How is Soy Milk Made & What are the Benefits of Drinking Soy Milk?
How is Soy Milk Made?
As simple as soy milk may seem, the processes involved in producing it is a bit complicated. Soy milk comes from either whole soybeans or soy flour. When producing soy milk from soybeans, the dry beans are subjected to rehydration by soaking them in water for at least 3 hours or longer. After rehydration, the beans are grinded and dissolved in water to produce soy puree which is then boiled. Boiling the soy puree increases its nutritional value, improves its flavor as well as sterilize it. After boiling, the resulting soy pulp fiber is then removed through filtration of the soy product to produce the final soy milk product.
In processing soybeans to produce soy milk, consistency in heating must be properly observed to ensure that a substance called protease inhibitors are destroyed, and that the soybeans are properly cooked. This is to avoid hyper secretion of the pancreas which is usually caused by consuming raw soybeans. Adequate heating ensures that all the fatty acids of the soy milk are broken down.
But of course, this is just a simple way of processing soy beans to produce soy milk products. Technological breakthroughs and processes have improved the processing tremendously and are now carried out in the mass production of soy milk.
Benefits of Soy Milk
Like I mentioned previously, soy milk is the closest thing you can have in terms of nutritional value to traditional milk. Soy milk and regular cow’s milk contain almost the same amount of protein. But the good thing about soy milk is the fact that it contains very little saturated fat and practically zero cholesterol.
Essentially, there are six major health benefits of soy milk:
1. A great source of lecithin and vitamin E
2. A good milk substitute for health conscious individuals since it is cholesterol free
3. A good milk substitute for lactose intolerant and vegetarians
4. A good source of vitamin B1, B2 and B6, as well as magnesium and calcium
5. A good source of cancer-fighting chemicals
6. A good source of isoflavones which prevents osteoporosis.
In addition to all these health benefits, the Japanese National Institute of Health and Nutrition has studied that soy milk helps in the prevention of heart-related problems. This is due primarily to the fact that soy milk contains zero cholesterol and has less saturated fat. Hence, regular intake will not really affect your heart condition as compared to the fattier cow’s milk.