The high levels of insulin and insulin-resistance that accompany diabetes, are often associated with fatty liver or hepatic steatosis, an untreatable condition that can lead to chronic liver disease and death.

The condition causes large lipid-filled compartments to accumulate in the cells of the liver due to an increase in the production of fatty acids, with the result that the liver becomes enlarged.

Dr. Nimbe Torres, of the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion in Mexico, used prior research that had indicated that eating soy protein reduces lipid production and prevents hyperinsulinemia (the loss of effectiveness of insulin),as a basis for his work.

Dr. Torres investigated the effects of a diet high in soy protein on the development of fatty liver associated with diabetes.

She fed diabetic rats that develop hyperinsulinemia and hepatic steatosis, a diet of soy protein for 160 days, and found that the consumption of soy protein prevented the accumulation of triglycerides and cholesterol in the liver, despite the development of obesity and hyperinsulinemia in the rats.

She says that feeding rats a soy-rich diet, reduced the amount of fatty acid in their liver by not only reducing lipid production, but also by increasing its breakdown.

Although further research is needed, Dr. Torres believes that consuming soy protein could very well reduce insulin resistance, renal damage, and fatty liver, and improve quality of life.

The details of their findings appear in the September issue of the Journal of Lipid Research, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

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FBI funds designated for investigating fraud in health care also seem to have shifted to other purposes, including fighting terrorism, and military funds for cleaning up polluted sites and meeting clean air standards have been proposed for capping and exemption by the Pentagon.

These observations are not intended to diminish the tragedies of 11 September 2001 or 7 July 2005 or other terrorist actions, nor to negate the importance of developing effective ways of making sure such tragedies are not repeated, says the author.

It is certainly justifiable for governments to appropriate substantial funds to prevent potential future threats to our security. But public funding for current threats should not be compromised.

"Predictable tragedies happen every day. We know strategies to reduce deaths from tobacco, alcohol, poor diet, unintentional injuries, and other predictable causes. And we know that millions of people will die unless we protect the population against these routine causes of death," she concludes.

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