Consumption of soy protein in early life may prevent bone loss in adulthood

Washington D.C.: A new research has found that early dietary nutrition heavy in soy protein isolate can protect against serious bone loss during adulthood.

This also is the first time that scientists have used an animal model to show concrete evidence of a protective effect of an early-life soy protein isolate diet on adult bone loss.

Leas researcher Jin Ran said, "Appropriate early-life nutrition can optimize peak bone mass. Consumption of soy foods has a variety of health benefits, including amelioration of bone loss during adulthood."

To make their discovery, the team used a very young female rat model. One group of rats was fed a soy protein isolate diet for 30 days (from postnatal day 24 to 55) and then was switched to a regular standard rodent diet until six months of age.

The rats were altered to mimic postmenopausal bone loss in women to determine the amount of bone loss. The second group of rats was fed a regular standard rodent diet throughout life.

This group was also altered to mimic postmenopausal bone loss and analyzed to determine bone loss. The researchers found that the first group of rats was compared to the second group of rats.

The study was published in FASEB Journal.