Health Claims Buoy Soymilk Sales

Wellness Foods magazine

Growing evidence of healthful effects, together with improved tastes and textures, lend triple-digit growth to booming beverage category.

By Diane Toops, News & Trends Editor

Most Americans strive to be healthy, but they also want their wellness journey to be an easy one with convenient food choices and great taste.

Consumers warm up to refrigerated soymilk American consumers are paying closer attention to food labels, according to the 10th Annual Consumer Attitudes Nutrition Survey, conducted for the Chesterfield, Mo.-based United Soybean Board. Total fat remains the most noted item on the “Nutrition Facts” label at 17%, followed by calories (14%), and saturated fat (13%). General health is the biggest reason consumers review nutrition labels (43%), however the urge to lose weight is not far behind at 21%. Fortunately, consumers do recognize foods that may help fight obesity and increase the healthiness of their diet. In fact, 62% of Americans believe that eating soy-based foods may play a role in reducing obesity. Even more Americans, 74%, perceive soy products as healthy. This perception has encouraged 34 percent of those consumers aware of soy’s health benefits to seek out products that specifically contain soy. Soy products are consumed regularly (once a week or more) by 28% of Americans. With soy-based foods such as soy burgers, soymilk, and soy protein bars increasing in popularity, consumers are expanding their consumption of many different soy products across the board.

So it’s no surprise that one of the fastest-growing categories in the beverage marketplace is refrigerated soymilk. With sales up over 100% per year for the past three years, and with dollar sales spurting up from $100 million in 1995 to nearly $600 million in 2002, soymilk comprises 87.3% of non-dairy beverage sales in mainstream markets, according to the Chesterfield, Mo.-based United Soybean Board.

Derived from the soybean, which has been used as a food source in Asian countries for thousands of years, soymilk’s “sudden” success can be attributed to more nutrition-conscious consumers, growing numbers of vegetarians and flexitarians, established appeal to the lactose-intolerant, and, perhaps most important, greatly improved flavor and texture profiles.

Also known as soy beverage or soy drink, soymilk is high in protein. In fact, a cup of plain soymilk contains 7 grams. It also has 10 mg of calcium, helping earn its “milk” title, and many calcium-fortified soymilks contain between 200 and 300 mg of calcium per serving. Soyfoods are high in both oxalates and phytate, two compounds that inhibit calcium absorption, but the calcium from soyfoods is very well absorbed and has a fractional absorption rate equal to that of dairy milk.

Low in saturated fat and cholesterol-free, soymilk is a smart choice for anyone seeking to limit their cholesterol, fat or sodium intake, and for those who want to reduce or eliminate lactose from their diets. It also contains fiber (dairy milk has none) thiamine, iron, phosphorus, copper, potassium and magnesium and little sodium. Along with those attributes, some brands fortify soymilk with important vitamins and minerals including calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B-12.

A healthy prescription

Most doctors agree that a diet that includes 25 grams of soy protein per day is an easy and effective way to improve overall health. Soy foods’ widely reported health benefits include heart health, bone health, assistance in managing diabetes, protection against many types of cancer, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol. Many also claim that it supports kidney health, which helps your body clear itself of toxins caused by poor diet and pollution. Soy is also a natural source of potassium, iron, and vitamin B-12.

It’s also a good source of isoflavones, estrogen-like compounds that seem to have a myriad of health benefits. Women are urged to eat more soy products to alleviate annoying symptoms of menopause. Soy contains phytoestrogens, which some doctors believe can supplement dwindling natural estrogen and alleviate hot flashes, dry skin and fuzzy memory, among other unpleasant conditions.

But women generally watch calories, so reduced-fat and fat-free soymilk varieties have been developed. Among them, Minneapolis-based General Mills’ 8th Continent Light contains seven grams of Solae brand soy protein per serving, 50% fewer carbs and 25% fewer calories than skim milk.

“Both 8th Continent and 8th Continent Light contain as much calcium as cow’s milk, and each serving provides vitamins D, A, B-12 and riboflavin – nutrients important for good health,” says Elizabeth Somer, nutritionist and author of Nutrition for Women.Researchers at Colorado State University have found that soy products are a great choice for men as well. Soy may stave off baldness, prostate cancer and improve troubled skin because of equol, a bold but enigmatic molecule created in the intestine when soy is digested. The equol molecule chemically binds itself to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the male hormone that causes male-pattern baldness, acne and excess body hair and that stimulates prostate growth. Meanwhile, Penn State University sports physicians found that athletes who drank a "soy carbohydrate beverage" after weight training and aerobics had a lower risk of muscle damage.