Soytastic ? The Health Benefits of Soy

It is often taken as a given fact that soy is beneficial to our health, and that it is certainly a healthier alternative to dairy products and meat. However, it is rare that anyone actually either asks or informs us of what soy is or why we should consume it.

Soy ? Where does it come from?

The origins of soy can be traced back to Japan from as early as 2800 B.C. Since then, it has been a prominent feature of the Asian diet and has been linked to the lower frequency of cancer in those native to this region (especially in comparison to the UK and the USA).

Soy was first introduced in Europe in the early 18th Century and has gone from being used almost exclusively as animal feed to a multi-billion dollar industry.

What is it?

Soy is a highly nutritious legume which has over a 40% protein content, omega3 fatty acids, high fibre content and contains 'isoflavones' which are known to imitate the effects of natural estrogens. Also known as glycine soja (wild soybean), soybeans are the world's primary source of vegetable protein and contain all of the essential amino acids, which gives it the title of a 'complete protein'.

Why Consume Soy?

Aside from the obvious benefits to consuming soy outlined above, there are several more specific reasons as to why soy would be a smart addition to any diet or lifestyle. Soy has been given more and more attention in terms of research over the past decade and the following have been the most prominent discoveries:

• Soy can help prevent heart disease;
• Soy has been shown to benefit those with, and prevent, Type 2 Diabetes;
• Soy can help prevent Cancer of the Breast, Colon, Uterus and Prostate;
• Soy can help to prevent osteoporosis;
• The high protein content of Soy can improve athletic performance;

Making Soy a Part of Your Diet

This is not as difficult as it sounds as soy products are becoming more and more readily available (in all shapes, sizes and flavours) and equipment such as soy milk makers, and tofu kits are now available for home use, as well as commercial.

Probably the biggest step towards increasing soy in your diet (and replacing dairy) is gained from converting to soy milk. Although some people find the taste of soy milk, 'different' to that of cow's milk, by transitioning, this can easily be overcome.

By mixing soy with cow's milk, in incremental steps over the period of a month or so, it can be relatively easy to transition.

Suggested Transition:

Weeks 1-2: Use 25% Soy, and 75% cow's milk on cereals and for drinking 'neat'. Use soy in coffee and tea, but with a splash of milk. Replace 25% of regular flour with soy flour when baking. Use soy milk in smoothies where the taste is much weaker than on cereals.

Weeks 2-4: Split 50-50 when using milk and flour. Use only soy in tea and coffee and have a scoop of soy-based 'ice cream' along with regular ice-cream.

Week 4+: Increase split to 25-75 in favour of soy milk and flour. Continue at this level until you feel accustomed to the taste of soy milk and other soy products.

It will not be long until your taste alters and you actual begin to prefer the taste of soy milk, especially in drinks such as smoothies, where soy gives a much more creamy taste.

Recommended Soy Products/Brands

At EFL we heartily recommend the following:

• 'Winner' Swedish Glace (tastes like Mr Whippy style ice-cream!)
• EasyGreen Sprouter (for sprouting Soy seeds)
• Provamel Yoghurts
• Innerlight SuperSoy
• Alpro/Provamel Unsweetened Soya Milk
• Trader Joes Soya Milk (if you can find it in the UK or Europe)
• SoyaFresh! Home Soya Milk Maker
• SoyaFresh! Home Tofu Kit
• Vogel's Ultra Bran, Soya & Linseed Cereal

Energise for Life aims to bring you the very best in health and nutrition advice resources, news and articles as well as the products, equipment, supplements and superfoods you need to achieve optimal health and nutrition.

