Researchers wanted to understand why body weight goes down when the consumption of soy foods goes up. The researchers from the University of Illinois researched the effects of soy peptides with the leptin hormone, which is the brain messenger to tell your body that it is full.

“We wanted to compare the effects of soy protein hydrolysates and soy peptides with those of leptin because we hypothesized that soy might behave in the body in a similar way. Leptin is a hormone produced in our adipose tissue that interacts with receptors in the brain and signals us that we’re full so we stop eating,” said Elvira de Mejia, a U of I assistant professor of food science and human nutrition.

Surprisingly, the researchers found that the soy caused the body fat reduction by boosting metabolism, and not by causing less of an appetite.

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