Soy: properties and health benefits

It can be fully considered that legumes are the foods with the greatest cultivation today, essential for our diet due to the fact that they provide essential and almost mandatory nutrients for a balanced diet.

Among its 20,000 species, soybeans are perhaps one of the most relevant and well-known legumes worldwide, therefore, in this article we will explain its properties, benefits, and contraindications that this food has.

What is soy?

Historically, soy (Glycine max. ) has been used since 300 BC, originally from the country of China and is part of foods of plant origin. Soybean consumption has spread to other countries such as the United States, India and Japan, being a very important legume in trade.

It has a high nutritional value in the famous soybeans, since it even has in its structure certain components that the body cannot synthesize on its own, in addition to providing energy with its own proteins to the human body.

Its most common derived products are soy flour, soy sauce and even soy milk, the latter being the most common way to consume food.

Note: One study adds that: ” Grain processing plays an important role in improving or modifying the functional properties of its protein and therefore can help to broaden its application in virtually all food systems.” (1)

Nutritional properties of soybeans

The nutritional values ​​of soy are quite curious, since we get various essential compounds for the body, of which we will mention the most important elements below:

1. Vitamins

A large number of vitamins are housed in soybeans, including folic acid, on the other hand we also get complex B vitamins (such as thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine or niacin), including vitamin C , vitamin K, vitamin E and the vitamin A. 

2. Minerals

This food is essential due to the high mineral content that its structure entails, where we can find zinc, iron, calcium, selenium, certain levels of sodium, manganese and magnesium .

To highlight: It is important to keep in mind that minerals are often lost in fermented soybean foods (industrialized as well).

3. Other compounds

Soy contains other important compounds, amino acids are one of them (highlighting tryptophan and lysine) .

It also includes carbohydrates, dietary fiber and contains polyunsaturated fats, especially linoleic in appearance, and finally, it has a high content of isoflavones.

It even has proteins, substances similar to phytoestrogens and has a low content of saturated fat, being also a food that serves as a replacement for other foods of animal origin, such as red meat .

You should know: Several epidemiological studies analyze great details, but one mentions that: “The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has allowed soy protein to replace 100% protein of animal origin due to its enormous amount of amino acids” . (two)

What benefits does soy provide?

Taking into account the basis of nutritional properties of soy or soy protein, also known in a certain way, we can proceed to learn about its most relevant health benefits, in which the following stand out: 

1. Lowers blood pressure

Soy has been endorsed as a great food for patients with hypertension, since one of the advantages of soy is carbohydrates and of course certain isoflavones (which are abundant in soy milk), since it has been said that these dilate blood vessels, even reducing cardiovascular system problems.

2. Reduces cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood

By acting as an anti-inflammatory for blood vessels, soy also has an effect that acts as an antioxidant that decreases the production of LDL cholesterol and reduces triglyceride levels, on the other hand it promotes the development of good cholesterol by approximately 2.4 %, favorable in the diet.

3. Promotes bone health

Soy is one of the foods that positively strengthen bones or rather all bone health. It happens that soy provides calcium (which is mostly made up of human bone) and phosphorus (which improves the absorption of calcium in bone tissue), complemented in turn by the actions of soy isoflavones.

4. Stimulates intestinal transit

The dietary fiber of soybeans, as well as the isoflavone substances, are essential to stimulate intestinal transit , something favorable for the gastric system, where the intestinal flora improves the absorption of isoflavones and activates the metabolism of the organism, offering a better fermentative process of the intestine.

5. Reduces the symptoms of menopause

Soy consumption is highly recommended to reduce the symptoms of menopause (the cessation of menstruation), since apart from proteins, soy isoflavones play a key role for this , with functions very similar to estrogen and help to reduce the annoying hot flashes that many women experience during menopause

You should know: Oriental women have participated in various investigations of soybeans, to give claims about the reduction of menopausal symptoms with a balanced diet in said food.

6. Contributes to weight loss

Soy has the ability to increase the metabolic process, being strictly related to strengthening the intestinal tract. 

For this reason, it is fair to think that it is a great contributor to weight loss, in addition to providing satiety thanks to proteins and the presence of linoleic acid , which is essential to produce energy in the body.

7. Prevents some types of cancer

Finally, soy is essential to reduce or inhibit the expansion of cancer cells , especially breast cancer and endometrial cancer, this happens as long as the consumption of soy drinks or foods is moderate.

Important: To support this information, some studies determined that: “Studies of Asian and American women document how soy intake is related to a decrease in the incidence of breast cancer , isolating nutritional variables, menstrual and reproductive factors” . (3)

What are the risks of consuming soy?

If you exceed the consumption of soy foods, it can lead to a food risk where the main one is the presence of allergies, as well as very unstable hormonal changes due to its content of substances similar to estrogen and male hormones as well, which can derive in erectile dysfunction in men. 

To highlight: The high consumption of minerals such as magnesium, can alter metabolism and affect the kidneys, as well as leave the hemagglutinin substance accumulated in red blood cells, but to prevent this type of risk, an intake of 25 to 50 is recommended. maximum g of soy or soy per day, without exceeding 100 grams (100 g).

Key Findings

• Soy or also called “Glycine max.”, is a highly recommended legume for the daily diet, originally from China. 
• Soy products can contain a wealth of essential amino acids such as tryptophan, protein, and antioxidant elements. 
• The benefits of soy include decreased heart disease, leveling of hormonal effects, reduction of menopausal hot flashes, and also reduced risk of breast cancer.
• Intakes of no more than 50 g per day are recommended to prevent the risks of excess and certain elements that soy products contain.