Have you picked up a package of tofu lately? If you haven't, you may be missing out on some important health information. Last fall, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new health claim for food labels that boasts soy foods' ability to reduce the risk of heart disease. In a recent issue of Nutrition in Clinical Care, Dr. Alice Lichtenstein of Tufts University in Boston reviewed the research that led to the approval of this health claim and discussed how best to use soy products as part of a "heart healthy" diet.

Lichtenstein reported that scientists at FDA, the agency that regulates the health claims that US food manufacturers use to advertise their products, considered more than 20 years' worth of research on soy protein and its effect on blood cholesterol levels. In these studies the effectiveness of soy varied from none to beneficial. However, the most consistent finding was that when people with elevated cholesterol level replaced some of the animal protein in their diet (from meat and dairy foods) with about 25 grams of soy protein (a plant-derived protein), their total and LDL cholesterol levels declined.

In addition to its protein, soy contains compounds called isoflavones that may contribute to heart health as well. The research into these compounds is not yet conclusive, but some studies have suggested that isoflavones help to decrease both total and LDL cholesterol and possibly increase "good" HDL cholesterol levels.

Lichtenstein points out that soy protein alone cannot make a poor diet into a good one. Soy foods should replace those from animal sources and be combined with fruits, vegetables, and other high-fiber, low-fat, low-cholesterol foods. In other words, drinking soy milk with a hamburger and chips or deep frying tofu in butter is not what health experts have in mind when they advise you to eat more soy.

Nutritionists estimate that individuals need to eat about 25 grams of soy protein a day to benefit from its cholesterol-lowering effect. To get started, substitute soy products for meat and dairy foods (see the list below), and try cheese, yogurt, and frozen desserts made from soy as replacements for the traditional versions. Note, though, that some scientific evidence suggests that soy may not be for everyone, even those with elevated cholesterol levels. Women with breast cancer or a family history of breast cancer should check with their physician before adding soy to their diets.

Food	Amount	Soy Protein (grams)	Fat (grams)
Soy milk	1 cup	2-10; check labels	2-5; check labels
Soy flour bread	1 slice	2.5	1.6
Miso (soy paste)	1 ounce	4.3	2.2
Soybean sprouts	1/2 cup	4.5	2.4
Soy burger	2 ounces	8.5	3.4
Soy hot dog	1 medium	6.2	7.7
Tofu	4 ounces	9-13; check labels	2.4-6; check labels
Soy nuts (roasted)	1/2 cup	30.3	21.8
Soybeans, cooked	1/2 cup	14.3	7.7
Soy flour (full fat)	1/2 cup	14.6	9.2
Soy flour (defatted)	1/2 cup	23.5	0.3
Textured soy protein	1 cup	22.0	0.2