Gentlemen, forget the steak and french fries. And lay off the cheeseburgers, pizza, eggs, bacon and all the other hallmarks of he-man cuisine.
It’s soybeans you want, guys: We’re talking tofu, edamame, soy butter, miso soup, soy milk, tempeh and that mysterious “textured vegetable protein” lurking in the freezer case at the supermarket.
That’s what real men eat, at least according to a research team from Colorado State University and two other universities. Soy products, they say, may stave off baldness, prostate cancer and even improve troubled skin.
It all rests with something called equol, a bold but enigmatic molecule created in the intestine when soy is digested.
It is tiny but mighty.
The equol molecule chemically binds itself to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the male hormone that causes male-pattern baldness, acne and excess body hair and that stimulates prostate growth — hazardous for men already suffering prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate.
“This molecule is remarkable,” said Kenneth Setchell, a biochemist with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which was part of the research team, along with Brigham Young University.
“These findings are of immense critical importance because blocking the action of the potent androgen DHT has been one of the holy grails of the pharmaceutical industry as a strategy for treating prostate cancer and related disease,” Mr. Setchell said.
The news could make edamame (green soybeans), tempeh (fermented soybean patty) and miso (soup made from soybean paste) part of the male snacking vocabulary.
Researchers are excited because equol has no side effects, unlike powerful drugs that prevent DHT from being made in the body. The equol molecules function as “handcuffs,” they say, not altering the hormone level in the body but simply blocking its effects.
The research team made its determination after injecting male rats with an equol solution and measuring its effects on their DHT function.
Ironically, women of a certain age have been urged to eat more soy products in recent years to alleviate annoying symptoms of menopause. Soy contains phytoestrogens, which some doctors believe can supplement dwindling natural estrogen and alleviate hot flashes, dry skin and fuzzy memory, among other things.
Equol itself is defined as a “nonsteroidal estrogen of the isoflavone class,” according to research that Mr. Setchell conducted two years ago, which found that some people were more prone to create the molecule from soy than others. Some proved to be “equol producers,” some were “non-equol producers.”
Though Mr. Setchell and his team did not address this issue in their current study, soy consumption does not cause feminization in men or affect sexual function, according to the American Dietetic Association.
Meanwhile, researchers have filed patent applications on equol and hope to commercialize the technology, Mr. Setchell said.
“The novelty of equol is that it inhibits androgen hormone and influences estrogen hormone action,” said Edwin Lephart, a biologist with Brigham Young University who was part of the research team.
“We don’t know of any other molecule that possesses these important biochemical properties,” he said.
Other research has heralded the positive health effects of soy on men, according to the Missouri-based United Soybean Board, which tracks farming and consumer aspects of the legume.
Penn State University sports physicians found last year that athletes who drank a “soy carbohydrate beverage” after weight training and aerobics had a lower risk of muscle damage.
Researchers at both the University of Alabama and Wayne State University have shown that the soy component genistein had a positive influence on prostate cancer treatment.
In addition, studies at the University of Kentucky found that soy protein reduces abdominal fat and promotes more rapid weight loss among those on a high-protein diet.
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