Is it Possible to Make Soy Yogurt from Whole Foods?
Many people today are going gaga over soy and other soy products due to the healthy benefits of these food items. Several studies indicate that eating foods with soy brings positive effects to our health. Soy foods have a high content of protein. In fact, soy protein is considered complete because it contains all the essential amino acids needed by our body for growth and repair of tissues and muscles. Soy based meals also have low levels of saturated fats and cholesterol; reason why drinking or eating 25 grams of soy protein a day can significantly reduce the risk of heart diseases. Additionally, soy also provides desirable effects to people who have high blood pressure. A research conducted among middle-aged and elderly women indicated that eating at least 25 grams of soy foods a day reduced the level of both systolic and diastolic blood pressures.
Other positive health effects of a soy-based diet include lessening the symptoms of endometriosis (a condition among women wherein endometrial-like cells appear in the ovaries), preventing prostate problems for males, and protecting the body from different kinds of cancer. Today, a soy-based product is gaining popularity because of its delicious and nutritious quality: soy yogurt.
Soy yogurt is basically a yogurt made from milk of soybeans. Like soya, soy yogurts are also rich in nutrients. Different researches during the past two decades confirmed the positive effects of eating soy yogurt to a more stable heart health. Additionally, because of the proactive bacteria that they have, soy yoghurts can also help in faster and better metabolism and thus in preventing different digestive track diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhea. Other studies also affirm that eating soy yogurts help in lessening the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and menopause.
Making soya yogurt is similar to making traditional cow’s milk yogurt, without lactose and other dairy products of course. The Internet also provides a lot of soy yogurt recipes that you can follow even it the comfort of your own home.
The question is: can we make soy yogurts from whole soy? First of all, let us define what whole foods are. Whole foods are foods that are neither processed nor refined, or if they are, only in minimal amounts and levels. Whole foods normally do not have added ingredients like salt, sugar, fat and other components. Therefore, a whole soy is soy that is kept as natural as possible.
According to Physician and Nutrition Specialist Dr. Melina Jampolis, the main types of whole soy products are the cooked soybeans (edamame) and soy nuts. Another example is tofu. Although tofu is processed, it is however processed minimally, and therefore retains a lot of healthy benefits from soybeans.
And of course, soy milk, which is the primary ingredient used in making soy yogurt, is still considered a whole soy product. Soy milk is prepared by adding water to the beans, grinding and heating the mixture and then filtering out the milk that is extracted from the process. Although some nutrients are lost in the filtering phase, soy milk remains to be a healthy drink, most especially to people who have intolerance to dairy products or to those who are living a vegetarian lifestyle.
Other soy products such as soy protein powders, soy cheese, soy ice cream, soy meat and, of course, soy yogurts are more processed; therefore, they most likely lose a lot of nutrients along the process. These products also contain added flavors and sweeteners, making them less nutritious than whole soy food products.
