:•: SOY MILK, Soya Beans & Tofu

To enable you to more easily see our complete range of Soymilk Makers that we stock, we suggest you visit our Catalogue Page which shows each item at a glance, in thumbnail format. After making your selections, just return to our Store to make your purchase. If you are having difficulty locating the item you need, try doing a search within our store.

Soya beans are very versatile: Soya beans can be used as

• whole Soya beans,
• Soya sprouts,
• or processed as Soya Milk, Tofu, Tempeh, Soya sauce or Miso.
• Soya is also used as ingredient for non-food products, such as soy candles and biodiesel. Soy candles are becoming more popular because they burn longer and healthier.

Soya is very important for vegetarians and vegans. Soya has a high protein content and Soya is rich in vitamins, minerals and fibres. The easiest way to consume Soya is by drinking Soya milk.

Traditional soy milk, a stable emulsion of oil, water and protein, is simply an aqueous extract of whole soybeans. The liquid is produced by soaking dry soybeans, and grinding them with water. Soy milk contains about the same proportion of protein as cow's milk~ around 3.5%; also 2% fat, 2.9% carbohydrate and 0.5% ash. Soy milk can be made at home with traditional kitchen tools or with a soy milk machine

Should You Eat Soy?

Based on the bulk of the evidence, soy appears to be perfectly safe for nearly all healthy individuals when it is consumed in reasonable amounts. A reasonable amount of soy is perhaps two to three servings per day.

No doubt you've heard lots of good things about soy foods. According to a health claim sanctioned by the FDA, they can help to fight heart disease. They may also make your bones stronger and the biggest news about soy foods over the past decade has been that they contain cancer-fighting compounds.

But just as it seemed that things couldn't get any better for soy, articles began to pop up on the internet saying that the pro-soy stories are nothing more than hype -- and that the real scoop on soy is not nearly as positive. In fact, the stories say, eating soy could endanger your health. These claims against soy include allegations that it raises cancer risk, and causes nutrient deficiencies, osteoporosis, thyroid problems, reproductive difficulties, and Alzheimer's Disease.

Making your way through the controversy can be confusing, especially since some of what the soy naysayers claim is based on some scientific data -- although this doesn't mean that their conclusions are right. It's true that some soy proponents may overstate the benefits of soy. While soy foods may not be the answer to all your problems, and while there certainly are a few unanswered questions, you can include soy foods in a balanced and healthful vegan diet.

It is true that the protein in cooked soybeans is slightly less digestible than that found in most animal foods. However, when soybeans are made into soymilk, tofu, tempeh, and the other common forms of soy foods, their protein digestibility is enhanced and becomes similar to animal foods. Any negative impact on protein digestibility due to the presence of the enzyme inhibitors found in soybeans is rendered nearly irrelevant in such foods. And even simple soybeans, with their reduced digestibility, are so high in protein and in all the essential amino acids, that they could still easily serve as the sole source of protein in a person's diet, if that was necessary for some reason.

It's true that soybeans contain substances that in excess can be harmful. But to imply, as some do, that as a result eating soy foods poses a risk to human health is taking things much further than the evidence warrants. There would be dangers in eating a diet based entirely on soybeans. But, then, the same could be said for broccoli or any other healthy food. This is one of the reasons why varied diets are so important. Diversity protects. For most people under most circumstances, soy products are a healthful addition to a balanced diet that includes plenty of vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts, fruits, and other legumes. For most people, substituting soy foods for some of the animal foods they now eat is one of the healthiest dietary changes they could make.

Perhaps the best way to take advantage of soy's health benefits is to follow the example of the traditional Asian diets and stick with whole foods. As a population, these are cultures that, when they have eaten their traditional diets, have tended to be healthier and live longer than Westerners. The Okinawa Japanese, the longest living people in the world, average 1-2 servings of soy each day. They have traditionally eaten regular but moderate amounts of whole soy foods such as tofu, soymilk, and edamame, as well as the fermented versions, tempeh, tamari, and miso. These are the soy foods that should be favoured to eat - rather than the soy products made with soy protein isolates, soy protein concentrates, hydrolysed soy protein, partially hydrogenated soy oil, etc.. Whole soy foods are more natural, and are the soy foods that have nourished entire civilizations for centuries.