---

Google News Updated : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:06:59 GMT Federal Highway Fund About to Run Out of Money - New York Times ABC News Federal Highway Fund About to Run Out of Money New York Times - 18 hours ago By DAVID STOUT WASHINGTON - An important account in the federal Highway Trust Fund will run out of money this month, which could hamper completion of road and bridge construction projects across the country, Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said ... Highway Trust Fund Is Nearly Out of Gas Washington Post Bush reverses course, backs road fund bailout Houston Chronicle Seattle Times - Detroit Free Press - Arizona Republic - The Oregonian - OregonLive.com all 479 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:04:00 GMT Ready, set, go! Real race gets underway - Minneapolis Star Tribune Times Online Ready, set, go! Real race gets underway Minneapolis Star Tribune - 49 minutes ago By NEWS SERVICES, Washington Post McCain has turned this election into a soap opera about Sarah Palin and her family. Is this what we need to be talking about during these … read more critical times when people are losing their jobs, their homes, ... Palin intrigues Chinese public Financial Times Annette John-Hall: Pit bull of a hockey mom leading war on diversity Philadelphia Inquirer Seattle Post Intelligencer - Telegraph.co.uk - Bloomington Pantagraph - Wall Street Journal all 785 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:17:06 GMT 'True Blood': Undead On Arrival - Washington Post Boston Globe 'True Blood': Undead On Arrival Washington Post - 10 hours ago By Tom Shales You need a very good excuse to dig up the subject of vampires yet again, and filmmaker Alan Ball seems to have one. His "True Blood" is an audacious, outrageous, playfully grisly comic drama (or dramatic comedy) in which vampirism is ... Vampire tale deserves chance to suck us in Columbus Dispatch 'Blood' lacks that dramatic HBO bite San Diego Union Tribune E! Online - The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - eFluxMedia - Hartford Courant all 185 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:49:55 GMT Seinfeld ads only part of Microsoft push - United Press International Scientific American Seinfeld ads only part of Microsoft push United Press International - 1 hour ago REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) says it's banking on a new US marketing campaign to fix the image problems of its Vista Windows operating system and connect with customers. Windows Vista: The OS About Nothing InformationWeek Microsoft Works to Perfect Windows Vista New York Times eFluxMedia - Macworld - CNET News - CRN all 476 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:01:13 GMT Machinists Go on Strike Against Boeing - New York Times BBC News Machinists Go on Strike Against Boeing New York Times - 38 minutes ago By MICHELINE MAYNARD The union that represents machinists struck the Boeing Company early Saturday, crippling its aircraft production in the United States and potentially delaying the development of an important new plane, the Dreamliner. Contract talks fail; machinists strike Boeing Co. The Associated Press Boeing machinists walk off the job as talks fail Reuters Bloomberg - Washington Post - Monsters and Critics.com - guardian.co.uk all 2,421 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:28:42 GMT SanDisk Shares Soar on Samsung Interest - BusinessWeek Siliconrepublic.com SanDisk Shares Soar on Samsung Interest BusinessWeek - 11 hours ago by Arik Hesseldahl Battered by a year of flagging prices for flash-memory chips and by an inability to get traction in sales of digital media devices, SanDisk (SNDK) may soon get scooped up by South Korean electronics giant Samsung Group. Samsung Weighs Buying SanDisk New York Times SanDisk Shares Surge as Samsung Considers Acquisition (Update3) Bloomberg Forbes - Financial Times - San Jose Mercury News - InternetNews.com all 385 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:28:25 GMT Electronic Arts spawns Spore -- which may be a benevolent god - Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Electronic Arts spawns Spore -- which may be a benevolent god Los Angeles Times - 7 hours ago Spore is one of the most-talked-about video games in years, and it was masterminded by Will Wright, the same game developer who was behind the blockbuster Sims franchise. Spore reviewed Total Gaming EA's 'Spore' Set For Earthwide Launch InformationWeek CRN - Macworld - Washington Post - BusinessWeek all 209 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 07:01:47 GMT RSS Datafeeds Amazon Associate Store

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Food Selection for Gastric Bypass Patients

Dieters who dejectedly complain they are figuratively "stuck" with their... Read More

Introduction to Detox Diets

Detoxifying the body has become an apparent key preventative measure... Read More

Inflammation Pain Eased with Glyconutrients

Every person on earth has experienced pain at one time... Read More

Turn to Diet for Everyday Ailments

The old cliché that you are what you eat is... Read More

What is a Healthy Eating Plan?

Healthy eating is important for everyone, from babies to the... Read More

A Diet Deficiency Today is a Clinical Event Tomorrow

For those of us that understand nutrition and it's importance... Read More

The Portfolio Diet: The Solution to Heart Disease

What if there was a combination of foods that were... Read More

What on Earth is an Enzyme?

Enzymes are the workers in our body that make everything... Read More

Unhealthy Foods: How To Become Disgusted By Junk Foods That Make You Fat

With today's time constraints, stressful jobs, and "thin is in"... Read More

Dieting -- The Basic of Meal Planning

BASIC MEAL & MENU PLANNINGAs a basis for meals and... Read More

South Beach Diet - US vs. World

Diets concern especially Americans as they do have a "national... Read More

Nutrition as Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD Alternative Treatment: Help is as Close as the Kitchen

The quality of food we eat (or lack thereof) has... Read More

Cholesterol Does Not Cause Heart Disease

Cholesterol is an essential building block of every cell in... Read More

Dietary Guideline USA

Are you sick and tired of the confusion about our... Read More

Food Labels: Fact or Fiction?

How often do you pick up items at the grocery... Read More

The Macronutrient Balancing Act

Finally, dieters and healthy eaters everywhere have reason to rejoice,... Read More

Carrots : The Master Key For Healthy Living!

It slows ageing, promotes healthy vision, has anti-cancer properties, increases... Read More

Homeostasis and Complementary Therapies

The word 'homeostasis' is made up of two Greek words:... Read More

Nutritional Support in Critically Ill Patients

The nutritional support in critically ill patients can be explained... Read More

Nutrient Requirements of Women in Sport

Female and male athletes respond to training in a fairly... Read More

What About Potassium?

Information on potassiumWhen you read about potassium and senate document... Read More

Nutrition Is More Than The Nutrition Facts Box

Nutrition usually only comes up when people are finally deciding... Read More

Learn About Diet Nutrition Physique

Diet nutrition physiqueToday, learning about diet nutrition physique isn't all... Read More

Using Calcium and Magnesium for Constipation

Calcium helps reduce constipationUsing calcium and magnesium in the right... Read More

Glyconutrients

What are Glyconutrients? Glyconutrients are eight newly discovered biologically-active sugars... Read More