Contacts:
Pat Murphy, Food Science and Human Nutrition, (515) 294-1970
Brian Meyer, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0706

SURF THE WEB TO FIND POTENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF SOYFOODS

AMES, Iowa -- Consumers can turn to the Internet to find the potential health benefits from eating tofu, drinking soymilk or consuming other soyfoods.

The USDA-Iowa State University Isoflavones Database was recently launched on the World Wide Web. Isoflavones are compounds that mimic the hormone estrogen. They also have antioxidant capability, and may perform other functions that enhance health. For example, scientists suspect isoflavones may help lower the risk of cancer, especially breast and prostate cancer. The database project was partially funded by the U.S. Army Breast Cancer Research Initiative.

"The database contains useful information for researchers, dietitians, clinicians, health professionals and consumers," said Pat Murphy, professor of food science and human nutrition at Iowa State. "Consumers can look up particular foods and find out the content of isoflavones."

The USDA scientists who assembled the database relied on Murphy's analyses of isoflavone content in many soyfoods. Murphy and other ISU researchers have been studying isoflavones in soybeans and soyfoods for years.

The database comes at a time when sales of soyfoods in the United States are increasing. In 1980, less than $400 million worth of soyfoods were sold to consumers and the food industry. In 1998, sales had more than quadrupled to $1.7 billion.

The database also is timely because the Food and Drug Administration may decide later this year on a health claim regarding soyfoods. The claim, submitted by a food ingredient company, argues that consuming isoflavone-intact soy protein protects against cardiovascular disease.

"If the FDA supports the claim, we'll see food companies rapidly rolling out a whole new generation of soy products," said Murphy.

The database gives values for the content of isoflavones in more than 140 soyfoods and other food legumes. The products include meatless bacon, infant formulas, soy cheese, soy flour, soy hot dogs and meat patties, soymilk, soy sauce and raw soybeans. Some of the highest isoflavone levels are found in the soy flours, soy meals and raw or cooked food-grade soybeans.

"All the foods in the database were those in which soy was a major component," Murphy said. "We didn't survey foods containing tiny amounts, which would have included such things as doughnuts, cherry juice, canned tuna and beer."

Murphy said the database will be updated as new information on isoflavones in soyfoods becomes available. She plans to analyze more soyfoods that are produced and marketed especially to Asian American populations in larger U.S. cities.

The USDA-Iowa State University Isoflavones Database can be found on the World Wide Web at this address: www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/isoflav/isoflav.html.

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