Soy Linked To Reduction In Smoker Lung Damage

June 28th, 2009

Now if you are a smoker you have a great excuse not to quit right? Obviously that isn’t the case, but a study recently suggests that the consumption of soy products could greatly reduce the risk in smokers of lung damage.

People who eat lots of soy products have better lung function and are less likely to develop the smoking-associated lung disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). A new study has shown that consumption of a wide variety of soy products can be associated with a reduction in the risk of COPD and other respiratory symptoms.

Well then…if you smoke every time you get in your car, pull out your laptop at a picnic table, or huff away while sitting at home, you should probably start eating a hell of a lot of soy .

Dr. Fumi Hirayama and Professor Andy Lee from Curtin University of Technology, Australia, worked with a team of respiratory physicians to poll 300 patients with COPD from six Japanese hospitals and 340 age-matched control subjects from the same areas as the patients about their soy intake.

Dr. Hirayama said, “Soy consumption was found to be positively correlated with lung function and inversely associated with the risk of COPD. It has been suggested that flavonoids from soy foods act as an anti-inflammatory agent in the lung, and can protect against tobacco carcinogens for smokers. However, further research is needed to understand the underlying biological mechanism”.

OF course it is. People are still inhaling SMOKE aren’t they?