circumstances, this cannot be

assumed to be true at all ages. Isoflavones are like other estrogens in that

they are two-edged swords, conferring both benefits and risks. "

 

Joan McPhee, not an M.D.

mcpheej

[Guest guest]

-

" Joan McPhee " <mcpheej

 

Thursday, November 15, 2001 2:58 AM

Re: Eating soya improves human memory

 

 

> Recently raised concerns focus on specific components of soy, such as

> the soy isoflavones daidzein and genistein, not the whole food or intact soy

> protein. These isoflavones, available over the counter in pills and powders,

> are often advertised as dietary supplements for use by women to help lessen

> menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. It's just too big a leap to assume

> that a pill could do the same thing as whole food.

 

Hi Joan,

 

Why take a pill when you can get the same from the natural product?

 

There is too much still unknown about food and it is my preference for

nutrition.

 

That said, there is good reason to get some food based iodine with your soy.

 

Greg