Soy-rich diets have been linked to lower rates of heart disease, but a small study suggests that soy supplements may not do anything for older women's blood pressure.
The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, add to the mixed evidence on the health benefits of soy isoflavones compounds that are thought to have weak estrogen-like effects in some body tissue.
Researchers have long known that Asian populations with soy-rich diets have lower rates of heart disease compared with people who eat "Western" diets.
But it has not been clear whether soy isoflavone supplements have cardiovascular benefits, like cutting blood pressure or cholesterol levels.
A number of studies have found that intravenous infusions of soy isoflavones may boost the body's production of nitric oxide and help blood vessels dilate.
"But we don't take soy by infusion," said William Wong, a nutrition researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who led the new study.
On top of that, he told Reuters Health, those studies looked at short-term effects on blood vessel function and not whether there are "sustained" benefits for blood pressure.
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