OK jokes aside. A lot of people have asked me to talk about soy vs cow milk. First of all, I want to mention that soy milk is not milk. It's more of a "soy juice" if you will. Soy beans are soaked, ground up, and strained- the liquid left over is "soy milk." Like I said, juice.
Nutrients:
One cup of cow's milk contains:
8 g of protein
12 g carbohydrates
30% of an adult's daily calcium requirements
50% of daily B12 requirements
vitamin D & A
One cup of soy juice contains:
7 g protein
4 g of carbs
"insignificant" B12 and calcium
-- yes, it can be fortified with nutrients (and usually is) but they aren't as readily absorbed as cow milk
Complications:
Also, for the folks who are concerned about hormones in cow milk. If you read my What's In Your Milk post, you'll see there are only natural cow hormones in milk (not artificial hormones) AND those hormone levels are actually lower than the estrogen levels found in soy. True story.
I also recognize that milk can cause its own complications, but so can soy juice. It's been known to cause hormone imbalances due to the high levels of phytoestrogens. Also, over 80% of the soybeans grown in the US are genetically modified. I personally am cool with GMO's, but it's still something to be aware of.
I researched this topic a lot and most experts say it's pretty difficult to crown one completely superior over the other. Soy has its benefits, especially for the lactose intolerant. So, take this info and make your own conclusions, but of course I'm going to give you mine.
Stick with what works, and drink real milk.
Well since I may or may not be bought and paid for by "Big Ag," my official answer is probably the following: Soy milk is obviously better than cow milk because it is naturally plant-based, and therefore superior, since animals pollute. Soy is therefore eco-friendly. In addition, according to the makers of Silk Soymilk, soy is "one of nature's perfect proteins." So, it only makes sense to drink perfection since you are what you eat. Being lower in nutrients is not necessarily a bad thing. We market our product as healthy because there is a chance you will gain less weight consuming our product than you will on the competing product. Granted, you must consume the same or a smaller amount of our product in order to achieve said possible results. I wouldn't worry about the GMO tidbit. As this blog post noted, only over 80% of the U.S. soybean crop is GMO. That means there is an almost 20% chance your soymilk is made from all-natural non-GMO soybeans. You can even buy certified organic soymilk for a premium if you're not a betting person. We take pride in providing our customers with a value-added soybean-based product because it pads our bottom line. Why throw that soy liquid away when we can market it to somebody who doesn't want to drink something that was squeezed from a hormonal animal? Soy tastes better too. Buy soymilk.
ReplyDeletelol thanks for the shout out Kali. Soy Juice is a more fitting word. Yup, soymilk contains phytoestrogen which can cause hormone fuck ups. It is good for women going through menopause though. I switch up my "milks" to avoid the imbalance. I also use rice milk and almond milk. In my opinion, they only taste good because of the vanilla or chocolate flavoring. I didn't like the taste of milk growing up so I switched. To each his or her own.
ReplyDeleteRyan, have you considered how much pollution is caused by producing soy milk? Dairying is one of the most eco-friendly industries out there. I can get you in contact with experts to confirm. Also, from what I read, dairy milk has complete protein as well. I was never worried about the GMO tidbit, as I said, I have no problem with GMOs (I even support them). As for the hormonal comment, you've read my What's In My Milk post, and you know that there's no artificial hormones in cow milk, there's actually more hormones in soybeans.
ReplyDeleteI hope you didn't interpret this blog as an attack on the soybean industry or soy milk for that matter. I've had multiple people ask me to compare the two and give my opinion, which I feel I did fairly. Dude, we're still friends.
Soy vs. Milk..hands down I have to go with the milk. I have tried soy milk and in my opinion you can flavor it with chocolate, vanilla, or a good chardonnay and it still tastes like @$%&. There are other negative effects of soy milk not mentioned by you or Ryan.
ReplyDeleteSoy milk is sometimes thickened with a derivative of seaweed. This seaweed additive is thought to create digestive problems in some individuals. Further testing needs to take place before any definitive results or statements can be made.
Negative side effects can result from drinking too much soy milk. In particular, stomach problems such as gas pains can result.
Soy products are thought to be the root cause of some thyroid disorders, reproductive system problems and allergy related symptoms, especially in individuals who have been using soy products since an early age.
As far as being soy being eco friendly, pleez!! We are using huge tractors that burn diesel fuel to prepare the ground, plant the soybeans, harvest the soybeans, and then haul them off. Eco friendly does not play in this debate.
Dairy Queen, I never find your blogs offense or attacking. They are usually informative and thought provoking. As for me...GOT MILK!
haha I'm just playing with you Milk Lady. I'm a corn nerd, not a soybean person. I spent some time at headquarters last week learning how we painstakingly turn brown soy sludge into the various stages of brown liquid, golden brown liquid, golden liquid, and then our premium bleached clear tasteless liquid product, so I thought I'd take a stab at promoting it. They make a lot of money on that kind of stuff but I still turned down the soya at lunch. I'm not against GMOs by any means, and after a couple years breeding ancient (essentially organic) corn, I have to say I'd much rather eat chemicals than some of the things I've touched and inhaled, and if they can make plants fight pests and grow better chemical free, I have to think that's a good thing. But yeah, personally I think soybeans are on some level just weeds people plant to prepare the ground for real crops and can't believe they try to replace milk with soy. Pretty soon they'll be trying to replace my high fructose corn syrup with that stuff and we can't have that.
ReplyDelete