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Not too long ago on the List, there was some concern as to whether soybean
isoflavones have any adverse effect on thyroid hormones.  The concensus
was, no.  Here is an abstract of some of the latest research on soybean
isoflavones.  Again, no significant effect on thyroid hormones.

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J Nutr Biochem. 2004 Oct;15(10):583-90.

Effects of soybean isoflavones, probiotics, and their interactions on lipid
metabolism and endocrine system in an animal model of obesity and diabetes.

Ali AA, Velasquez MT, Hansen CT, Mohamed AI, Bhathena SJ.

Phytonutrients Laboratory, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center,
Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture,
Building 307, Room 315, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.

The effects of soybean isoflavones with or without probiotics on tissue fat
deposition, plasma cholesterol, and steroid and thyroid hormones were
studied in SHR/N-cp rats, an animal model of obesity, and were compared to
lean phenotype. We tested the hypothesis that probiotics by promoting the
conversion of isoflavone glycosides to their metabolically active aglycone
form will have a synergistic effect on body fat, cholesterol metabolism,
and the endocrine system. Obese and lean SHR/N-cp rats were fed AIN-93
diets containing 0.1% soy isoflavone mixture, 0.1% probiotic mixture, or
both together. Different fat tissues were teased and weighed. Plasma was
analyzed for cholesterol and steroid and thyroid hormones. In both
phenotypes, isoflavones lowered fat deposition in several fat depots.
Probiotics alone had no significant effect on fat depots. Isoflavones
lowered total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol in lean rats, but in obese rats
isoflavones lowered only total and LDL cholesterol. Isoflavones also
lowered many of the steroid hormones involved in lipid metabolism but had
no significant effect on thyroid hormones. Probiotics had no significant
effect on cholesterol or hormones. Thus, our data show that soy isoflavones
also lower plasma cholesterol and that this hypocholesterolemic effect
appears to be due in part to the modulation of steroid hormones. Probiotics
do not seem to enhance the effect of isoflavones.

PMID: 15542349 [PubMed - in process]

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