😉 Greetings to regular and new readers! The article “Soy foods: benefits and harms for your health” contains basic information about this interesting plant. There is a video at the end of the article.
What is soy
This is one of the most ancient cultivated plants. Homeland – the Far East. The geographical path of the plant: China, Japan, Vietnam, India, Europe. Stem height from 15 cm to 2 meters. The fruit is a bean, so the word “soy” in Chinese means “big bean”.
Beans contain about 50% vegetable protein, a lot of fiber and fat! This is undoubtedly a very complex product. But, today, many food products are not easy. Before consuming any of the foods, you should find out the history of its occurrence. Soy is no exception in this case.
The benefits and harms of soy
Traditionally, soy-based meals such as tofu (curd) are served in small amounts and combined with other foods to make them more digestible. Tofu is often used in salads or in sandwiches.
Additionally, in their traditional East Asian cuisine, beans are commonly fermented to create tempeh, soy sauce, natto, and miso, for example.
What for? Well, it has always been understood in this culture that soybeans in their natural state, like other legumes, contain substances like enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid. They can make it difficult to digest and also impair the absorption of certain nutrients.
However, when soy is fermented, it removes these substances to a large extent, releasing all of its positive qualities. The problem is that most of the commercial soybeans we see in our supermarkets are processed without these traditional methods.
In addition, soy is often added to cereals and other foods such as salad dressings and chocolate, often in the form of lecithin. This means that we eat a lot more soy than we think.
Another issue with very high concentrations of soy is that it has natural phytoestrogenic properties and can mimic the effects of estrogen.
And this often threatens with irreversible consequences for human health. After all, interference with the hormonal sphere entails a number of diseases, including the effect on the ability to bear children.
Useful properties of soy
However, when consumed in a traditional and fermented form, soybeans are an excellent source of protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, and natural probiotics. On the Internet, you can find a huge number of health benefits of soybeans.
Therefore, you should not absolutely exclude soy from your diet, let it dilute your diet, but everything should be in moderation, no matter how trite it may sound. One or two times a week, one hundred grams of soy will benefit a healthy person. Here are its advantages:
- fiber improves the digestive process;
- indicated for cardiovascular diseases. Soy meat lacks cholesterol and contains lecithin, which fights cholesterol in the body;
- useful for the prevention of atherosclerosis;
- soy meat can be included in the diet of diabetics, there are few carbohydrates;
- soy foods are popular with vegetarians.
Soy: contraindications
- children, pregnant women should refrain from using the product;
- soy meat is not a low-calorie product, therefore it is not recommended for obesity;
- is an allergen;
- in case of peptic ulcer disease, it is contraindicated due to the high content of vegetable protein, which is heavy enough for assimilation. Secondly, it has sulfur-containing amino acids, which contribute to an increase in gas formation;
- with gout, you can not replace animal meat with soy. All legumes were excluded from the diet of these patients due to their high purine content.
Video
Read more in this video on the topic: Soy products benefits and harms
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