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Soyabean- A Golden Nugget

Indians being predominantly vegetarian may need to add some food components to boost their protein content and health status. The simplest and the easiest option available to meet the protein needs is to add soybean in your daily diet. Compared to other pulses and legumes, soy has almost double the amount of protein. Just about a serving (30 gms) of soybean provides almost similar amount of protein as obtained from non-vegetarian food items. Soybean is available in different forms like soy flour, soy dal, soy drink, soy nuggets, granules and tofu. However, in India soy nuggets and granules seem to be more popular compared to other forms. There’s no doubt that soybean is an unmatched legume with high quality protein, low saturated fat, no cholesterol and huge amounts of isoflavones/ phytoestrogens- the disease fighting nutrients in soybean. The excessive processing involved in the formation of soy nuggets and granules robs them of most of these benefits. Soy nuggets are manufactured from the by- products available after soybean oil extraction. Due to the exposure to high temperature and loss of essential fatty acids along with fat-soluble vitamins and minerals thus depleting soy nuggets of their nutritional value.

CONCLUSION: Include a handful of soybean per day to keep all the chronic degenerative diseases at bay. But remember the catchword “balance” too much of anything good too can be harmful!

HEART DISEASE AND SOYBEAN: Heart disease – a leading killer is one of the major causes of death in most of the developed countries. Soy protein protects against various heart diseases and hypercholesterolemia as it decreases LDL (bad cholesterol) significantly, increases HDL (good cholesterol) and prevents oxidation of bad cholesterol to prevent oxidation in blood vessels.

OBESITY AND SOYABEAN: Soyabean has a special place for weight watchers. With its exceptionally high satiety value i.e. the fullness it creates coupled with a low glycemic index, even small quantities of soy added to the diet can make a big difference to appetite control. Besides this being loaded with nutrition it is a high nutrient low calorie food.

DIABETES AND SOYBEAN: The only agent, which has been found to reverse diabetic and kidney diseases (nephropathy) is soybean. Soybean is a useful addition to a diabetic diet as it has an exceptionally low glycemic index, which helps in blood sugar management.

CANCER AND SOYBEAN: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in the West, however the developing nations are not far behind. Several studies have shown that populations consuming higher amounts of soybeans are protected against cancer and many other chronic diseases compared to their counterparts consuming very little or no soybean.

OSTEOPOROSIS AND SOYBEAN: Osteoporosis, a silent thief is a common disease condition affecting both the developed and developing countries. Epidemiological studies have shown that vegetarian women who have higher intakes of soybean have lower rates of osteoporosis. Many studies have also shown that soy consumption favorably affects bone health and isoflavones have been shown to inhibit bone breakdown and stimulate bone formation.