Using soy nuts as the source of protein in a healthy diet will reduce the blood pressure in postmenopausal women by up to 10 per cent, says a new study. The results, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, also reports that regular consumption of soy nuts led to reductions in cholesterol levels, and may offer a “practical, safe and inexpensive modality to reduce blood pressure,” said the researchers.
In this eight-week crossover trial, soy nuts lowered blood pressure in those with high blood pressure and normal pressure in postmenopausal women compared with the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet without soy,” wrote lead author Francine Welty, from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston. “Soy nut supplementation significantly reduced systolic [top number] and diastolic [bottom number] blood pressure in all 12 hypertensive women and in 40 of the 48 normotensive women,” report the authors. So include soy nuts along with other nuts to lower blood pressure and also cholesterol levels.

(Archives of Internal MedicineVolume 167, Pages 1060-1067)