Cholesterol, High Cholesterol

Soy isoflavones, flavonoids, and cholesterol:

In total 115 women participated in a cross-sectional study investigating the intake of the phytochemicals flavonols, flavones and isoflavones with blood chemistry data. Flavonoids (flavonols, flavones) and isoflavones are the anti-oxidant phytochemicals, chemical compounds produced by plants, found in many foods such as apples, cabbage, onions, parsley, pinto beans, and tomatoes. The main sources of flavonoid consumption in this study were vegetables (72.3%), fruits (15.6%), green tea (5.4%), potatoes (3.8%) and pulses (tofu) (2.9%). A 3-day dietary intake was recorded and urine and blood samples were taken after that period. Researchers found that the mean intake of flavonoids was 16.7 mg/d and the mean intake of isoflavones was 47.2 mg/d. The following phytochemicals were determined to make up the total flavonoid intake: quercetin (55.9%), kaempferol (35.3%), fisetin (4.6%), myricetin (2.5%), and luteolin (1.7%). Most of the flavonoids came from onion consumption 45.9%, 23.1 g/d) followed by molokheya, a dark leafy green, (9.7%, 4.6 g/d), apples (7.2%, 22.2 g/d) and green tea (5.4%, 206 mL/d). The study concluded that the intake of flavonoids was inversely related with LDL cholesterol. Intake of other phytochemicals was not correlated with lipid levels. In this particular study, there was no correlation between green tea consumption and plasma lipids. (35)