Soy Bean Milk Products

Soy milk (also called soya milk, soymilk, soybean milk, or soy juice) and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage is a beverage made from soybeans. A stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein, it is produced by soaking dry soybeans and grinding them with water. Soy milk contains about the same proportion of protein as cow's milk: around 3.5%; also 2% fat, 2.9% carbohydrate, and 0.5% ash. Soy milk can be made at home with traditional kitchen tools or with a soy milk machine. The coagulated protein from soy milk can be made into tofu, just as dairy milk can be made into cheese.

Soy milk has about the same amount of protein (though not the same amino acid profile) as cow's milk. Natural soy milk contains little digestible calcium as it is bound to the bean's pulp, which is insoluble in humans. To counter this, many manufacturers enrich their products with calcium carbonate available to human digestion. Unlike cow's milk, it has little saturated fat and no cholesterol.

Soy products contain sucrose as the basic disaccharide, which breaks down into glucose and fructose. Since soy doesn't contain galactose, a product of lactose breakdown, soy-based infant formulas can safely replace breast milk in children with galactosemia, a very rare condition. Like lactose-free cow's milk, soymilk contains no lactose, which makes it a good alternative for lactose-intolerant people. For patients without conditions that limit which sugars they can consume, there is no evidence to support any sugar-related health benefit or detriment to consuming soy milk instead of cow's milk.

The American Academy of Pediatrics considers soy milk a suitable alternative for children who cannot tolerate human or cow's milk, or whose parents opt for a vegan diet. They find no medical benefit to using soy milk instead of human or cow's milk.

Soy milk, like cow's milk, varies in fat content, but the most commonly sold varieties have less fat than whole milk, similar fat content to 2% milk, and more fat than skim/nonfat milk.

Though it has been suggested that soy consumption is associated with a reduction in low-density lipoprotein ("bad cholesterol") and triglycerides, a 2006 study of a decade of soy protein consumption found no association between soy intake and health benefits such as cardiovascular health or cancer rates, and no benefit for women undergoing menopause. Soy was able to replace animal protein, foods high in saturated fats, and other sources of dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Research has refuted claims that soy affects sperm quality and bone mineral density.