Soy and physiology, and implications for human health

Posted Chantel M.

In a study of " Phytoestrogens: the biochemistry, physiology, and implications for human health of soy isoflavones." by Setchell KD. researcher indicated that it is recognized that there are many plant-derived bioactive nonnutrients that can confer significant health benefits. Among these phytochemicals is the broad class of nonsteroidal estrogens called phytoestrogens, and in the past decade there has been considerable interest in the role of isoflavones because of their relatively high concentrations in soy protein. The isoflavones in modest amounts of ingested soy protein are biotransformed by intestinal microflora, are absorbed, undergo enterohepatic recycling, and reach circulating concentrations that exceed by several orders of magnitude the amounts of endogenous estrogens and concluded that these phytoestrogens and their metabolites have many potent hormonal and nonhormonal activities that may explain some of the biological effects of diets rich in phytoestrogens.

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