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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Soyfoods Association of North America
1050 17th Street, N.W.
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 659-3520
Contact: Nancy Chapman, RD, MPH
Underscores Benefits of Soyfoods for Older Americans
The Soyfoods Association of North America today issued this statement in response to news accounts that insufficiently summarize the conclusions of a new study which examined the effects on memory among elderly Indonesians who regularly consume tofu and tempeh. The study was conducted by researchers at Loughborough University and published in the journal Dementias and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.
“News accounts of this new study of elderly Indonesians completely miss the point of what the researchers found – the possible increased risk of cognitive impairment when tofu is preserved with formaldehyde, a potential brain toxin, in developing countries. As the study finds, elderly individuals consuming large amounts of tempeh – another soyfood not processed with formaldehyde – had improved memory scores. When it comes to the tofu and all other soyfoods manufactured and sold in the U.S., formaldehyde is never used as a preservative. Thus, consumers can have complete confidence that the soyfoods they enjoy are safe.
The new study also cites previous findings from the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study, which suggested a relationship between high tofu consumption and impaired cognitive function in older men. Although this study did not make the connection to formaldehyde, it pointed to a number of variables that may account for differences in cognitive performance among older adults. Specifically, this study found high tofu users were older by over two years (may account for the differences in the brain size), had suffered more strokes (a condition that directly compromises cognitive function), and had come from poorer families (possibly with compromised nutrition in utero and infancy that would limit brain development) than other men in the study.
When it comes to the tofu and all other soyfoods manufactured and sold in the U.S., formaldehyde is never used as a preservative. Thus, consumers can have complete confidence that the soyfoods they enjoy are safe. An increasing body of research suggests that soyfoods play an important role in several health conditions that can arise with aging—specifically heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. This includes a recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration that adding 25 grams of soy protein a day as part of a heart healthy diet lowers the risk of heart disease. Moreover, new studies indicate that soyfoods show promise for weight control and protecting against bone loss and some types of cancer.
For Americans of every age, soyfoods make it easy to gain health naturally. For more information on soyfoods, visit www.soyfoods.org. ”
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