What are the health benefits of soy?

What is soy? 
Soybeans were one of the first foods to be grown by humans. Soy is a subtropical plant, native to southeastern Asia. This member of the pea family (which includes beans, dried peas, lentils and chick peas.) grows from one to five-feet tall and forms clusters of three to five pods, each containing two to four beans per pod.

Soy

 Soy has been a dietary staple in Asian countries for at least 5,000 years, and during the Chou dynasty in China (1134-246 B.C.), fermentation techniques were discovered that allowed soy to be prepared in more easily digestible forms such as tempeh, miso, and tamari soy sauce. 

Tofu was invented in 2 ^nd -Century China. Soy was introduced to Europe in the 1700s and to the United States in the 1800s. Large-scale soybean cultivation began in the United States during World War II. Currently, Midwestern U.S. states produce approximately half of the world's supply of soybeans.

Soy contains protein, isoflavones, and fiber, all thought to provide health benefits. Soy is an excellent source of dietary protein, including all essential amino acids. Soy is also a source of lecithin or phospholipid. Soy isoflavones and lecithin have been studied scientifically for numerous health conditions. Isoflavones such as genistein are believed to have estrogen-like effects in the body, and as a result are sometimes called "phytoestrogens.

Nutritional value of soy
250 ml (1 cup) of cooked soybeans contains as much protein as 100 g of cooked meat, chicken or fish. The quality of soy proteins can be compared to meat proteins, while other legumes are not considered complete sources of protein.
All legumes, including soy, have no cholesterol. Even though soy is a little higher in fat than other legumes, it’s only good fat (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, including omega-3 fatty acids)!
Soy is also an excellent source of minerals including calcium, iron and zinc:

• Calcium is essential for building and developing strong bones and teeth.
• Iron is used to carry oxygen to tissue and muscle cells.
• Zinc is important for growth, immunity, healing wounds and perceiving taste.

Our bodies don’t absorb plant iron (from legumes, grains, vegetables, nuts, tofu) as well as animal iron. Eat a source of vitamin C with meals to help your absorption of plant iron. Some examples of vitamin C-rich foods are citrus fruits, red peppers, strawberries and broccoli.

Soy protein has also been investigated for benefit in terms of other cardiovascular disease risk factors, reducing menopausal symptoms, weight loss, arthritis, brain function, and exercise performance enhancement. Dietary soy may decrease the risk of breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men, as well as other types of cancers. In general, the supportive evidence for use of phytoestrogens as treatments for menopause, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis (weak bone mass), and cancer is limited. The use of soy formula has been investigated in the treatment of diarrhea in infants and is an effective and safe alternative to cow's milk formula in most infants. Due to limited human study, there is currently not enough evidence to recommend for or against the use of soy for weight reduction.  



Soy products
Soy products are made from soybeans. Common sources of soy isoflavones include roasted soybean, green soybean, soy flour, tempeh, tofu, tofu yogurt, soy hot dogs, miso, soy butter, soy nut butter, soy ice cream, soy milk, soy yogurt, tofu pups, soy cheese, bean curd, seitan, and soy noodles. Soybean flour is found in Spanish sausage products (chorizo, salchichon, mortadella, and boiled ham), doughnuts, and soup stock cubes. Grocery stores carry many different kinds of soy products. Once you become familiar with them, they can become part of your regular eating habits. Some include:

• Tofu – Firm or extra-firm tofu can be used in vegetable stir-fries, soups and pasta sauces. Silken tofu is good for preparing smooth sauces, dips, creamy desserts, shakes or soups.
• Roasted soybeans - Soybean can be soaked in water then roasted in oil or using dry heat. Roasted soybeans taste like peanuts and are sold plain, salted or seasoned.  They are a nice alternative to peanuts and contain less fat ; 11 g per 60 ml versus 18 g for the same amount of peanuts
• Soy beverages - Soy beverages are made using ground-up soybeans. The grinding extracts a liquid that looks like milk.  You can drink a soy beverage ‘as is’, or you can use it to replace cow’s milk in tea, pour it into a bowl of cereal or even use it for cooking sauces and soups.   Soy beverages usually contain between 5 g to 9 g of protein per 250 ml (1 cup). Milk contains about 8.5 g of protein per 250 ml, so try to choose a soy beverage that has over 7 g of protein per 250 ml.   However, soy beverages can’t really place milk unless they are fortified.
• Fortified soy beverages have just as much calcium, vitamin D, B2, A and zinc as milk and can even contain more vitamin B12 than milk. Soy beverages also provide an average of 8 to 14% of the recommended daily iron intake (1 to 2 mg of iron per cup of drink).

 

How To Plan A Healthy Diet | Easy Tips.

Many people are unsure of what healthy eating means - not surprising when you consider the variety of, often conflicting, advice given.

Eating healthily isn't complicated once you know the basics. Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. 

Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, stabilizing your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible– all of which can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and using them in a way that works for you. You can expand your range of healthy food choices and learn how to plan ahead to create and maintain a tasty, healthy diet.

Eat Healthy

Most people know how to eat healthy, and know that they should — it’s just that when it comes down to implementing this knowledge, there’s a bridge that needs to be crossed from knowledge to action. So, here is a complete action plan to help you eat healthy. 

Healthy eating tip 1: Set yourself up for success

How do you actually eat healthy, instead of just knowing that you should eat healthy?

Eat slowly so that you can get a feeling that you have had enough food and your tummy is full. Eat slowly and fully relish the taste.

Create a meal plan, constructed with super healthy foods that you enjoy eating.  

To set yourself up for success, think about planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps rather than one big drastic change. If you approach the changes gradually and with commitment, you will have a healthy diet sooner than you think. Now, there are three parts of that solution, if you look closely, and all three parts are equally important.

1) Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. This way it should be easier to make healthy choices. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your diet will become healthier and more delicious.

2) Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn’t realistic or smart. Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad (full of different color vegetables) to your diet once a day or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking.  As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet.

3) Every change you make to improve your diet matters. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce the risk of cancer and disease. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts. 

Think of water and exercise as food groups in your diet. 

Water. Water helps flush our systems of waste products and toxins, yet many people go through life dehydrated—causing tiredness, low energy, and headaches. It’s common to mistake thirst for hunger, so staying well hydrated will also help you make healthier food choices.

Exercise. Find something active that you like to do and add it to your day, just like you would add healthy greens, blueberries, or salmon. The benefits of lifelong exercise are abundant and regular exercise may even motivate you to make healthy food choices a habit.

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