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Benefits and harms of soy

Soya is one of the oldest cultivated plants of the popular legume family. The fruits of this unique plant contain over 30% protein, which is the best combination of amino acids. Soy is rich in medicinal and nutrients.

Soya – the culture of herbaceous annual, belonging to the legume family. Its homeland is China. Like many other legumes, soy is a valuable source of vegetable protein and other nutrients. Its use in the food industry in many countries has enabled to develop a wide range of products: cheese, milk, chocolate, cheese and meat from soy beans. But not so simple discussion doctors and nutritionists about the benefits and dangers of soy not subside until now.

Soy is an excellent side dish and the basis for vegetable stews and soups. Boiled soybeans is used for cooking the most delicious chops and cutlets. Useful soy sauce can replace salt. In natural soy products contains essential to the human body soluble fiber. Soy meat is a great addition to pasta, and cereals. Soy cream is designed to give the soups a specific taste.

The content of the article:


Use soy

Protein contained in soy is easily digested, contains a balanced set of amino acids. While soy contains virtually no carbohydrates, which allows you to save products of low calorie content.

The composition of the soybean:

  • Protein – 40%;
  • Fats – 20%;
  • Fructose, sucrose, glucose – 10%;
  • Starch;
  • Pectin;
  • Polyunsaturated fatty acids;
  • The isoflavones;
  • Phospholipids;
  • Lecithin;
  • Choline;
  • Enzymes;
  • Vitamins of groups B, E, D, beta-carotene;
  • Tocopherols;
  • Macronutrients – phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, silicon, and sulfur;
  • Trace elements – boron,aluminum, molybdenum, iron, cobalt, manganese, iodine, Nickel.

A large number of complete protein contained in soy (about 34%, which is more than meat and chicken), made her a welcome part of the diet of vegetarians and athletes bodybuilders. A large number of vitamins puts soy in a number of products with the qualities of antioxidants.

Food enzymes, in particular phytic acid, abundantly found in soybeans, help to break down and digest protein. Lecithin and choline from soy beans accelerate metabolism, help to lower "bad" cholesterol and restore the cells of the nervous system and brain. These valuable properties give grounds for nutritionists to include soy products in the menu of patients with obesity or with abnormal metabolism.

Soy helps rid the body of radionuclides and heavy metal salts. So it is actively included in the diet in regions with unfavorable environmental conditions or high radioactive background. This is a welcome product in the menu of patients suffering from diabetes, because soy affects the production of insulin by the pancreas, improves its functioning.


Use of soy isoflavones for women

Isoflavones – plant substances whose action is similar to the action of female sex hormones estrogens. They act selectively – with a lack of estrogen replaces it, and when excess production gently lowered hormonal activity. Isoflavones soy all – natural product, so this kind of hormonal regulation does not cause side effects.

The benefits of soy for women:

  • When eating soy reduces the risk of hormone-dependent malignancies of the breast, as it reduces the excessive production of estrogen;

  • Reduced negative symptoms of menopausethat occur due to lack of estrogen, such as hot flushes, osteoporosis, increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

  • Lecithin, found in soybeans, does not allow the fat deposited in the liver, fat cells burn out overweight.

Women in menopause can afford the daily use of soybean in the amount of 150-200 g per day.


Sprouts of soybeans, as well as seedlings of other grains and legumes are extremely beneficial to health. They contain large amounts of valuable protein, whole range of vitamins known to man, enzymes and biologically active substances. The concentration of these valuable compounds due to germination increases several times compared to beans which have not undergone germination.

The caloric content of this product is minimal. When you eat sprouted soy is a complete cleansing of the bowel as swollen beans and coarse fibre of the seedling passing through the digestive tract, absorb toxins and carcinogens. In germinated soybeans 30% more fiber than wheat germ.

Canned soybeans is not as useful as soy, cooked with his own hands. For this it is soaked for 6 hours, then washed and covered with wet gauze, preventing drying. To do this in the beans should always be a small amount of water. Change the water 1-2 times a day, washing the soybeans. Sprouts appear on day 2, and after 3-4 days can be eaten.

Not to get poisoning from excessive amounts of raw sprouts, blanch them for a minute in boiling water. This processing keeps all the beneficial properties of seedlings, allows you to add soybeans to salads, use as food supplements.


The use of soybean oil

Soybean oil – extremely useful product, which contains large amounts of vitamins, minerals and biologically active substances. It is used in the countries of Indochina for about 6 years and in Europe became known only in the 20th century. Soybean oil is produced by pressing and extraction of soybeans. Its Refine and deodorize, giving consumer qualities.

Soybean oil is a pale yellow, and light pleasant scent. It is used for production of lecithin – a component of food, soap, medicines, dyes, soy oil roasted, added to salads, in cakes. The caloric value of 100 g of this product – 889 kcal. It is considered the champion on the content of tocopherol and minerals in comparison with olive and sunflower oil.

Useful properties of soybean oil:

  • Vitamins and minerals contribute to cancer prevention, cardiovascular disease;

  • Choline, organic acids also improve the functioning of the liver and heart muscle, regulate blood levels of cholesterol;

  • In the use of oilis prevention of diseases of the digestive tract, regulation of metabolism;
  • Decreases the amount of immune disorders.

For the manifestation of the useful properties of soybean oil enough to use it 1-2 tbsp a day. In addition to domestic use, soybean oil is widely used in cosmetics to nourish the skin of hands and face and slowing of aging. Butter is able to smooth out wrinkles, moisturize chapped and rough skin, slow the aging process.

You should not use soybean oil if you are allergic to soy protein, while pregnant, at risk of attacks of migraine, and kidney and liver failure.


