24Drs好健康報:食用黃豆、堅果有益女性血壓
好健康熱頭條 ─ 食用黃豆堅果有益女性血壓 Nutty Perk for Women's Blood Pressure
好健康小單字 – 異黃酮(Isoflavone)
好健康熱頭條 ─ 食用黃豆堅果有益女性血壓
最新研究指出，在說到該如何降低血壓時，對女性而言，黃豆堅果會是個聰明的零嘴選擇。
從未聽過黃豆零嘴嗎？美國包裝大概是20顆乾烤的黃豆，如同其他的黃豆食品，黃豆零嘴內含稱作異黃酮素的營養成分，若是半杯則還要再加上8克的脂肪和240卡路里的熱量。
《內科醫學檔案》中所發表的最新研究，其實驗對象為60名平均53至58歲後更年期的健康女性。
研究之初，其中已知有12名女性罹患高血壓，相較於另外48名血壓正常的女性，這12名女性在體重上稍重了些，體重的衡量是以平均身體質量指數（BMI）值為準，它和身體及體重有關。
高血壓會造成心臟病，以及其他許許多多的健康問題。
【黃豆零嘴】
於研究期間，這60名女性有8週是採行健康飲食，但其中不包含黃豆堅果；之後，她們接受血壓測量。
這60名女性也在另外8週採行相同的健康飲食，不過這一次她們把蛋白質的攝取改為半杯不含鹽份的黃豆，並將它分作3至4份在一天中當零嘴吃。最後，她們再量一次血壓。
在吃完8週的黃豆堅果零嘴後，這些女性的血壓值狀況最好，甚至是在研究開始時血壓就正常的人也是如此。
研究開始時血壓高的12名女性，在把黃豆堅果當零嘴吃8週後，平均收縮壓（量血壓時第一個讀取的數值）下降近10%，而平均舒張壓（量血壓時第二個讀取的數值）下降將近7%。
另外48名在研究開始時血壓就正常的女性，在把黃豆堅果當零嘴吃8週後，平均收縮壓下降約5%，而平均舒張壓下降3%。
血壓高的女性在把黃豆堅果當零嘴吃8週後，LDL（壞）膽固醇也下降11%，而血壓正常的女性則未看到膽固醇方面的改善。
該研究並未顯示出何以黃豆堅果和降低血壓有關，不過，研究團隊表示，飲食中多加黃豆食品或許是切實可行、安全又實惠的降血壓方法。
研究團隊表示，應該要進行更大規模的研究，方能確定研究的發現；研究成員包括Francine Welty醫學博士，Welty博士是哈佛醫學院醫學系副教授、波士頓貝絲以色列女執事醫院預防醫學心臟科醫師，同時也是美國心肺暨血液專科研究中心的血管損傷、修護暨重塑部門主任。
Welty博士提到，該研究並未將男性納入研究，但其他的研究曾指出黃豆食品對男性的血壓有益。
Welty博士向WebMD表示，該研究最初是要評估黃豆替代荷爾蒙補充療法的可能性，正因為如此，男性未納入此特別設計的試驗中。
她指出，另外有兩項發表的研究已經顯示，在將黃豆食品作為飲食一部分的男女中，看到了血壓降低的效果；根據Welty博士的說法，其中一項研究包含了黃豆餅乾；另一項則有豆漿。
Nutty Perk for Women's Blood Pressure
When it comes to lowering blood pressure, soy nuts may be a smart snack for women, a new study suggests.
Never heard of soy nuts? They're dry-roasted soybeans. Like other soy foods, they contain nutrients called isoflavones, along with 8 grams of fat and 240 calories in a half cup.
The new study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, included 60 healthy postmenopausal women who were 53-58 years old, on average.
At the study's start, 12 of the women had high blood pressure. They tended to be a little heavier than the 48 other women with normal blood pressure based on average BMI (body mass index), which relates height to weight.
High blood pressure makes heart disease and a host of other health problems more likely.
Soy Nut Snacks
During the study, the women spent eight weeks on a healthy diet that didn't include soy nuts. After that, they took a blood pressure test.
The women also spent another eight weeks on the same healthy diet. But this time, they replaced some of their protein with half a cup of unsalted soy nuts, split into three or four portions spread throughout the day.
Finally, the women took one more blood pressure test.
The women's blood pressure was lowest after eight weeks of snacking on soy nuts, even for those who started the study with normal blood pressure.
For the 12 women who had high blood pressure at the study's start, average systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading) dropped by nearly 10% and average diastolic blood pressure (the second number in a blood pressure reading) dropped by almost 7% after eight weeks of snacking on soy nuts.
For the other 48 women who had normal blood pressure at the study's start, average systolic blood pressure dropped by about 5% and average diastolic blood pressure dropped by 3% after eight weeks of snacking on soy nuts.
Women with high blood pressure also had an 11% drop in levels of their LDL ("bad") cholesterol after snacking on the soy nuts for eight weeks. No cholesterol benefits were seen in the women with normal blood pressure.
The study doesn't show why soy nuts were linked to lower blood pressure. But the researchers write that diets that include soy foods "may be a practical, safe, and inexpensive" way to reduce blood pressure.
Larger studies should be done to confirm the findings, write the researchers, who included Francine Welty, MD, PhD. Welty is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, preventive cardiologist at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Specialized Center of Research in Vascular Injury, Repair, and Remodeling.
Men weren't included in this study, but other research suggests that soy foods may help men's blood pressure, Welty notes.
"The study was started to assess soy as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy. That's why men were not studied in this particular trial," Welty tells WebMD.
She notes that two other published studies have shown blood pressure reduction in men and women who ate soy foods as part of their diet. One of those studies included soy cookies; the other included soy milk, according to Welty.
SOURCES: Welty, F. Archives of Internal Medicine, May 28, 2007; vol 167: pp 1060-1067. Francine Welty, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School; preventive cardiologist, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Specialized Center of Research in Vascular Injury, Repair, and Remodeling. News release, JAMA/Archives.
WebMD Medical News
By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
好健康小單字 – 異黃酮(Isoflavone)
異黃酮是一種類似女性荷爾蒙的天然植物性化合物，又稱為植物激素，許多植物如大豆、紅花苜蓿、棗椰、石榴中都有此類成分，由於存在於大豆中的含量最多，因此普遍稱之為大豆異黃酮。根據國外研究，大豆異黃酮對於熱潮紅、失眠、情緒不穩等症狀，有明顯改善效果，此外，在促進骨合成及抑制骨質流失、降低膽固醇、預防心血管疾病上也有作用。
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