Soy Supplement

Lately, tofu has been receiving a bad reputation. Despite the media making everyone aware of the health benefits it brings, in most meat-eaters’ case tofu has a bad rep for being a boring, tasteless staple of vegetarians.

This is, however, simply not the case. Tofu can not just be tasty, it’s probably the most versatile foods there are. Someone with medium cooking experience can easily use it to replace cheeses, meats and eggs. On top of everything, it’s really, really easy to prepare. Below you’ll find the top 10 things you can do with tofu:

#1 Scramble it

Seeing how scrambled eggs and crumbled tofu have resembling consistencies, it’s not hard to figure how you could replace eggs with tofu inside the skillet. Just crumble a block of tofu and add salt, soy sauce, salt, mushrooms and greens peppers and start cooking it the say way you’d cook scrambled eggs. In case you’re not a vegan, you’re free to add cheese for adding some extra flavor.

#2 Add tofu to Lasagna

Tofu’s texture resembles that of ricotta cheese, making it a perfect replacement for it, which is also low in fat. Cook your lasagna as you would normally, but rather than layering it using ricotta, use crumbled tofu.

#3 Put it in a Casserole

Most casserole recipe that mention hamburger, tuna or chicken can easily be made using tofu instead. You go by cutting a firm block of tofu into cubes, then sauté it in a skillet. After it’s slightly browned, add it to your casserole of choice. Tofu can even be used for replacing meat in the boxed casseroles.

#4 Stir Fry it

Get some tofu and cut a block into cubes. Then toss it into the skillet with any vegetables you fancy. Add to that some olive oil or soy sauce, put it on medium heat and cook it until it satisfies your tastes.

#5 Egg Salad Substitute

Eggs inside an egg sandwich, for instance, can easily be replaced by tofu. To do this, get some firm tofu and crumble it. Add some onion, mayonnaise and celery, add some lettuce and tomato slices and serve on bread.

#6 Make an all Veggie Sandwich

Get a few tofu slices (thin ones) cut off the block. Place them into the frying pan with some sliced zucchini and squash. Cook on medium heat till they’re slightly browned. Serve by putting it on a bun with your condiments of choice, tomato and lettuce.

7) Put it in a Protein Shake or Smoothie

Get about ¼ block of tofu and toss it on the blender. Then put your fruit of choice, ¼ cup ice, 1 cup skim milk and blend. Sugar or even a sugar substitute can be added for making it sweeter, if that is your taste.

#8 Make Tofu Tacos

Tofu can be an excellent choice for replacing tacos’ meat. Crumble some firm tofu in a skillet, toss in a pack of taco seasonings and start cooking till they’re lightly browned. Serve it with tomato, lettuce, sour cream and cheese, all placed inside a hard taco shell, or maybe a soft tortilla.

#9 Add to Pasta Dishes

Tofu can easily be added to a large number of pasta dishes. Simply crumble or cube it, sauté in a skillet, putting olive oil first, until it’s lightly browned. After this, throw some of your favorite sauce and pasta onto it and voila!

#10 Put in Salad

Tofu is great for being eaten raw as well. Thus, it’s perfect to add some tofu protein to a salad. Just cut some firm tofu cubes and toss them into your next salad’s bowl.

10) Put it in a Salad

Tofu can be eaten raw and it is the perfect way to add some protein to a garden salad. Simply cut firm tofu into cubes and toss it in your next salad.

Last minute tip:

Remember to refrigerate tofu at all times. Do this by placing it inside an airtight container filled with water. The water must be changed everyday to ensure it keeps fresh.

Soy protein is a perfect example for something worldwide accepted as a miracle, but next day tagged as harmful.

In recent years, soy has had a phenomenal increase in popularity, as being the most well-known risk free protein sources available. Reasons? it’s cheap, and has a ton of uses: it can be used in cereals, breads, tofu, protein powders, candies.

But what most people don’t know is that soy could also be harming you.

