Soy milk nutritional information

Soy Milk Nutritional Content

Soybean milk is highly nutritious and healthy drink that replaces cow's milk. It is most commonly available in the form of powder, and you can prepare it by yourself from raw soybeans. This potion has a natural mild, slightly sweet flavor and subtle aroma. Soy milk contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, 50-60 % more unsaturated fatty acids than cow's milk, and iron. It doesn't contain neither cholesterol nor milk sugar, which can cause a variety of allergic disorders. Soy milk also doesn't contain any irritant ingredients and is easily digestible, so even babies and children are allowed to drink it.

Health Benefits of Soy Milk

Soy milk is recommended for those who suffer from cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis and high cholesterol level.

Soy's isoflavones are actually phytoestrogens - active ingredients of plants that act like estrogen, which is why soy milk is considered as a good alternative to hormonal therapy in menopausal women. Soy milk is recommended for women in menopause because it reduces its symptoms, keeps bones healthy and prevents osteoporosis. Soy milk contains all necessary nutritional factors for normal growth and development of children in their youngest age. It is particularly recommended in case of child's intolerance to cow's milk proteins. Although, it is primarily intended for feeding infants and young children with disorders of tolerance to cow's milk proteins and lactose, healthy children can drink it too. However, soy milk is not recommended for infants who are born before term, as well as to children with impaired renal function and soybean protein intolerance.

Advantages of Soy Milk Over Cow's Milk

Mammalian milk contains lactose, while soy milk does not contain it which is a great alternative for people who have lactose intolerance.

Soy milk has nearly half of the fat and half of the calories than cow's milk. It also contains fibers that cow's milk doesn't contain.

Soy milk has a quarter more salt than cow's milk and does not contain cholesterol.

The only disadvantage of soy milk is that cow's milk provides more amino acids than soy milk does, so manufacturers have to add calcium to soy milk, because it contains very small amount of this mineral.

Increased Amount of Manganese

There were many speculations about possibility that soy milk can cause the behavior disorders, but small number of evidences have been found to confirm such suspicions. Still, researchers at the University of California found that the content of manganese, which is in high level in soy milk, can be associated with behavioral disorders. In fact, manganese is essential for life, but soy milk contains about 80 times more manganese than breast milk, thus increasing the risk that babies bring excessive amounts of manganese in their first weeks of life. However, these are the results of the preliminary tests and many factors should be examined before final conclusions are made.