'We found that soybean and soy milk had the biggest benefit on stroke reduction over

products like tofu, though consuming any one of these products will be beneficial.'

The research was conducted in 2007-08 in southern China where there was a large, fairly homogenous population that had similar diets and lifestyles and a relatively high stroke rate.

'Even though the study was carried out in southern China, we believe that eating soy

products will have the same effect on western diets,' Binns said.

The study was published in Neuroepidemiology.