Front Door Delivery
You’ve probably heard a thing or two about soy protein. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
"Soy protein is bad for you!"
"Soy protein will ruin your hormones!"
We are here to share information about soy from reliable sources. This scientific guide will help you better understand the most important things you need to know about soy.
Let's get started.
Soybeans are nutritional bombs, containing twice as much protein and more oil (healthy unsaturated fats) than other beans, and very little starch. A couple of years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) felt the need to assess the quality of all the different proteins you might end up eating, therefore they established the so-called Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Assay (PDCAAS).
Reading on our blog about macronutrients , proteins are made of many amino acids and the PDCAAS evaluates the quality of that protein by comparing its amino acid composition to what our body can absorb and use. The highest PDCAAS value any protein can achieve is 1.0.
This is a list of the best protein sources:
We gave different plant-based proteins like pea, rice, sorghum, and hemp a try, but after seeing soy's PDCAA score of 1.0, we were convinced that this mild, flavorful grain would be the best protein source to use in our products [1, 2].
You may be wondering if we looked at the purported health benefits and health risks of soy protein. That brings us to the next question.
Soy is the main source of dietary isoflavones, which are naturally present in many plants, including legumes.
Isoflavones are classified as phytoestrogens: plant-derived compounds with estrogenic activity, where the term "phyto" refers to the fact that they are of plant origin. They are often linked to hormonal activity because their chemical structure shows similarities to the human hormone "estrogen".
So, phytoestrogens are estrogen-like compounds found in plants, and the isoflavones in soy are just one of several classes of phytoestrogens. Although phytoestrogens are chemically similar to estrogen and behave like the hormone in some ways, they are estimated to be 100 to 100,000 times weaker than the estrogens naturally produced in humans. [3] Therefore, they will have no real effect.
You may not know this yet, but a variety of plants and animals produce toxic compounds as part of their growth.
This occurs especially as a chemical defence against predators, insects or microorganisms. These chemicals have diverse chemical structures and are very different in toxicity, all of which can be controlled by proper handling and production processes. Cooking or steaming soybeans for at least 5 minutes at a minimum of 100 °C ensures the elimination of lectin, the main toxin found in soybeans.
For added safety, the soybeans in our meals are heated to between 100 and 120°C for approximately 30 minutes. [4]
Some soy foods contain high amounts of oxalate, which is a key component of calcium oxalate kidney stones. However, the extent of the impact of dietary oxalate and kidney stones is difficult to quantify. A common way to reduce this risk is to maintain a low-oxalate diet. However, research shows that increasing calcium intake is a better approach to limiting the risk of stones. Our products contain a maximum amount of 65.8 mg of oxalate per meal, supplemented with 20% of the RI for calcium. [5, 6]
Many concerns about soy’s impact on the environment are attributed to the ethical way in which soy is harvested, produced and distributed. So let’s dig a little deeper.
Did you know that Europe's current agricultural systems rely on soybeans? Yes! Consumption of these humble beans in Europe increased from the equivalent of 2.7 million tonnes in 1960 to a booming 43.5 million tonnes in 2016. [7]
Our soybean supplier has more than two centuries of experience in processing beans and specialty grains in a non-GMO manner, taking into account the necessary aspects to guarantee food safety and working with the following certified quality standards: FSCC2200, Riskplaza, SKAL, NOP, GMP+ and valid TI.
Fun fact: Soybean plants themselves naturally fix nitrogen, reducing the need for energy-intensive artificial fertilizers used in harvesting other crops.
Furthermore, producing 1 litre of soy drink requires three times less land, less water and emits less CO2 than 1 litre of milk. Furthermore, as seen in the following graph, greenhouse gas emissions from soy production, compared to 1 kg of different meats, are drastically lower. Light turquoise is the lowest estimate, while dark turquoise is the highest estimate, taking into account several estimates from different authors and the FAO. [8]
Crops account for 12% of the earth's surface. 75% of these crops, including soybeans, are used for animal feed. So, instead of using crops as food, the industry feeds them to livestock such as cows, which is very inefficient in our opinion.
Livestock farming, such as cattle, occupies 26% of the Earth's surface and is actually the main cause of deforestation.
Furthermore, the methane-rich gases produced during their digestion processes are known to be destructive to the ozone layer and contribute to global warming. It is estimated that cows release between 250 and 500 litres of methane per day.
We are basically cutting down large parts of the world's forests to feed and house methane-producing cows that also consume 75% of our crops. Not cool at all. [9]
Food science is an ever-evolving field of science that we continue to monitor with great care to deliver the healthiest food possible. We mention our sources below so you can monitor them as well.
2. Gorissen, S., Crombag, J., Senden, J., Waterval, W., Bierau, J., Verdijk, LB, & van Loon, L. (2018). Protein content and amino acid composition of commercially available plant-based protein isolates. Amino acids, 50(12), 1685–1695. doi:10.1007/s00726-018-2640-5
3. Messina M, Redmond G, 2006. Effects of soy protein and soybean isoflavones on thyroid function in healthy adults and hypothyroid patients: a review of the relevant literature. Thyroid. 16(3): 249-258.
4. Pusztai, Arpad & Grant, George. (1998). Assessment of Lectin Inactivation by Heat and Digestion. Methods in molecular medicine. 9. 505-14. 10.1385/0-89603-396-1:505.
5. Sorensen, M.D. (2014). Calcium intake and urinary stone disease. Translational andrology and urology, 3(3), 235.
6. Mitchell, T., Kumar, P., Reddy, T., Wood, KD, Knight, J., Assimos, DG, & Holmes, RP (2019). Dietary oxalate and kidney stone formation. American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, 316(3), F409-F413.
35g of protein, fewer carbs, 25 delicious meals per bag
4.43 / 871 reviews
Complete protein shake 137 kcal / 25g protein Sugar free
4.67 / 12 reviews
