Soy the Super Food

Within a clinical setting I often find myself recommending people change their diet by reducing their consumption of animal products in order to address various health concerns. I am often faced with the question, ‘but what will I eat?’ One of my many answers is Soy. The responses I receive differ greatly but it isn’t uncommon to hear something like ‘oh but its so bland,’ ‘it has no taste,’ ‘I don’t know how to cook it,’ ‘why soy?’ It is for this reason that I have chosen to write the following!

The soybean is a very versatile food; from a simple bean many different food products are made including miso, soy sauce, soymilk, tempeh and tofu.

The soybean plant is native to China and was introduced to many Asian nations between the eight and ninth centuries, explaining it’s extensive use in Asian cuisine. It is also worth noting that western nations are experiencing dietary related health conditions in epic proportions that our Asian friends are not. Nowadays the soy bean is the most widely grown legume in the world.

There is good reason for the extensive use and consumption of soy apart from the health benefits that are explained further on, soy is a good choice economically and environmentally. It is estimated that an acre of soybeans can provide 20 times the amount of protein as that generated from beef cattle in the very same area. You may ask so what? who cares? Although this blog is not for the purpose of informing on environmental issues I do believe we all have a responsibility to be more mindful about how what we put in our mouths affects the planet in which we live. With a growing global population food will become more and more scarce and we need to find ways of being more resourceful.

Nutritional content of Soy

• Soybeans are a very good source of protein. They are low in saturated fat and contain fibre, and complex carbohydrates.

• Some of the main vitamins found in soybeans are vitamins B1, B2, B6, vitamin E and folic acid.

• It is a good source of iron, calcium, and phosphorous.

• In comparison to other legumes soy is also higher in essential fatty acids.

• Soybeans contain special health promoting compounds like protease inhibitors, isoflavones and phytosterols.

Health benefits of soy

• Soy is one of the few plant foods considered to be as equal as animal products in protein quality. When soy is combined with another food such as corn or rice a very high quality complete protein meal is formed this is especially important for vegetarians.

• Studies have found that sterols found in soy reduce cholesterol levels in the body in particular low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol associated with cardiovascular diseases.

• Phytoserols have also been found to boost immune function.

• The isoflavones found in soy daidzein and genistein are also known to be phytoestrogens. In the body they bind to oestrogen receptors preventing the binding of oestrogen itself. Phytoestrogens have a milder action in comparison to oestrogen and they have not been found to disrupt the normal functioning of the reproductive system. Through this action soy has been found to aid with numerous hormonal related conditions like, menopausal symptoms and premenstrual syndrome. It is also been thought to inhibit the development and spread of oestrogen related cancers.

• The amount of isoflavones required for a protective effect against breast cancer is thought to be somewhere around 30 to 120 milligrams per day.

• Could there be more to the anti-cancer actions of soy than the isoflavones alone. Research conducted in 2009 found that isoflavone deprived soy peptides demonstrated chemo preventive and tumour suppressive effects in breast cancer in rats.

• Soy also contains protease inhibitors; these are compounds that block the activity of an enzyme (protease) in the body that has been found to promote tumour growth. Further supporting its use as an anti-cancer food.

• Soy is also a very good source of fibre in the body. Aiding with digestion by regulating transit time in the digestive tract. For those who have a high animal protein diet, and suffer constipation regularly soy is a great alternative to meat.

Recommendations

• Soymilk is a good alternative to cows milk. The later has been found to increase both cholesterol and saturated fat levels soy on the other hand has the opposite effect as mentioned above.

• With so many different preparations of soy products on the market it is relatively cost effective and readily available for most of us, making it a practical choice.

• You can cook soy products just about any way in which you cook meat. You can use tofu in soups and stews. You can prepare tempeh with rice and/or vegetables. Both tofu and tempeh are great they will take up the flavour of whatever you cook or season them with… very versatile.

• You can replace other beans in your recipes with soybeans.

• If you have access to fresh sprouted soybeans you can include them in your salads.

• There are some great recipes using soy available on the net, you can use it as a pastry filling, in dips, with eggs/meat, in stir fries, in both sweet and savoury dishes, the possibilities are endless. Once you break out of your comfort zone there really is no reason why you can’t enjoy soy as a part of a balanced diet.

• Soy cheese is available at most good delicatessen. I have used it in many recipes that call for cows milk based cheese, and it tastes great.

FINAL NOTE: I have had people express their concern about consuming soy due to the fact that a significant amount of it is Genetically modified. GM foods are an issue! There is evidence to support the consumption of GM foods have a negative effect on the reproductive system causing infertility, increase allergic reactions and lead to a toxic overload of dangerous compounds in the body. Unfortunately a large number of soy crops are genetically modified. However there are some great products out there! When shopping check labels, look for non-genetically modified labels and organic soy products if possible. This topic is beyond this blog entry however if you take the time to source good quality products your body will love you for it. If you’d like more information there is a great book by Smith, J.M., called Genetic Roulette.

I hope the information in this post on the benefits of soy as part of a healthy diet has been useful!

Park K., Choi K., Kim H., Kim K., Lee M.H., Lee J.H., Kim J.C., Isoflavone-deprived soy peptide suppresses mammary tumorigenisis by inducing apoptosis, 2009.

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