rss feedReport: Soy packs protein but carries caveat
Tofu is loaded with protein. It’s low in saturated fat. It lacks cholesterol. If the tofu you’re eating has calcium, that’s another plus, too.
These are some of the conclusions of dietitian and author Jo-Ann Heslin, who recently posted a piece - “Tofu – Think Outside the White Block” – on HealthNewsDigest.com.
Using tofu can help reduce the risk of heart disease, she writes in her post. “No one is suggesting that tofu alone is a magic food but as a substitute for higher fat, higher cholesterol, lower calcium choices it is a healthy addition to your diet,” she says later.
She touches upon one controversy swirling around soy – specifically isoflavones used in supplement form. That is, if eaten as a supplement in large amounts, the risk of breast cancer might increase.
“But, regularly using a concentrated isoflavone supplement is far different than making an occasional stir-fry with tofu,” she writes. “Stick with soy as a whole food.”
Why? As a whole food, there is much “intact” soy protein, she says. “Eaten in this form, experts believe it is safe and the health benefits are clear and positive,” she notes.
I’m glad she posted her article online. I’ve never studied food nutrition to the extent that she has. And I don’t follow the tofu debate as closely as others – I just like eating it.
You can read her work and decide whether you agree with her conclusions.
I should note – which she does at the beginning - that she wrote her piece after attending a cooking demonstration sponsored by House Foods, a tofu supplier.
She includes a recipe for Tofu Gnocchi, which the company supplied.
You can read more about soy in this Food and Drug Administration online essay.
