More than 900,000 Americans develop venous blood clots each year, according to a report from the Mayo Clinic, with many cases leading to chronic disability and death. The blood-thinning drugs prescribed to treat blood clots have dangerous side effects, which is why researchers have tried to find alternate treatments. Although soy hasn't been approved by the FDA for this purpose, some research shows soy has potential benefits in helping to prevent this life-threatening condition.
Identification
Blood clotting is ordinarily helpful to your body when you have a wound, to keep you from bleeding to death. Once the clot has done its work, your body simply absorbs the clot remnants. If that process goes awry, a clot can occur inside veins or arteries and restrict the flow of blood to the heart, causing pain and swelling as blood pools behind the clot. Sometimes a piece of the clot can break off and travel to the heart, brain or lungs and cause heart attacks, strokes or a pulmonary embolism.
Soy's Benefits
Soy, a plant native to southeastern Asia, is a member of the pea family. You can eat the beans whole or fermented as tempeh, tofu, miso and tamari soy sauce. The beans contain fiber, all eight essential amino acids, lecithin and isoflavones. Isoflavones are compounds with estrogen-like activity that may help improve cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by inhibiting the amount of platelet cells that form blood clots.
Expert Insight
A study in 2006 on postmenopausal women at the University of Chile in Santiago found that the isoflavones in soy were able to prevent clot-forming platelets from clumping together. The enzyme nattokinase, found in a fermented cheese-like food called natto, demonstrated properties similar to an enzyme produced by the human body that breaks down blood clots, according to research published in "Acta Haematologica" in 2010. A clinical trial in 2003 used a commercial product made from soy designed specifically to prevent deep-vein clots in long-distance air travelers, a common problem. The results, published in the journal "Angiology," showed that no travelers using the product developed clots, whereas subjects in the placebo group did.
Considerations
Soy is one of eight types of food that account for over 90 percent of allergic reactions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other than allergies, side effects from soy are mild and may include bloating, nausea and constipation. Some evidence suggests soy may affect thyroid hormone levels, so check with your doctor before consuming soy if you have thyroid disease.
References
- American Society of Hematologists; Epidemiology of Venous Thromboembolism; J. Heit, M.D.; 2005
- American Society of Hematology: Blood Clots
- MayoClinic.com; Soy; April 2011
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Food Allergy Among U.S. Children; Amy M. Branum and Susan L. Lukacs; October 2008
- "Maturitas"; Soy Isoflavones Affect Platelet Thromboxane A2 Receptor Density but not Plasma Lipids in Menopausal Women; A. Garrido; June 2006
- "Acta Haematologica"; In Vivo Evaluation Method of The Effect Of Nattokinase on Carrageenan-Induced Tail Thrombosis in a Rat Model; S. Kamiya; 2010
