ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Why Soy Protein is Good for You?

Updated on December 27, 2015

Soy Protein

There are many reasons people decide to start including soy protein in their diets. Some people start out by substituting soymilk for regular milk as a lactose-free alterative. Others try tofu in an Asian or vegetarian dish and realize it tastes great. Still others substitute soy protein for meat in an effort to switch to a plant-based diet.

Regardless of why you choose to start including soy protein in your diet, you'll enjoy its health benefits. In addition to being a less costly alterative to meat and a fun and tasty ingredient to cook with, soy protein is good for you. There are so many health benefits associated with soy protein, many thousands of people consume it as a supplement every day.

What is Soy Protein?

Soybeans are a legume native to East Asia, where they have served as a crucial source of protein for thousands of years. Today soybeans are grown throughout the world, and they are used to produce a wide variety of soy products. Soymilk, tofu, soy yogurt, tempeh, soybean oil, shoyu (soy sauce) and miso are some examples of food products made from soybeans.

Soybean products are such an important part of the diet in Asia and many other parts of the world today because soy is a plant-based protein that contains all of the amino acids our bodies require. This makes soy protein an ideal substitute for animal-based protein foods. You will not miss one bit of protein by consuming soy protein instead of beef, chicken or fish.

Why is Soy Protein Good for You?

Soy protein is beneficial to your health whenever it is included in the diet. It is good for you because of the essential amino acids it contains, but also because it is low in fat and calories and contains no cholesterol. Although you do not have to follow a vegetarian diet to enjoy the health benefits of soy protein, it is a healthier choice compared to chicken, beef, pork, and even certain types of fatty fish.

Soy protein is also good for you because it contains phytochemicals. These unique substances are antioxidants that provide a wide variety of health benefits. They support a healthy immune system and enable the body to fight of mild and more serious types of diseases.

Health Benefits of Soy Protein

Some of the health benefits associated with soy protein consumption include a reduction in cholesterol levels, heart disease and osteoporosis. Soy protein consumption is also linked with a reduction in cancer risk.

Clinical studies have confirmed that soy protein reduces cholesterol and helps people reduce their risk for heart disease. According to the FDA, including four servings of soy protein in your diet each day can reduce LDL cholesterol by as much as 10%. Heart health experts consider this as much as a 20% reduction in risk for heart disease. Soy protein accomplishes this without lowering HDL, or the "good" cholesterol our bodies need.

The isoflavones in soy protein are credited with improving the health of the cardiovascular system. To realize the biggest heart health benefits of soy protein, you should consume soy products in place of animal protein. You'll cut out the added fat, cholesterol (and calories) associated with animal proteins as you consume a much healthier alternative.

Soy isoflavones have also been shown to help protect against osteoporosis in various studies. This is a very significant health advantage for post-menopausal women who are at a high risk for bone loss.

Another health advantage associated with consuming soy protein is a reduction in the risk of certain types of cancer, including colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. Once again, research indicates it is the isoflavones in soy protein that contribute to the reduction in risk. These antioxidants prevent free radical damage to cells that may contribute to cell damage and cancer.

Additional Benefits of Soy Protein

In addition to being so good for you, there are some other advantages to consuming soy protein. If you substitute soy protein for animal-based products, you will slash your food budget. Even if you still consume meat on occasion, simply choosing soy products as an alterative several times a week can stretch your food budget considerably. Even organic soy products are considerably less expensive than their animal-based counterparts.

Soy protein is fun to use and learn to cook with, and you will discover entirely new recipes by looking for ways to include soy protein in your diet. Learning to cook authentic tasting Chinese and Indian cuisine are two additional benefits of consuming soy protein.

As you learn to cook delicious foods with soy protein, you'll find yourself consuming it more and more frequently. You will also probably find you are eating more and more vegetables and other legumes that are included in soy recipes.

Your new dietary choices will allow you to enjoy all of the health benefits associated with soy protein, plus you are likely to lose weight. This natural weight loss will occur as you replace animal-based proteins that are high in fat and calories with low-fat, plant-based foods that have fewer calories. This is one more way reason why soy protein is good for you.

Soy Protein Videos on Amazon

Soy Protein DVD's on Amazon

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)