Can soy reduce exercise oxidative stress?
Although exercise is generally considered health promoting, it does create oxidant stress, which can contribute to muscle soreness, inflammation and eventually fatigue. For active people, it not only means time away from the gym but it has been implicated in many diseases including cancer. Soy protein can consistently produce antioxidant effects in humans and therefore consumption of soy protein with its naturally occurring isoflavones may help in reducing muscle inflammation. Robert DiSilvestro, Ph.D., professor of Human Nutrition at Ohio State University, recently completed a study with 20 athletic college men undergoing an exercise training program who were fed either 40 grams of soy protein with its naturally occurring isoflavones or 40 grams of whey protein as a beverage. The group consuming soy protein showed a significant increase in plasma total antioxidants status (TAS) while the group fed whey did not experience any increase.
