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In the last few years, the health benefits of including soy in your diet have been studied more and more. Vegetarians have been eating soy for decades, but now it is being researched not just as a substitute for those who do not wish to eat meat, but also as part of a healthy diet for patients with high cholesterol levels. Check with your doctor before adding soy to your diet, but remember this option if you've recently been diagnosed with high cholesterol.

Most doctors recommend replacing meat and other protein options with soy for about 25 grams of the daily nutritional amount of protein you need. At this rate, daily, soy has been proven to lower cholesterol. This was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a valid option for reducing the risk of heart disease.

Cholesterol clogs veins and arteries with a fatty substance that hardens to produce plaque; too much plaque in the arteries can close them completely, causing a heart attack. Eating soy reduces the amount of cholesterol in your blood stream, thus reducing the risk of plaque build-up and heart attack. Lowering the amount of cholesterol by eating more soy can also reduce your risk for having a stroke.