Basically, soy’s negative aspects originate from two of its isoflavones: daidzein and genistein. These two can very easily get attached to estrogen receptors, which come in two types: beta and alpha. The alpha type receptors are associated with increased levels of water retention, body fat.

This doesn’t sound terrible at all, at least not yet. The drastic effct that soy has on the body is characterized by suppressing the male type hormone - testosterone. Recent studies have clearly shown that there is an undeniable link even between short term soy protein consumption and 76% reduced testosterone levels. Rest assured, this will cause no permanent damage, as testosterone levels go back up after you’ve stopped ingesting soy protein. But what happens in the meantime is that with the testosterone hormone being suppressed, estrogen will now be the more prevalent one. This is when things will start to go bad, especially for males.

It is also believed that the effects that pytoestrogens found in soy induce might have been terribly underestimated for the past decades.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This is not serious problem for men alone. Pregnant women will also be strongly affected by this.

When testing on rats, female rats were fed levels of genistein equal to those which humans on a soy diet ingest. It was found that the rats’ offspring weighed far less. When genistein was given to male rats, their production of sperm greatly decreased, and so did their body weight along with their testicle size. It was found that genistein may also reduce the urge of mating and reproducing.

Another huge problem for guys is that there is some quantity of evidence that the dangerous duo of genistein and isoflavones can facilitate the development of cancer cells in the prostate.
Soy must be thoroughly researched and not taken as a miracle. It’s a part of the food industry, a billions of dollars capitalism driven industry. And soy, its new star, is dirt cheap to produce.

Major difference

The great difference between the two of them is that soy milk is obtained from a plant, while cow milk comes from… you guessed, an animal.

Lactose-free Cow Milk and Soy Milk

Some people have lactose intolerance, thus they’re switching to lactose-free milk. The trouble with doing so is that it isn’t really all that lactose-free to begin with. Actually, it contains an ingredient that breaks down natural sugar, thus leaving the milk just 70 or 99% lactose free. Soy milk clearly takes the lead here, as it is 100% lactose free.

Mineral and vitamins differences between Cows milk and Soy milk

Calcium

Calcium can be hardly found in natural soy milk. Fortified formulas have added in calcium, yet still it falls about 100mg short – per 8 ounce glass – than cows milk.

Phosphorus

Soy milk has about half of the phosphorus found in cows milk. Phosphorus is essential for all living cells and despite it being present in practically all the cells of our bodies, 85% is found in teeth and bones. Since Americans are believed to be taking in too much phosphorus, the lower amount that soy milk contains is beneficial.

Vitamin A

While just cows milk contains vitamin A, it’s not to be found there naturally, it was added in. The dairy industry likes to show this as an asset, but in fact, Americans can easily obtain enough vitamin A from their diets and/or vitamin supplements.

Riboflavin

Cows milk has about twice as more riboflavin (B2) than soy milk does. Riboflavin is a substance that is water soluble and thus must be continuously replenished. For obtaining Riboflavin, cows milk is a great source and so are nuts, green leaf vegetables and whole grains.

Saturated fat, fatty acids

This is a huge argument – cows milk has close to nine times more saturated fats than soy milk does. What’s even more, soy milk has ten times more fatty acids (which help protect the heart) than cows milk, making it preferred by people that have cardiac issues.

General health benefits of Soy over Cows milk

Soy contains flavones. These, along with exercise and a healthy diet help lower the LDL type cholesterol, which is in fact raised by cows milk. This makes soy milk a great alternative for people suffering high cholesterol.

Another edge soy milk has over cows milk is that plant proteins are far easier to digest on most people’s systems. Soy milk is very poor in Sodium, which elevates blood pressure, making soy milk ideal for people with high blood pressure levels and anyone on a low sodium diet.

Upon hearing the term “soy allergy”, one might presume this isn’t such a fierce allergy. To prevent this allergy from triggering you might think it’s enough to stay away from soy, or soy products in general. But what you don’t actually know is more foods than you might think contain soy.

