Advantages of soy protein in the diet
Dr. Jesús-Román Martínez Álvarez, Professor of Nutrition at the University
Complutense de Madrid and President of the Healthy Eating Foundation,
translates that the Spanish diet tends to move away from the parameters of
Mediterranean diet. In particular, it warns that almost 80% of the protein in
the diet comes from foods of animal origin, interacting in a
direct with insufficient consumption of vegetables, vegetables or legumes
fruits.
Currently the main source of protein in the diet is meat which
it entails high contributions of saturated fats. Jesús Román warns that
"Less than 5% of the population meets the values recommended by FAO / WHO."
Foods like soy have their place in the Mediterranean diet and they would come to
occupy a very important position among foods of vegetable origin for its
outstanding protein value, similar in quality to other foods of animal origin
like meat or dairy.
In fact, the protein concentration of soybeans is the highest of all
legumes and of higher nutritional quality. This is due to its amino acid profile and
that, as is well known, vegetable proteins in general have a low sulfur amino acid content (methionine and cysteine). On the contrary, soy is rich in
them and can meet the human protein requirements. Incorporate by
example, two cups a day of a soy drink provide 12.4 g daily of
a vegetable protein very easy to incorporate into our daily diet.
Only taking this step, the total daily diet would contain about 46 g of protein
animal in front of about 35 g of vegetable protein, that is to say: the one of animal origin
would represent 56.7% of the total daily protein and the vegetable 43.3%, very
close to recommendation 50/50. So the incorporation of soy in our
diet helps us achieve that balance in the origin of this important nutrient
how is the protein.
According to the data previously exposed, the Food Foundation
Healthy endorses that it is recommended to increase the protein intake of
vegetable origin up to about half of the total daily protein. For
Therefore, the intake of foods of vegetable origin should be increased,
soy drink a very easy way to favor this increase.