Soybeans promise still another medical benefit. Recent studies have shown products from the multi-use plant can lower cholesterol and may lessen some symptoms of menopause. Now comes a report that soy derivatives may bring pain relief.
Scientists from Johns Hopkins and two Israeli universities say lab rats on a diet containing soy meal developed far less pain after nerve injury than rats on soy-free diets. The scientists say that's significant because of the similarities in the way humans and rats experience pain.
And, too, pain seems to have a variety of sources within the body, which explains why aspirin may work for inflammation but not for pain from a nerve injury.
In their study, reported in the journal Neuroscience Letters, the scientists say they don't yet know what component of soy meal suppresses pain sensitivity or what the mechanism could be. But they are looking to more research that could help explain why the experience of pain is so varied among individuals.
