Seoul, (Feb 26) Eating black soya beans could help control weight, lower fat and cholesterol level and can prevent diabetes, say scientists.

Soybeans, an important global crop grown for oil and protein, come in various sizes and in several hull or seed coat colours, including black, brown, blue, yellow and mottled.

Yellow soya has already been hailed for its cholesterol lowering capabilities. Now a team of Korean researchers have shown that black soya prevented weight gain in rats, reported health portal EurekAlert.

The researchers, led by Shin Joung Rho at Hanyang University, Seoul, allowed 32 rats to gorge on a fatty diet, supplemented with various levels of black soya.

The results showed that, after two weeks, those getting 10 percent of their energy from black soya had gained half as much weight as those in the control group.

Total blood cholesterol fell by 25 percent and LDL (the so-called ‘bad’) cholesterol fell by 60 percent in the rats in the 10 percent group, the study published in the in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture showed.(IANS)