The benefits and harms of soy lecithin

Soy lecithincontained in this product, plays a major role in the body. This substance is involved in the restoration of nervous tissue and brain cells. In addition, lecithin is responsible for thinking, learning, motor activity and memory. It perfectly regulates the level of cholesterol in the blood and the metabolism of fats, allowing you to maintain functions on a unique level of younger organism, that is, helps to fight not only the disease but also with aging.

Soy lecithin industry is a product which belongs to the group of emulsifiers used for the mixing of substances with different physico-chemical properties (density, consistency, etc.). Soy lecithin is a dietary Supplement, known in Russia under the code of E322.

Soybean lecithin is found in the bread, margarine and spreads, chocolate, sausages, semi-finished products (cutlets, pancakes with filling), fast food, dairy products and baby food. To avoid the negative impact of soy lecithin, you should selectively include it in your diet. The reason is that a large part of lecithin made from genetically modified soybeans, and the benefits only natural product.

Natural soy lecithin is a very useful product!

The composition of natural soy lecithin:

  • Choline
  • Fosfodiesterasi,
  • Inositol,
  • Phosphates,
  • Linolenic acid,
  • Vitamins of group B.

Soy lecithin can be found in the form of supplements (dietary supplements), which is used in disorders of lipid metabolism, diseases of the heart and blood vessels, impairment of memory, whenpregnancy, and liver disease. If this additive is included in the composition of cosmetic products, it connects the heterogeneous in consistency, the elements of the cream or emulsion, but also nourishes, moisturizes and smoothes the skin of the face and body.

The use of natural soya lecithin:

  • Stimulates the metabolism – burns fat, relieves stress on the liver cells, prevents obesity;
  • Strengthens the heart muscle and cleans the vessels from cholesterol – phospholipids in soy lecithin are involved in the formation of valuable amino acids that strengthen the myocardium;
  • Helps the functioning of brain cells, the preservation and development of memory – issues in the development and growth of the child adds to the composition of the brain substance, normally a third consisting of lecithin;
  • Stimulates bile secretion – dissolving fats, lecithin makes bile liquid, is not formed deposits on the walls of the bile ducts and bladder;
  • Protects nerve fibers from the stress, forming the myelin sheath;
  • Reduces the craving for Smoking is a neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the composition of the soy lecithin helps the receptors in the brain to wean from nicotine addiction.

Harm. Natural soy lecithin is virtually harmless, the only possible harm is an individual intolerance to the product. Lecithin, made from modified soy (for industry) stimulates obesity, depression and memory impairment, impaired functioning of the endocrine system.


Useful than soy sauce?

Lovers of Asian cuisine have long been familiar with soy sauce, which is preparing huge amount of food. The preparation of natural soy sauce takes about a year. It is made from steamed soybeans and roasted wheat grains, which then undergo a process of enzymatic fermentation in special tanks. A year later, the sauce is filtered and bottled.

The use of soy sauce:

  • Improvement of blood circulation;
  • Fight free radicals with antioxidants;
  • Prevention of cardiovascular disease;
  • The high content of amino acids;
  • Minimal calorie, no cholesterol.

Unfortunately, the desire to make a profit leads producers of soy sauce to the adulteration of their product. To speed up the process of fermentatio in the sauce adds a pathogenic bacterial cultures, which allowsinstead of a year to sort of sauce per month. Even worse, a method such as boiling soybeans in hydrochloric acid and the quenching of this solution with alkali or breeding of soybean concentrate with plain water.

The use of counterfeit sauce dangerous because it contained carcinogens. And the usual, and the sauce prepared at the reduced technology, contains an excessive amount of salt, which leads to deposition of salts.

The dangers of soy

Negative quality soy products cause selective with regard to its excessive use.

The negative properties of soy products:

  • Soy has strumigenys effect, i.e., the substances contained in the products, disrupts thyroid and other glands of the endocrine system, can cause thyroiditis, formation of goiter.
  • Excessive consumption of soy products causes the hypertrophy of the pancreas, which leads to disruption of its functioning;

  • Soy phytoestrogens disrupt reproductive function of the female body – the menstrual cycle in women, faster development in girls, creating the threat of miscarriage in pregnant women, impaired fetal development. Men have a large amount of estrogen soy leads to the appearance of secondary sex characteristics and obesity of the female type to decrease male sexual function, increase in chest glands, slow sexual development in boys. Therefore, child nutrition is not recommended to include soy products.

  • In the elderly estrogen soy accelerate the development of the disease Altsgejmera.

  • Enzymes soy slow down absorption of iodine, zinc, calcium and iron from food, therefore, you should carefully balance your diet to replenish missing minerals;
  • Oxalic acid content in soybeans causes the development of kidney stones.

Greater risk brings the use of genetically modifitsirovannoi soy. Such soybeans contain altered genes that allow her not to respond to treatment with herbicides. Consequences of the use of this soybean is still not fully understood. We only know that the products change the genetics of the organism, crops such a soya uprooted other plants in their cross-pollination. The use of genetically modified soy leads to allergies and obesitypopulation.

Taking into account all the advantages and disadvantages of soybean, we can draw several conclusions:

  • Soy should be consumed in moderation to avoid eating genetically modified soy containing products;
  • It should be excluded from the diet of children, young women, men do not use during pregnancy;
  • For those who suffer from diabetes or obesity, soy is considered a dietary product if you use it in moderation.

Healthy people can eat soy 2-3 times a week, with 150-200 g per day. Then soybeans will benefit, will become a source of essential protein.


Contraindications of soy

Young children should not be given soy products as they contain isoflavones have a strong effect on the neuro-endocrine system, causing thyroid disease. Adults who suffer from endocrine diseases, soy dishes are also contraindicated. The high content of a special hormone-like compounds makes the use of this plant is extremely undesirable for expectant mothers.