More people may benefit from soy-based diet than previously thought

Most individuals who require a prescription to buy Lipitor to lower their cholesterol levels may also benefit from eating more soy. A new study suggests that a compound in this food has benefits for a greater number of people than previously thought.

Prior research has shown that soy can lower cholesterol levels in a specific subset of people. It was found to be beneficial in individuals whose bodies are able to convert soy to an estrogen-like compound called equol. Since not every person's system is able to do this, the benefits of soy were thought to be limited to a small subset of the population.

However, researchers from the University of Toronto found that a diet rich in soy appears to lower bad cholesterol levels equally well regardless of whether a person is able to convert it. The only difference the researchers found between equol producers and non-producers was those who were able to convert soy had higher levels of HDL, or good cholesterol.

The findings suggest that a soy-based diet may have many benefits for most people who have dangerously high cholesterol.