Aaaaaaaah, the soybean. If you’ve ever driven through the countryside, most likely the picture above is a familiar sight. I remember going on road trips with my family when I was young and asking my dad what was growing in the fields we’d pass. Nine times out of ten, it was soybeans or corn!
Here are some facts about soybeans:
- They are the only beans with all nine essential amino acids, providing a source of complete protein-- equivalent to animal foods in protein content.
- They are rich in iron, calcium, zinc, vitamin B, and omega-3 fatty acids.
- They are low in fat and cholesterol-free.
- No other bean offers as many health benefits.
Those are the facts. I’ve had a lot of people ask me my opinion on soy. If you were to do a Google search, most articles you will find are clearly biased either one way or another in the argument—either it is the best thing ever or it’s going to kill you. My opinion of it is this: As with most foods, soy is great in moderation. I do not use soy as my sole source of protein. I rely on beans, lentils, and nuts more than I rely on soy for protein in our meals. We love edamame (soybeans), but we probably have it every other week or so. We use soymilk, but just about a half a cup on our cereal in the mornings and in smoothies when we make them (not even once a week). When we are thirsty, we drink water-- we never drink soymilk with meals or snacks. Sometimes I use tofu in cooking, but more often I use some type of bean/legume. With the amount that we use soy in our house, I don’t feel like we are at any risk and am very comfortable with its place in our diet. I found an article that I think is very un-biased if you are interested in reading more about it—click here if you want to read it. It’s quite long, but if you were one of the people who asked me the question, then you probably won’t mind!
5 comments:
Thanks for the info and the link to the article. I plan to read it. My thoughts have always been that eating soy in a healthful way (as you've described and as I feel I do) is fine. But, you need to watch all the soy-derived additives in food because that adds up and you aren't getting benefits from it.
Thanks for researching that out for me. Have you ever tried making your own soy milk?? That might be my next big experiment, if i do try it I'll post about it on your other blog.
Meredith--are you supposed to eat the pod on an edamame?
thanks for that article, lady! i am way too lazy to have searched that out myself :)
i have to tell you a story. the other day i was talking to a guy who works in administration at a hospital and i mentioned that i have a friend who needs to see an allergist, or a nutritionist, or both. and he said "get her in to a REAL doctor. ANYBODY can be a nutritionist--you and i could just start calling ourselves nutritionists right now just cause we love food. but a Dr. actually has a degree."
I didn't say anything (which is very unlike me!) and just thought of you and my other dietician frinds and thought you'd all just love to hear that :)
i could REALLY use the spell-check feature on this comments page...wow! "dietitian friends"...there, i DO know how to spell it!! :)
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