Is Soy Milk Good For You? 5 Reasons That Make Soy Milk Healthier Than Cow's Milk



Posted: Saturday, June 13, 2009

by Steven McIntosh
http://allinonefood.com

Soy milk is a stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein. Soy milk is produced by soaking dry soybeans and grinding them with water. Soy milk can be made into tofu the same way milk can be made into cheese.

Soy milk naturally has the same amount of protein as cow's milk. However, soy milk is a healthy alternative to cow's milk for a number of reasons.

  1. It is a good source of lecithin and vitamin E. It is safe for people that are lactose tolerant or who have milk allergies
  2. Contains far less saturated fat than cow's milk
  3. Contains certain compounds that may possibly be beneficial to your health
  4. 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease and 1 cup of soy milk contains 6 or 7 grams of soy protein.
Soy milk can be made from whole soybeans or full-fat soy flour. The dry beans are soaked in water overnight or for a minimum of 3 hours or more depending on the temperature of the water. The rehydrated beans then undergo wet grinding with enough added water to give the desired solids content to the final product. The Chinese method boils the filtrate (soy milk) after a cold filtration, while the Japanese method boils the slurry first, followed by hot filtration of the slurry. The latter method results in a higher yield of soy milk but requires the use of an anti-foaming agent or natural defoamer during the boiling step. Bringing filtered soy milk to a boil avoids the problem of foaming. It is generally opaque, white or off-white in color, and approximately the same consistency as cow's milk.

 

Nutrition and health information

Nutrients in 8 ounces (250ml) of plain soymilk:


 Regular Soymilk Lite Soymilk (reduced fat)
Calories (gm) 140 100
Protein (gm) 10.0 4.0
Fat (gm) 4.0 2.0
Carbohydrate (gm) 14.0 16.0
Sodium (mg) 120.0 100.0
Iron (mg) 1.8 0.6
Riboflavin (mg) 0.1 11.0
Calcium (mg) 80.0 80.0
One cup of soy milk is equal to three servings of dairy and two servings of fruit.

For some quick and easy soy milk recipes you can visit soy milk recipes.


 

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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)
» left by Nenita Wells
 2 years 237 days ago.
298 fans.
Hi Steven.
 
I love soy milk. Thank you for this well written article and thanks for sharing.
 
Best regards,
 
Nenita
» left by Miss Bliss from Australia 2 years 229 days ago.
Most Soy products are soooo BAD for you... The BAD by far out ways any good... do some research for yourself and you will see... SOY is NOT what it is made out to be... it is actually very bad for you!
» left by C man from spring hill 2 years 226 days ago.
Moderation in all things is the answer!
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