Silk Soymilk

I use Silk Soymilk on my whole wheat cereal. I must say however that there is still much debate about the health benefits or lack thereof in soymilk products. So please note that this article is based on my own personal views.

If you do some personal research on soymilk you will find articles that say soymilk is good for you and you will find some that say soymilk is bad for you.

I contacted Silk's Consumer Affairs Department and inquired about their Soymilk products. They sent me this interesting response:

Thank you for your recent telephone call to WhiteWave Foods. We appreciate your interest in our products.

While there are studies that can validate the pros and cons of consuming just about any type of food, we continue to see research on soy that shows that whole soy products, such as Silk, have numerous health benefits when consumed as part of a well-balanced diet. At WhiteWave Foods, we do not use soy protein isolates (SPI's), but rather the whole soybean. SPI's are the result of a chemical or alcohol extraction process that isolates the soy protein. We believe, and many studies validate that the health benefits of soy are reliant upon the whole soybean.

We encourage our consumers to conduct their own due diligence and arrive at an intelligent decision for their family's nutrition. If you have specific questions about ingredients or nutritional content, please feel free to contact us. We hope this information is helpful.

Thanks again for contacting the Consumer Affairs Department.

Sincerely,

Vanessa Gomez

Consumer Response Representative.

The company's response satisfied me. They also gave me some independant sources to check out on my own.

You will have to make your own decision.

Someone made a comment on an article I wrote about soymilk stating that I was giving out misleading claims when I said that soymilk was a good source of calcium. Well my response to that person's comment was simple...

If soymilk is not a good source of calcium then regular dairy milk is not a good source of calcium because if you look at the nutritional chart comparison (further down on this page) you will see that a one 8-ounce glass of Silk Vanilla Soymilk and a one 8-ounce glass of regular dairy milk both have the same amount of calcium.

Silk soymilk only use organic soy beans.

Silk soymilk also contain soy protein, which has been recognized by the FDA for its role in helping to reduce the risk of heart disease.

My favorite Silk Soymilk flavor is the one called VERY VANILLA. It has less fat than 2% milk.

Some of the health benefits of Silk soymilk and soy foods are:

1. Good source of protein.

2. Good source of Vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, E, Riboflavin and Folate.

3. Good source of Potassium, Iron, Zinc and Selenium.

4. Provide nutrients called isoflavones that is believed to help reduce the risk of certain cancers.

5. Excellent source of calcium and vitamin D that help keep bones strong.

If you are watching your cholesterol then drink soy milk. Why? Because soy milk has 0% cholesterol.

Another benefit of soy milk is the fact that it makes a great substitute for dairy milk. So feel free to use soy milk in place of dairy milk in baking, cooking and of course drinking.

Here is a nutrition comparison of one 8-ounce glass of Silk Vanilla Soymilk vs. one 8-ounce glass of regular dairy milk:

Silk Vanilla Soymilk Calories – 100, Total Fat – 3.5g, Saturated Fat – 0.5g, Trans Fat – 0g, Cholesterol – 0mg, Sodium – 95mg, Total Carbohydrate – 10g, Dietary Fiber – 1g, Sugars – 7gm, Protein – 6g, Vitamin A – 10%, Vitamin D – 30%, Calcium – 30%, Iron – 6%. Regular Dairy Milk Calories – 150, Total Fat – 8g, Saturated Fat – 5g, Trans Fat – 0g, Cholesterol – 35mg, Sodium – 125mg, Total Carbohydrate – 13g, Dietary Fiber – 0g, Sugars – 12gm, Protein – 8g, Vitamin A – 6%, Vitamin D – 25%, Calcium – 30%, Iron – 0%.

Judging from the comparison above, you can see that the health benefits of soymilk outweigh the health benefits of dairy milk.

Other health benefits of Silk soymilk are thiamin, niacin, magnesium, copper, and manganese.

Ingredients

The Silk Soymilk I use contain these ingredients:

Organic Soymilk (Filtered Water, Whole Organic Soybeans), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Sea Salt, Carrageenan and Vitamin & Minerals.

Food Allergies

Do you have food allergies? Well, you may consider the following as benefits of soy milk: soy milk is free of lactose, dairy, eggs, casein, peanuts, gluten and MSG.

Making Your Own Soy Milk

Did you know that you can make your own soy milk?

Here are some basic steps:

1. Clean the Soya beans.

2. Soak them in water for several hours.

3. Grind the soaked Soya beans with some water in a blender.

4. Filter the mixture through cheesecloth by squeezing and keep the soy milk.

5. Boil the soy milk for about 10 minutes.

6. Let the soy milk cool.

That's pretty much it!

You can experiment with different ingredients to flavor it up if you want. Homemade soy milk can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 72 hours.

Soy Milk Maker

If you plan to make soy milk on a daily basis, I recommend you use a soy milk maker.

I have never used a soy milk maker so I cannot recommend one from personal experience. However I read a review of soy milk makers and the clear winner was SoyQuick. Here is their web site link: SoyQuick

To Read a review of soymilk makers from the Vancouver Island Vegetarian Association go to: Product Review: Soy Milk Machines

Everyone has their own goals and reasons for developing a healthy eating habit and getting in shape. You can get a head start with these food menus. Food Menu

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