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The 3 Things You Need to Know About Soy
The 3 Things You Need to Know About Soy
The claims are amazing -- soy does everything from lowering cholesterol and fighting cancer to thwarting brittle bones -- but scientists are still arguing. Let 'em. Because if you're looking for a high-protein food that's low in saturated fat (this, of course, is where cheeseburgers and steaks flame out) soy's awesome. And hey, if it turns out that all those other claims are true, jackpot! Plus, training your taste buds to love foods that thwart aging can make your "RealAge at least 3 years younger.
So here's all you need to know:
1. Drink up. Even die-hard carnivores -- not to mention the lactose intolerant and people who just don't care for dairy -- like soymilk. (The vanilla Silk brand gets them hooked.) Just make sure it's calcium fortified. A cup of fortified has 200–400 milligrams of calcium, or 20%-40% of your recommended dietary allowance.
2. Keep it simple. Heavy-duty processing isn't any better for soy than it is for whole grains. Choose basic Asian soy foods, such as tofu, tempeh, and miso, rather than highly processed soy sausages, frozen desserts, and energy bars. Otherwise, you're likely to find the label full of cholesterol, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium.
3. Think whole beans. Soybeans -- widely known as edamame (ed-a-mommy) -- give you the purest punch of the plant's phytochemicals, especially its isoflavones. Many supermarkets now stock frozen soybeans (in and out of the pod), and some even have fresh ones. Keeping frozen shelled beans on hand makes it easy to toss them into soups, salads, pasta, tortillas -- or this hummus recipe, made with soybeans instead of chickpeas.
SPICY SOYBEAN HUMMUS
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Serve with whole-grain pita bread or as a dip for raw veggies.
2 large cloves of garlic
1 1/2 cups cooked soybeans
2 tablespoons roasted sesame tahini
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 to 4 tablespoons vegetable broth
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast garlic cloves in shallow pan for 7 to 10 minutes, or until they just begin to brown and can be pierced easily with a fork. Cool and peel.
2. In a blender or food processor, combine cooked soybeans, tahini, garlic, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, and soy sauce. Blend until smooth. Blend in broth a teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Learn about the medicinal properties -- and potential side effects -- of soy.
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: Comments (5)
Comments
It's my understanding that soy inhibits the body's iron absorption. If you're anemic or borderline anemic, soy may not be the best for you. Posted by: Sharon | May 16, 2008 at 08:16 PM
I read where someone got every illness due to her soy intake. she ate everything made with soy.
Any word on that? Posted by: esther caracciolo | May 16, 2008 at 06:42 AM
A rough 2 months eating soy laced products that caused severe G.I. distress
known as SOY INTOLERANCE!!!!!
My dr. told me to stop all soy items in mydiet, I did and in 24 hrs. I had a complete turn around of all distress. Posted by: Rosalie Bloom | December 10, 2007 at 11:34 AM
How about soy and thyroid levels? A few years back I tried the Atkins diet and suddenly included a lot of soy in my diet - I ended up with 6 months worth of hives and was told it was because my thyroid antibodies were greatly increased by the soy I was eating. It took the 6 months to figure that out. I have since read in several places that soy is known to affect thyroid levels. Why is this never mentioned in all the places soy is recommended? Thyroid levels are nothing to play with - just ask anyone on synthroid!! Posted by: Lori | November 06, 2007 at 08:02 PM
Hi Honey, here's another one that I thought you would like (the recipe that is, I know you eat lots of Soy).
Love
Mum xxx Posted by: Olga Becroft | November 05, 2007 at 04:51 PM
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