How much soy should we eat?

Including as little as one serve of a soy food in our daily diet can provide us with nutritional and health benefits. In traditional Asian cultures, however, soy foods are consumed frequently throughout the day. Although intakes vary, they are much higher than what is contained in the typical Western diet. Vegetarians are a special group since they also generally have a higher intake of legumes including soybeans, than omnivores ⁸ .

If you already have a health condition, such as an elevated cholesterol level, higher amounts of soy foods would be desirable. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises that 25g of soy protein per day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. This is based on the health claim for soy protein that was approved by the FDA in October 1999. Three to four serves of soy protein rich foods each day will provide approximately 25g of soy protein. [See section 'Soy Foods for Health']

It is worth noting that the vast majority of research to date into the health benefits of soy protein, has been conducted using soy protein isolate and textured soy protein rather than traditional soy foods, although there is strong interest in the latter.