Soy is found in foods such as: grits, flour, some dried or even green beans, curd tofu cheese, soy milk, vegetable oils, soy sauces. And it doesn’t end here; soy isn’t always easy to find on the food’s list of ingredients. Sometimes it’s hidden, being listed as an additive that’s used for flavoring, or maybe a protein that’s added as a meat substitute.

Some products made of soy will cause one person an allergic reaction, and simply nothing to another person. Some products made of fermented soy are safe from causing any allergic reactions to anyone. Despite some people being allergic to soy, they will only experience a reaction when consuming a product made from whole soy beans.

With soy sometimes being hidden from the list of ingredients, it can be reasonably hard for someone to pinpoint if he or she is allergic to the particular product before consuming it. Thus, it is helpful to know what the symptoms that may occur in case you’re allergic are.

Soy allergies are quite different than other more common allergies. You won’t begin itching all of a sudden or having hives like you would when ingesting other allergic products. An allergy to soy starts to develop in your immune system. Once soy is ingested, the immune system will mistake soy for something that’s likely to harm the body. Next time it’s ingested, the immune system is going to attack to protect itself. This is done by ordering the creation of antibodies. The antibodies are going to be producing many chemicals, among which histamines. This is when the body will start experiencing signs of an allergic reaction. This can happen in a number of ways.

A response to ingesting soy can pop up in the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory system, skin, or even in the cardiovascular system.

The following symptoms can develop: asthma, acne, fever, dermatitis, vomiting, itching, diarrhea – these are just a few! In fact, these reactions could get worse every time an allergic product is ingested.
The reason ? The immune system will produce more and more antibodies each time soy enters the body.

Also, there is always the problem of other products being cross reactive. Simply put, if you are allergic to soy, you’re also likely to have an allergy to: peanuts, chick peas, green peas, lima beans, wheat, string beans, barley, rye, along with any other products containing these substances.

If you think you might be allergic to soy, best way of checking is staying away from any soy products for a couple of days, giving time for any soy products to leave your body. After this, ingest a small amount of the product in question and check to see if any symptoms return.

Worldwide usage

We all know Chinese take-out food. But ever wondered what it would be without those neat little packs of soy sauce ? The harmless brownish ingredient is a foundation of the Asian cuisine. And still, not many people know about the actual history behind the sauce itself.

Soy sauce appeared more 2500 and even more years ago, in China. At its roots, it was a byproduct. Without the option of refrigerating at hand, to preserve fish and meat, people treated them with salt. The leeching liquid from the salted foods was being used as a seasoning. But this meat-sauce began to lose popularity when the vegetarian practices of Buddhism became popular in China, being replaced by a sauce made of fermented, salty grains.

This tasty invention was discovered by a Zen priest from Japan, who started working on his own recipe, changing it slightly and using fermenting soy beans and salty grains, in equal quantities. This resulted in a more tempered sauce that complimented food and didn’t overpower it. Thus, the modern version of soy sauce was born.

Some soy sauces are still being made the traditional way, even nowadays.

They’re left to ferment 6 months for up to 3 years before it’s bottled and put on the market. These traditionally made blends are considered to be like fine wines, valued for their taste and age. But the soy sauce industry is also subject to innovations, as time marches on. The soy sauce creation process can be sped up to as short as a week, using a chemical process.

Different versions of soy sauce exist throughout the world, each with its own taste, despite the common legacy they carry. The one being used all over Asia originates from China, being available as dark or light. The dark one has molasses added, making it thicker, darker and sweeter. It also adds color and flavor to the food, while the light one is used for seasoning, without its color discoloring the food.

In Japan, five different types of soy sauce exist. Their main ingredient is wheat, also having a wine-like flavor that’s sweeter than the Chinese versions. Popular types of soy sauce in Japan are Usukuchi, Koikuchi and Tamari.

In the Korean soy sauce’s case, doenjang – a byproduct of the bean paste in Korea – is used. This makes the sauce strong and salty, making it generally used solely for traditional dishes. Intriguingly, Korean people use soy sauces created in Japan.

Next time the delivery boy brings you Chinese take-out at your front door and you see a little plastic pack with soy sauce, remember it’s got roots in ancient times.