This entry was posted on Saturday, June 21st, 2008 at 1:06 pm and is filed under Soy Health, Soybean Facts, Soymilk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
In the past several years it’s become common to hear news reports about the health benefits of dairy. It’s said to help you lose weight and build strong bones. Reports like that are so common, in fact, that many of us are worried about switching over to a non-dairy diet. We don’t want to develop osteoporosis or get fat, so should we all keep eating dairy to avoid these fates?
No Reason to Worry
Fortunately, avoiding dairy isn’t as dangerous as some would make it seem. In fact, it is perfectly possible - and even likely - to live a healthy and vibrant life with absolutely no dairy at all in your diet.
Here we’ll look at just a few of the advantages soy milk has over its dairy counterpart.
1. There are no artificial hormones in soy milk. In order to increase milk production, cows are given recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH). This substance finds its way into the cows’ milk - and eventually into your body. We don’t have to tell you that drinking bovine growth hormone isn’t exactly the most healthy thing you can do for yourself.
2. Soy milk can lower cholesterol and your risk of heart disease. By adding just 25 grams of soy protein per day to your diet, you may lower your bad cholesterol by up to 10 percent! This leads to a decreased risk of heart disease - which, you may have heard, kills more Americans each year than any other disease.
3. There is no lactose in soy milk. Approximately 75 percent of all people in the world cannot properly digest dairy. A “healthy” diet beverage that only one quarter of us can stomach? That doesn’t sound like health food. Only approximately one-half of one percent of the population is diagnosed with a soy allergy, making it much more easily tolerated than dairy.
4. The isoflavones in soy milk deliver a powerful health punch. These compounds can protect us from certain types of cancer, ease menopause symptoms, and increase bone health.
5. Soy milk contains the prized omega-3 fatty acids, which are credited with increased brain function. Preliminary studies have shown that soy foods may even help to slow the onset or worsening of Alzheimer’s symptoms.
6. It’s a kinder environmental choice. If you are concerned with the environment or the welfare of animals, soy is an obviously superior choice to dairy.
Now that you know all of the amazing things soy can do, get out there and drink your soy milk! Making your own at home is easy and affordable, and you’ll be doing a fantastic favor for yourself.