Soy
Protein Powder Supplements
Overview Of Soy Protein
Soy Protein has been used for centuries
in Asia as a nutritional source and also as a medicine.
Despite this, the first use of soy formula in the U.S. was
in 1909, and at which time, the soy protein based formulas
used soy flour, which often caused gastrointestinal problems.
It wasn't until mid 1960 that a soy protein isolate was
used, reducing gastrointestinal problems. Read about Soy
Protein Isolate here.
It wasn't until October 1999 that soy
protein products got a big boost, when FDA approved manufacturers
to label their soy protein products stating soy protein
products help reduce the risk of heart disease.
Soy Protein Powder Quality
If you read our article on Whey
Protein Supplements, you'll know there are several measures
to quantify the quality of a protein, such as Protein Digestibility
Corrected Amino Acid Score, Biological Value, and Protein
Efficiency Ratio. Compared to highend proteins like Whey
Protein supplements, Soy Protein falls a little short in
most respects. It doesn't mix as well, and its taste also
falls a little short.
Despite this, most studies have found
soy proteins helps improve the nutritional value of other
foods. Even better yet, soy proteins are found to help lower
cholesterol and help reduce risk of heart related diseases.
Below are some quality measures of Soy Protein.
Soy Protein Amino Acid Composition
Soy protein provides all the essential
amino acids required by us for growth, maintenance, and
to deal with physical stress. Of all vegetable proteins,
the soy protein amino acid composition is the most complete,
and is most like that of high quality animal proteins. Soy
protein can also improve the nutritional value of other
foods - soy protein contains extra amounts of some amino
acids, which can make up for the deficiencies in other foods.
Soy Protein Digestibility
Protein digestibility-corrected amino
acid score (PDCAAS) is based on a food protein's amino acid
content, digestibility, and its ability to supply essential
amino acids. The highest possible PDCAAS score is 1.0, and
soy protein scores 1.0. Whey protein actually scores the
highest at 1.14, but it's reported at 1.0.
Human clinical studies have also shown
that soy protein has comparable digestibility to higher-quality
protein sources like meat and milk. In a study of 2 to 4
year old children, the digestibility of soy proteins were
found to be equal to the digestibility of milk proteins.
In another study of adult males, the digestibility of soy
proteins were found to be in the 97 to 99% range.
Soy Protein In Your Diet? Soy Protein
Powder Supplements
You can either get soy protein from the
foods you eat, or if you're not into soy products, you can
get soy protein powder supplements. For many people, it
might seem 'weird' or awkward to add soy foods to their
diet like tofu and soy milk. Personally, I've been using
soy products all my life - I regularly cook tofu, and drink
soy bean milk. Aside from the weight lifting stuff I do,
I try to maintain a health, low fat-cholesterol diet. Below
are some most common sources of soy protein:
Tofu - there are several
types of tofu such as soft tofu, firm tofu, and dried tofu.
Visit Healthy
Cooking Recipes for some very good tofu recipes.
Soy Milk - also called
soy bean drink, is made by grinding soybeans and mixing
with water. The ones you buy will usually be sweetened,
and taste very good. But you can also get un-sweetened soy
milk. I prefer soy milk over milk, since I'm lactose intolerant.
Miso - is a fermented
soybean paste that's just mainly for seasoning in Japanese
soup.
Soy Flour - made from
grinded soy beans. Can be used in baked foods.
You can also get soy protein in foods
like soy burgers, soy cheese, soy yogurt, and more. So there's
plenty of different soy products you can get.
Supplementing Soy Protein Powders
Many people prefer to supplement soy protein
in their diet, you can, by all means, supplement your weight
lifting with soy protein as well. The best thing is probably
to mix your soy protein powder with some type of whey protein
supplement. This way, you get the benefit of all types of
the proteins and their amino acid make up.
Genisoy is a well known brand for making
soy protein supplements. Shop online for soy protein powders,
and you can find some very good priced soy supplements.
>> Click here for Optimum Nutrition Soy Protein
>> Click here for Soy Supplements
If you're looking for whey protein supplements also, read
our shoppers
guide to buying whey protein powders.
Read
about soy protein isolate here
Read
about soy protein benefits