You may like to read a comprehensive article on this topic, written by John Robbins - the author of THE FOOD REVOLUTION -- How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World.

The best of the Soybean includes foods like:

Individuals seeking non-dairy alternatives will find soymilk, soy cheese alternatives, cultured soy, and frozen soymilk (soy milk) that are free of lactose and milk protein.

NUTRITION HIGHLIGHTS
Soymilk (soy milk) is lactose free and a good source of essential fatty acids.  It contains no cholesterol and little or no saturated fat.  Soymilk (soy milk) can be a good source of high quality protein, B vitamins, potassium, iron, dietary fibre, and bio-active components, including isoflavones. Important bio-active components, found naturally in soybeans are being studied in relation to relieving menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, maintaining healthy bones, and preventing prostate, breast cancers, and colorectal cancer.

THE MAKING OF SOYMILK
Soymilk (soy milk) generally comes from water-soaked and ground whole soybeans that are cooked at varying temperatures and filtered, yielding a protein-rich soy base that naturally consists of soy protein, oil, fibre, sugars, water, and bio-active compounds.  This soy base may be combined with a sweetener (such as rice syrup or cane juice), some flavour, and a stabilizer to yield a non-dairy alternative.

Soy milk is promoted as a healthy alternative to cow's milk for reasons including:

• Contains fewer antibiotics, hormones, fat, cholesterol, excess protein, or links to cancer, diabetes, and other diseases 
  

• Phytochemicals reduce the risk of cancer 
  

• Soy protein reduces the levels of cholesterol and lessens the incidences of atherosclerosis 
  

• Diabetes management through its ability to control blood sugar levels. However, diabetics should be aware that most brands of soymilk - even those labelled "plain" or "organic" - are actually sweetened. Look for the word "unsweetened" on the label. 
  

• Source of lecithin and vitamin E 
  

• Lacks casein 
  

• Soy milk is pareve and so may be consumed along with meat by Jews who keep kosher 
  

• Safe for people with lactose intolerance or milk allergy 
  

• Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are good for your heart. 
  

• Contains isoflavones, natural soy nutrients that are beneficial to health.

Soymilk (soy milk) is a healthy, high-quality protein source that contains all essential amino acids needed for growth.  In general, soy protein products are equal in quality to animal products.

The soybean is a truly amazing and versatile crop plant.

It is one of the oldest food plants, domesticated by 1100BC in north-eastern China. Its ancestor is a wild vine-like plant which produces tiny, hard seeds that are useless for feed unless properly prepared.
Over the next several hundred years the domesticated soybean spread throughout much of eastern Asia. It grew upright and yielded larger, more digestible seeds. A variety of foods was developed from the soybean, ranging from soybean sprouts to steamed raw beans to roasted seeds to soy milk to soy sauce to fermented soybean paste and cake to soy flour to the commonly eaten curd called tofu (or dofu)
Soybeans reached the western world by the early 1700s and were first grown in North America by 1804. The primary use for the crop was for forage, hay and green manure.
In the 1880s, French scientists discovered that the soybean contains practically no starch, so its use in diabetic diets began. Later its high protein content was recognized.

Modern Uses. 
In the early 1900s the first processing of seeds for oil and meal was done in England. For the most part, soybeans were a neglected crop until WWII. Germany developed a soy oil lard substitute and a meat substitute. In the U.S. increasing amounts of soybean meal were used as livestock and poultry fees, especially after 1945 when the consumption of meat increased dramatically. More recently, an increasing proportion of American soybean production has been used by the food processing industry in such foods as mayonnaise, shortening, ice cream and salad dressings. Industry uses lesser amounts, in products including paint, ink, putty, caulking, wallpaper, rubber substitutes, adhesives, fire extinguisher foam, electrical insulation and gasoline. The versatile soybean is a part of everyone’s life in developed countries.

There are several categories in our SOYA department that can be accessed via the linked pages just below :