The Soy Nutrition Institute provides information, research, and discussion about the benefits of soy to your health.
Fat is back. Not that it ever really went away. Even when very low-fat diets were all the rage, experts recognized that certain fats were more harmful than others and some were even beneficial. A common misperception is that omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, which are found in abundant amounts in most oils, including soybean oil, are […]
When it comes to plant-based diets, both the amount and type of protein consumed matters. Soybeans score high on both metrics: they provide more protein and better quality protein than other plant foods, including other legumes.1 But there is another issue in protein nutrition than may be just as important. The pattern or distribution of […]
In a recent review in the journal Open Heart, the official journal of the British Cardiovascular Society, researchers suggested that increased intake of the omega-6 polyunsaturated fat over the past several decades is largely responsible for the U.S. obesity epidemic [1]. One of the authors, James DiNicolantonio, is an associate editor of Open Heart, and […]
Which plant milk—soy, almond, cashew or coconut—is most nutritious? According to a recent article in the New York Times, it’s none of the above. Instead, in what sounded like an advertisement for the dairy industry rather than a balanced overview of pros and cons of different plant milks, health writer Roni Caryn Rabin suggested that […]
Hundreds of studies published over the past 25 years have quantified soy intake among Asian populations using food frequency questionnaires and, to a lesser extent, dietary records. The research clearly shows that non-fermented foods like tofu and soymilk play as big a role as fermented soy products. In some parts of Asia, these non-fermented soyfoods […]
Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the first clinical study demonstrating the hypocholesterolemic effect of soy protein. Although it was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, this study by Hodges et al.1 did little to draw attention to soy protein. The finding was actually serendipitous since the focus of that research […]
Despite their long history in Asian cuisine, there is plenty of confusion about how much soyfoods people in China, Japan and other Asian countries consume. A quick search of the internet brings up claims that soy is used condiment-style in this part of the world with most people consuming as little as a tablespoon of […]
A recent paper in Food Chemistry suggested that isoflavone intake in Western countries might be greatly underestimated because dietary intake assessments don’t capture the “hidden” soy protein in many foods.1 This soy protein isn’t exactly “hidden.” Soy protein appears on the ingredient lists of commercial food product labels and is specifically noted on the federally-mandated […]
Absorption of minerals from soyfoods is of considerable research interest. Because soyfoods often replace animal foods in the diet, there are questions about how they compare as sources of iron, zinc, and calcium. Milk and cheese are important sources of calcium in American diets, providing more than 40% of intake.1 Beef provides about 25% of […]
Genetically modified (GM) foods generate a lot of heated discussion about safety and product labeling. Given that 94% of the soybeans grown in the United States are GM, these discussions, not surprisingly, usually include soybeans.1 Opinion polls since 1992 show an overwhelming majority of the American public support GM food labeling.2 However, polls also show […]
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