Today I tried my first soya milk and I am not sure what to make of it. The taste itself is a bit foreign and strange to me. So I thought to research: what actually soy is, what nutrients it contains, where it came from and of course - is soy good for the health or not?!
According to WWFGlobal soy beans were first cultivated in China 6000 years ago, making them one of the first domesticated food crops. Soy beans are used to feed life stock and in the food production. Most of us don't realise that soy is everywhere in the hidden form. Click on the link above to read more from the WWF Global website.
I looked on the SELFnutritionData website for the soy beans nutrients and now I see why is so popular these days. I cup of soybeans, mature cooked, boiled and without salt (172g) contain 28.6g of Proteing that is 57% of DV (Daily Value). It is rich in vitamin K, B6, Riboflavin, Folate, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Manganese and Copper. There are vitamin C, Niacin and Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Potassium, Zinc and Selenium in soya as well.
I actually like what I see on the nutrients chart, but why there is such a controversy regarding the soya benefits to our health in general?!
According to SOYAtech soy beans are truly a nutritional superpower. Here are few soya benefits from the SOYAtech website:
1. Soya contains Isoflavones and of them - Genistein is believed to have the most potential to prevent or treat certain cancers.
2. They refer to Dr. Anderson's study which found that soy protein intake was associated with a 9.3% reduction in serum cholesterol, a 12.9% reduction in LDL cholesterol and 10.5% reduction in serum Triglycerides. For HDL, the "good" cholesterol, concentrations increased by 2.4%. According to his (Dr. Anderson) study, it is estimated that this serum cholesterol modification has the potential to reduce risk for coronary heart disease by 18-28%
3. Consumption of soy foods may help to maintain and even rebuild bone density and strength, and act as an effective treatment for osteoporosis.
After reading about benefits of soya, I came across few more sources with a complete negative view on the bean. According to Mercola.com there is a dark side of soy. According to the website soya is a risky food because:
1. 91% of soy grown in the US and it is genetically modified. I actually could't find any information on my Soya milk to GM, so how to find out that my milk isn't made from genetically modified soya. I do have a concern here.
2. Soy contains natural toxins known as anti-nutriens. It is fine, if you are eating a small amount of Soy. I did check a lot of food labels this week and I saw a reference to soy in majority of processed food.
3. Along with other negative nutrients soy, according to the source, has toxic level of aluminium and manganese. I could't see a reference to aluminium in the nutrition chart on the SELFnutritionData, but soya does contain a high amount of manganese. Again, according to the nutrition website it is less than daily value.
According to Mercola.com only fermented soy products such as natto, tempeh and soy sauce are good for our body. Unfermented soy on other hand wreak havoc on the bodies.
What do you have to say about soya?
I will need to read a bit more on soya. A pity I am not a scientist, I would conduct my own research to find out the truth.
On a personal level, I found some information regarding soya bean worrying. The crop takes a lot of land to grow and this affect ecosystems in a bad way. I guess to eat or not to eat soya it is a personal choice, like with everything else you do. But I think it is much harder to say "no" to the soya than to say "no" to the meat.
As well I would like to check my local stores for no GMO soya products. If you know any brands with the reference, please leave a comment below.
Never thought that one ingredient research will leave me that puzzled. Will keep you up to date with my progress as I go.
Green Spoonful
I actually like what I see on the nutrients chart, but why there is such a controversy regarding the soya benefits to our health in general?!
According to SOYAtech soy beans are truly a nutritional superpower. Here are few soya benefits from the SOYAtech website:
1. Soya contains Isoflavones and of them - Genistein is believed to have the most potential to prevent or treat certain cancers.
2. They refer to Dr. Anderson's study which found that soy protein intake was associated with a 9.3% reduction in serum cholesterol, a 12.9% reduction in LDL cholesterol and 10.5% reduction in serum Triglycerides. For HDL, the "good" cholesterol, concentrations increased by 2.4%. According to his (Dr. Anderson) study, it is estimated that this serum cholesterol modification has the potential to reduce risk for coronary heart disease by 18-28%
3. Consumption of soy foods may help to maintain and even rebuild bone density and strength, and act as an effective treatment for osteoporosis.
After reading about benefits of soya, I came across few more sources with a complete negative view on the bean. According to Mercola.com there is a dark side of soy. According to the website soya is a risky food because:
1. 91% of soy grown in the US and it is genetically modified. I actually could't find any information on my Soya milk to GM, so how to find out that my milk isn't made from genetically modified soya. I do have a concern here.
2. Soy contains natural toxins known as anti-nutriens. It is fine, if you are eating a small amount of Soy. I did check a lot of food labels this week and I saw a reference to soy in majority of processed food.
3. Along with other negative nutrients soy, according to the source, has toxic level of aluminium and manganese. I could't see a reference to aluminium in the nutrition chart on the SELFnutritionData, but soya does contain a high amount of manganese. Again, according to the nutrition website it is less than daily value.
According to Mercola.com only fermented soy products such as natto, tempeh and soy sauce are good for our body. Unfermented soy on other hand wreak havoc on the bodies.
What do you have to say about soya?
I will need to read a bit more on soya. A pity I am not a scientist, I would conduct my own research to find out the truth.
On a personal level, I found some information regarding soya bean worrying. The crop takes a lot of land to grow and this affect ecosystems in a bad way. I guess to eat or not to eat soya it is a personal choice, like with everything else you do. But I think it is much harder to say "no" to the soya than to say "no" to the meat.
As well I would like to check my local stores for no GMO soya products. If you know any brands with the reference, please leave a comment below.
Never thought that one ingredient research will leave me that puzzled. Will keep you up to date with my progress as I go.
Green Spoonful
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