Hello everyone, welcome back to my blog. I hope you all are having a great week. This week we are looking at the science. Is soya a ‘superfood’? There has been an abundance of research carried out on soya products and its impact on health. Today I am going to talk you through some of the science on this topic and by the end I hope to convince you to eat some more soya!
Apart from that, I am having a great week. A very exciting, people filled week. I finished up at my part time job last week and I am solely focusing on my career and future. I am so excited to share all the amazing news with you all. In the meantime, make sure and subscribe to my blog. You will be the first to know when I post a new blog and to hear all my exciting news. All you have to do is add your email to the button below. Thank you. It means so much.
Now, let’s get into it. Why on earth am I trying to convince you to eat more soya?
What is Soya?
Soya is a species of legume native to East Asia and comes in many forms. To name a few; soya beans, soya milk, tofu, tempeh, soya yogurt, edamame beans and more.
Soya is a source of vitamin K1, folate, copper, manganese, phosphorus, thiamine and of course, protein and unsaturated fat.
What does the science suggest?
A number of studies found that soya consumption aided the prevention and management of many conditions including cancer, namely breast and prostate cancer, as well as lowering cholesterol in the blood, decreasing menopausal symptoms and improving bone health.
Another study shown that 60g of soya per day improved menopausal symptoms and decreased the severity of symptoms.
Another study shown the benefits of soya on cardiovascular disease as plant proteins have been shown to decrease the risk of heart complications namely cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally.
Although one study found that soya oil may be problematic for health and shown that consumption of soya oil increased the risk of mortality from diabetes and CBVD. Soya oil I wouldn’t say is very common, but if you do consume soya oil try to switch it for something like olive oil and only cook at lower temperatures. I have a podcast on this If you want to know more about oils and health. Check below.
What about protein?
A number of studies shown that soya is a complete protein source with a protein digestibility corrected amino acid score of 1.00. This score is similar and very close to the amino acid profile of animal products. Soya has all 9 essential amino acids which isn’t all that common for a plant protein. Soya is therefore an excellent source of protein for those who do not eat meat, especially for those who are vegan and for those who do eat meat. As we have seen, an increased consumption of animal protein can increase the risk of CVD and cancer.
Wait, isn’t soya bad for you?
Let’s do some myth busting. A main component of soya isoflavones. These compounds are naturally occurring phytoestrogens. There has been controversy around soya in recent years suggesting that it mimics the action of the female reproductive hormone, oestrogen. As you can imagine, men in particular wanted to stay away from soya but if this was the case it wouldn’t be great for anyone’s health.
Concerns about isoflavones for health were largely based on rodent studies, however human research suggests the safety and beneficial effects of soya and isoflavones. We are not rats!
To bust this myth, phytoestrogens are good for you and your male friends. As we can see from the research, we should all be eating more soya products as it is conducive of health and disease prevention.
Aren’t soya products highly processed?
More processed versions of soya such as soya burgers and meat alternatives can be highly processed with added chemicals. It may be best to try and get your soya from less processed versions such as tempeh, edamame and soya milk and yogurt. Even some milks and yogurts can have added chemicals. The one I have found that is in the first picture is Alpo soya yogurt without sugars. There are some chemicals in here, but they also add calcium, vitamin b12, probiotic live cultures and vitamin d. It also tastes exactly like real yogurt. I would argue that at times we must evaluate the pros and cons when it comes to such health promoting foods and vitamins (especially if you are vegan).
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and I hope I have convinced you to run to the shops and get some soya foods. I know this research has convinced me.
If you would like to know more, please do have a look at the research I have added below in the reference’s sections.
Thank you for reading.
Last week’s podcast is below if you would like to listen this blog post and hear more about soya.
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Check out last week’s blog post.
References
I have added the links instead of any crazy referencing systems!
https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/11/4/558
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/15/5410
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154321001678
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