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"Soy Worth a Hill of Beans?"
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For over a decade, soy foods have enjoyed the rare
privilege of an FDA-approved food label health claim
about soy's ability to protect against heart disease.
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Now a billion dollar industry, they have a lot of money
to fund research touting the benefits of their bean.
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And although there is also a U.S. Dry Bean Council
representing all the other beans, I think you can
get a sense just by comparing their websites,
who may have more money to spread around.
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So, though you may not soon see ads on TV with anyone
exclaiming they are gonzo for garbanzos, there was
a study out of Tulane (University) recently that
looked at the cholesterol-lowering power of non-soy legumes.
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You know, there are all sorts of beans out there.
Which did better to lower the number one risk factor,
LDL cholesterol, of our number one killer,
heart disease: soybeans or non-soybeans?
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Soy consumption drops bad cholesterol on average,
about four points. Other beans - lentil, lima, navy,
pinto, etc. - drop bad cholesterol eight.
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Though it's illegal for, say, a baked-bean manufacturer
to make health claims on their label, soy isn't
special in that regard. All beans are beautiful,
and in this case, beat out soy 2 to 1.
