Soybean foods may protect menopausal women against osteoporosis

Eating a diet rich in both soy protein and isoflavones can protect menopausal women from bone weakening and osteoporosis, according to the results of a preliminary study presented this week at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh. Soybean foods contain chemicals known as isoflavones that are similar in structure to oestrogen and so could theoretically protect women against osteoporosis by mimicking the action of oestrogen.