SNI Global

The Soy Nutrition Institute provides information, research, and discussion about the benefits of soy to your health.

Soy health
and nutrition Research

Soy health and nutrition research

Hundreds of peer-reviewed studies focused on the safety and health benefits of soyfoods and soybean components have been published over the past three decades. Through the Soy Health and Nutrition Research Program, funded by the United Soybean Board, the Soy Nutrition Institute Global has supported research on priority health outcomes. Current and recent SNI Global research initiatives are noted below.

Recent Research

Published in Peer-Reviewed Journals

The health effects of soy: A reference guide for health professionals

September 2022Frontiers in Nutrition

Perspective: Soybeans Can Help Address the Caloric and Protein Needs of a Growing Global Population

May 2022Frontiers in Nutrition

Perspective: Soy-Based Meat and Dairy Alternatives, Despite Classification as Ultra-Processed Foods, Deliver High-Quality Nutrition on Par With Unprocessed or Minimally Processed Animal-Based Counterparts

March 2022Advances in Nutrition

Soybean oil lowers circulating cholesterol levels and coronary heart disease risk, and has no effect on markers of inflammation and oxidation

September 2021Nutrition

Neither soyfoods nor isoflavones warrant classification as endocrine disruptors: a technical review of the observational clinical data

March 2021Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

Neither soyfoods nor isoflavones affects male reproductive hormones: An expanded and updated meta-analysis of clinical studies

March 2021Reproductive Toxicology

Recent surveys on food allergy prevalence

January 2020Nutrition Today

Cumulative meta-analysis of the soy effect over time

July 2019Journal of the American Heart Association

A meta-analysis of 46 studies identified by the FDA demonstrates that soy protein decreases circulating LDL and total cholesterol concentrations in adults

June 2019The Journal of Nutrition

Soy isoflavone consumption and age at pubarche in adolescent males

September 2018European Journal of Nutrition

No difference between the effects of supplementing with soy protein versus animal protein on gains in muscle mass and strength in response to resistance exercise

January 2018International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism

Research projects in progress

Additional Resources

January 9, 2023

Do Isoflavones Exert Estrogen-Like Effects in Women?

Soybean isoflavones are commonly classified as phytoestrogens.1,2 The estrogenic properties of isoflavones were first recognized nearly seven decades ago3 although the term “phytoestrogen” was not widely used in reference to isoflavones until the 1970s.4 In the early days of isoflavone research, determining estrogenic activity was based on reproductive effects in animals, and often specifically, uterotrophic […]

January 4, 2023

Soy emphasizes its role in global nutrition at International Congress of Nutrition

Soy Nutrition Institute Global took its global presence to a new level by attending and exhibiting at the International Congress of Nutrition (ICN) on December 6-11 in Tokyo, Japan. Referred to by some as the “Olympics of Nutrition,” ICN is a meeting of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) that takes place every four […]

September 7, 2022

New soyfoods health and nutrition guide for health professionals now available

A new comprehensive soyfoods health and nutrition guide is now available for health professionals. The Health Effects of Soy: A Reference Guide for Health Professionals is packed with topics ranging from a multitude of health outcomes to discussion of the different types of soyfoods. A tremendous amount of soy-related research has been conducted over the past three […]