Eat More Soybean
Soybeans occur in various sizes, and in several hull or seed coat colors, including black, brown, blue, yellow, and mottled. The hull of the mature bean is hard, water resistant, and protects the cotyledon and hypocotyl (or "germ") from damage. If the seed coat is cracked the seed will not germinate. The scar, visible on the seed coat, is called the hilum (colors include black, brown, buff, gray and yellow) and at one end of the hilum is the micropyle, or small opening in the seed coat which can allow the absorption of water.
Remarkably, seeds such as soybeans containing very high levels of protein can undergo desiccation yet survive and revive after water absorption. A. Carl Leopold, son of Aldo Leopold, began studying this capability at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University in the mid 1980s. He found soybeans and corn to have a range of soluble carbohydrates protecting the seed's cell viability.Patents were awarded to him in the early 1990s on techniques for protecting "biological membranes" and proteins in the dry state. Compare to tardigrades.
Soybeans can be broadly classified as "vegetable" (garden) or field (oil) types. Vegetable types cook more easily, have a mild nutty flavor, better texture, are larger in size, higher in protein, and lower in oil than field types. Tofu and soymilk producers prefer the higher protein cultivars bred from vegetable soybeans originally brought to the United States in the late 1930s. The "garden" cultivars are generally not suitable for mechanical combine harvesting because they have a tendency for the pods to shatter on reaching maturity.
Among the legumes, the soybean, also classed as an oilseed, is pre-eminent for its high (38–45%) protein content as well as its high (20%) oil content. Soybeans are the leading agricultural export in the United States. The bulk of the soybean crop is grown for oil production, with the high-protein defatted and "toasted" soy meal used as livestock feed. A smaller percentage of soybeans are used directly for human consumption.
In processing soybeans for oil extraction and subsequent soy flour production, selection of high quality, sound, clean, dehulled yellow soybeans is very important. Soybeans having a dark colored seed coat, or even beans with a dark hilum will inadvertently leave dark specks in the flour, are undesirable for use in commercial food products. All commercial soybeans in the United States are yellow or yellow brown.
Soy consumption has been popularized by natural food companies and the soy industry's aggressive marketing campaign in various magazines, television ads and in health food markets. Research has been conducted examining the validity of the beneficial health claims with regard to the increase in consumption of soybeans which mimic hormonal activity.
A practice guideline published in the journal Circulation questions the efficacy and safety of soy isoflavones for preventing or treating cancer of the breast, endometrium, and prostate (although the same study also concludes that soy in some foods should be beneficial to cardiovascular and overall health) and does not recommend usage of isoflavone supplements in food or pills.
Raw soy bean flour is a known inducer of pancreatic cancer in rats.Whether or not this can be extrapolated to humans is unknown (no studies comparing incidence of pancreatic cancer and soy intake in humans has been conducted), and the doses used to induce pancreatic cancer in rats are larger than a person would normally consume. Further investigation may be appropriate, and caution may be warranted until further data is available. Denatured (heated) soy bean flour does not seem to be related to pancreatic carcinogenesis in rats.Smaller doses of soy protein may also protect against certain kinds of cancer.
Remarkably, seeds such as soybeans containing very high levels of protein can undergo desiccation yet survive and revive after water absorption. A. Carl Leopold, son of Aldo Leopold, began studying this capability at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University in the mid 1980s. He found soybeans and corn to have a range of soluble carbohydrates protecting the seed's cell viability.Patents were awarded to him in the early 1990s on techniques for protecting "biological membranes" and proteins in the dry state. Compare to tardigrades.
Soybeans can be broadly classified as "vegetable" (garden) or field (oil) types. Vegetable types cook more easily, have a mild nutty flavor, better texture, are larger in size, higher in protein, and lower in oil than field types. Tofu and soymilk producers prefer the higher protein cultivars bred from vegetable soybeans originally brought to the United States in the late 1930s. The "garden" cultivars are generally not suitable for mechanical combine harvesting because they have a tendency for the pods to shatter on reaching maturity.
Among the legumes, the soybean, also classed as an oilseed, is pre-eminent for its high (38–45%) protein content as well as its high (20%) oil content. Soybeans are the leading agricultural export in the United States. The bulk of the soybean crop is grown for oil production, with the high-protein defatted and "toasted" soy meal used as livestock feed. A smaller percentage of soybeans are used directly for human consumption.
In processing soybeans for oil extraction and subsequent soy flour production, selection of high quality, sound, clean, dehulled yellow soybeans is very important. Soybeans having a dark colored seed coat, or even beans with a dark hilum will inadvertently leave dark specks in the flour, are undesirable for use in commercial food products. All commercial soybeans in the United States are yellow or yellow brown.
Soy consumption has been popularized by natural food companies and the soy industry's aggressive marketing campaign in various magazines, television ads and in health food markets. Research has been conducted examining the validity of the beneficial health claims with regard to the increase in consumption of soybeans which mimic hormonal activity.
A practice guideline published in the journal Circulation questions the efficacy and safety of soy isoflavones for preventing or treating cancer of the breast, endometrium, and prostate (although the same study also concludes that soy in some foods should be beneficial to cardiovascular and overall health) and does not recommend usage of isoflavone supplements in food or pills.
Raw soy bean flour is a known inducer of pancreatic cancer in rats.Whether or not this can be extrapolated to humans is unknown (no studies comparing incidence of pancreatic cancer and soy intake in humans has been conducted), and the doses used to induce pancreatic cancer in rats are larger than a person would normally consume. Further investigation may be appropriate, and caution may be warranted until further data is available. Denatured (heated) soy bean flour does not seem to be related to pancreatic carcinogenesis in rats.Smaller doses of soy protein may also protect against certain kinds of cancer.
Comment