Soy-based shakes aid weight loss
By John Soltes Jun 17, 2005, 21:07
Soy-based liquid shakes may have the nutritional equivalence of steady behavioral therapy (milk-base shake diets), according to a new study appearing in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.
The study also claims that a soy-based liquid shake diet is nutritionally better than most medications for weight loss.
The report indicates that soy-based shakes can help people with other health issues, besides just losing weight. For example, high cholesterol and trigylceride levels are substantially lessened after the starting of a soy-based shake diet.
The study, headed by Dr. James W. Anderson and Dr. Lars H. Hole from the University of Kentucky, compared a soy-based shake diet with a milk-based shake diet. They decided to choose for their study NutriPharma as their soy-based shake diet.
The group of participants in the study assigned to the soy-based shake diet consumed five daily helpings of Scan-Diet. Additionally, they were allowed to eat fruits and vegetables.
The group of participants in the study assigned to the milk-based shake diet consumed two daily helpings of Slim-Fast. Additionally, they were allowed to eat fruits, vegetables, chicken, turkey, or other low fat meat products.
The participating groups closely monitored both food intake and exercise level.
Of the 30 people who actually went through with the soy-based diet, the average amount of Scan-Diet consumed was 3.7 shakes per day. Likewise, the average amount of Slim-Fast consumed for the milk-based diet group was two shakes per day. Therefore, the milk-based group did come closer to their recommended daily intake.
All of the participants in the study did lose weight over the three-month duration of the entire process. What makes the study so significant is that both groups lost roughly the same amount of weight. This shows that soy-based diets are comparable to the traditional milk-based shake diet.
When it came to the results, the large difference between the two groups was in cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Soy-based dieters showed better levels when it came to bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides.