Soy

Glycine max, glycine soja A.k.a. - Soya

The soy plant is an annual growing to a height of six feet. It has leaves with three leaflets, white or purple flowers, and pods with two to four beans. Soy is native to southwestern Asia and is cultivated in warm temperate regions. The pods are gathered when ripe. The beans and sprouts are used.

For at least 5,000 years, the Chinese have called soybeans ta-tou, meaning "greater bean." Before soybeans were used as food for people, they were planted on fallow land as a valuable food for the soil. Like other members of the pea family (fabaceae), soybeans plants Enhance turn free nitrogen into a usable form, making them excellent soil builders. The Chinese didn't begin eating soybeans until they discovered fermentation techniques sometime during the Chou dynasty (1134 to 246 B.C.). This natural process causes a chemical change in the soybean that creates more easily digested foods such as tempeh, miso, and tamari soy sauce. From that time on, soy was considered one of the five sacred grains, along with barley, wheat, millet, and rice. Soy was also affectionately known as the "cow of China," because it served as a valuable protein source in a mostly rice-based diet.

• High Cholesterol
• Menopause
• Long standing problems risk reduction
• Osteoporosis
• Vaginitis

Soybeans contain protein, fixed oil, coumestrol, isoflavones, lecithin, vitamins, and minerals. Coumestrol and the isoflavones closely mimic estrogen within the body.
Phospholipid compounds are present in the amount of 45 - 60%, in particular, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phospahtidylinostol.

The ideal intake of soy is not known. Researchers suggest that the equivalent of one serving of soy foods per day supports good health, and the benefits increase as soy intake increases. Soy isoflavone supplements are now available. Societies that eat a high intake of soy products derive between 50 and 100 mg per day of soy isoflavones.

Soy products and cooked soybeans are safe at a wide range of intakes; however, a small percentage of people have allergies to soybeans and thus should avoid soy products. Certain constituents in soy interfere with or alternatively might increase thyroid function; however, the clinical importance of this problem remains unclear.