Soy is regarded as one of the healthy food ingredients you can ever consume. Interestingly, it has been around for quite a significant time, but its use was not aligned with food.
Many people nowadays have seen the need for incorporating it into their diet because it plays a fundamental role in the overall wellness of your body.
It is also one of the best alternatives for some foodstuffs especially those known for providing proteins, fatty acids and other minerals.

It is fascinating how many people presently adore this particular ingredient to the extent that they can even supplement it with other renowned meals.
On the other hand, its usage has also continued to raise a few controversies among some people who claim that soy causes different forms of allergies in their bodies.
For that reason, let us first understand some of the aspects revolving around soy allergy;

What is soy allergy?

Soy is primarily a legume that is regarded as one of the significant food allergens. It is categorised in one group that contains foods such as peanuts, eggs, celery, fish, lactose and milk among others.
It is rich in proteins, which experts argue to be the leading cause of the allergic reaction among many people who use it.
That aside, soy is regarded as the best source of protein among numerous vegetarians and vegans.
One crucial element that you need to know about soy is that it does not necessarily cause an allergic reaction to everyone that uses it.
In fact, most of the victims of this particular food substance are those with an immune system that overreacts on specific food products.
Some of the soy allergic symptoms include watery eyes, itching, diarrhoea and anaphylactic shock among others.
The allergic effects of this particular food product mostly occur in young adult and small children.

Is it inevitable to avoid soy?

It all runs in the mind. Initially, you’d think that once you have started using soy or any of its related products such as milk or cream, you will be more inclined to use it.
Some countries explicitly in Asia regard soy as a staple food hence becoming relatively tricky to avoid. It is because it gives them their identity among other nations.
Importantly, most of the nations that tend to identify themselves with soy have a unique way of preparing it to become unique.
However, most European countries and other parts of America do not regard this particular meal as part of tradition or culture hence can easily be avoided.

Presently, soy is hugely used as a tool for producing a wide range of food products such as bread, cakes, cookies, chocolate, breakfast cereals and margarine among many more.
For instance, soy lecithin is a common ingredient widely used in various parts of the world. It is primarily an extract of soy that can be used as an emulsifier when preparing your pudding.
Soy is mainly used in processing a different kind of food products, or at the very least you will find some traces of soy in most of the foodstuffs available.
For that reason, it becomes relatively difficult to entirely avoid soy since you will find it in some foods albeit in small proportion.

Can soy be an ideal alternative for milk?

The truth of the matter is that food products that are nowadays present in the shops contain soy. Furthermore, its use has started to diversify into other forms including milk and cream.
Interestingly, the soy milk is coming into the market when consumers are considering looking for an ideal alternative to dairy.
This is even ideal especially for people who tend to suffer from allergic reactions emanating from dairy milk and lactose.
Nonetheless, there is still an argument raging between dairy and soy milk. Fortunately, many consumers tend to ignore the idea of the possible shortcomings presented by this particular alternative.
The bottom line is that is an excellent substitute only that many people tend to prefer the dairy milk over soy milk.

Is Soy Milk Bad For You ?

This is a question that can be answered appropriately at the end of the continuing research that scientist is continuously undertaking.
First thing though, it is essential to know that soy can be available as a fermented or unfermented option.
As the name suggests, fermented soy is made through a fermentation process before being processed further. The fermentation process plays a vital role in changing the composition structure as well as the taste of the soy.
Fermented soy is more popular in Asian countries, and some of its products include miso, tamari and tempeh among others.
On the other hand, unfermented soy is prevalent mostly in the western nations. Some of the unfermented soy food products include milk, cream, pudding, protein powder, margarine and burgers among others.
From these types of soy, we can deduce that the extent to which it can be healthy depends on whether it is fermented on unfermented.
And if it is fermented, it also depends on the particular fermentation process undertaken because some of the methods somewhat deplete the nutrients.

Alternatives to soy products

We have lots of other options to soy products in the market. Some of the most obvious include the vegetable milk.
The ideal alternative for soy cream is the whipped cream which is equally nutritious especially when processed using the perfect food ingredients.
Almond milk is also a suitable soy milk alternative that you can choose to go. Oats milk too is also an essential choice.
Mainly, we have lots of alternatives that you can choose to go for if you are looking for an ideal substitute for soy.
However, one thing that we cannot run away from is the fact that soy should be regarded as the ideal food, especially for vegans.
It is an ideal source of proteins and many more elements that can only obtain from a combination of a wide range of food products.