Question: What kind of soy products should I eat?
Isoflavones, one of the active ingredients in soy, can be found in two forms in food: fermented or unfermented.
Unfermented soy products like tofu, soy milk and soy protein powder contain isoflavones that are linked to sugar molecules. Enzymes and bacteria in your gut remove the sugar molecule before absorption into the body.
Fermented soy products such as miso, tempeh and soy sauce contain isoflavones in a form that the body can absorb immediately because the fermentation process has already removed the sugar molecule.
At the present moment, there is insufficient evidence to conclude which type of soy food offers the greatest health benefit. Some researchers suggest that fermented foods may have greater health benefits due to the quicker absorption. However, it is clear from studies in Asian populations and thousands of clinical trials that unfermented soy products offer significant health benefits as well.
Tests on unfermented soy products show that their availability is greater because the sugar molecule protects the isoflavone from being broken down by bacteria.
Until we know more about the effectiveness of these different isoflavone forms, the best advice is to consume a mixture of fermented and unfermented soy products.
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