THE SOY BEAN

Hutt News, Volume 12, Issue 4, 22 June 1938, Page 2

THE SOY BEAN

BY H. K. AND D. W. ADAMSON HEALTH CONSULTANTS According to Chinese legend the soy bean owes its origin to fiou Tsi, one of the gods of agriculture, who some thousands of years before the advent of the Christian era planted a soy bean seed in order to provide his early children with a food that was in every way fit for the gods. For hundreds of generations the Chinese have depended upon this agricultural product as the chief source of their protein supply and the high esteem in which the bean is held has' been amply justified by the results of scientific research and experimental feeding in the countries of both Europe and America.

In order to appreciate *he value of the soy bean in the diet of the Orientals it may be mentioned that its protein content ranks with that of animal meat, or of milk which indicates that its tissue building qualities are of the very highest biological value. It is easily the richest of all the vegetable proteins and indeed is superior to most meat proteins. It contains from 34 to 40 per cent of the highest grade protein as against 20 to 30 per cent in most meats or the 10 to 30 per cent of the lower grade proteins of the cereals and the legumes such as peas, beans and lentils. About 18 per cent of its composition consists of an easily assimilable fat or oil and theTe are also about 6 per cent of mineral elements of which the alkaline factors predominate. Then if this were not enough it contains all the vitamins so far discovered.

It is only within the last few years that the bean was introduced to America but as soon as its nutritional value was discovered the demand became exceptional. First grown in isolated places and in private gardens as a curiosity, the annual crop now runs into millions of bushels and still the demand cannot be satisfied. Farmers have found the Soy bean an exceedingly payable crop for it is not only a complete food for human beings but the foliage or straw makes first class winter feed for stock and being a nitrogen gatherer, the roots of the plant add nitrogen to the soil and thereby increase its .fertility for succeeding crops.

The dxied beans have a most appetising flavour and they may be cooked in the same way as any other dried bean, but tlicy require rather longer tooting. This somewhat undesirable feature can be overcome by grinding the beans into flour and using the meal in the various ways in which ordinary wheat-meal may be used. When Soy bean flour is baked into biscuits, scones and the like, the finished product remains rather crumbly but nevertheless they are most appetising. Of couTse if one desires, 'the Soy flour may be mixed with wheat-meal in any proportion and the combination greatly increases the nutritional value of the cereal. The method of serving Soy meal most favoured by ourselves is to treat it in much the same manner as the would mincemeat, mixed with grated onion and chopped parsley etc., and baked in a pic dish. The green beans are equally palatable and they may be cooked in the same manner as green peas or fresh lima beans. As already mentioned the Soy bean protein Tanks amongst the 'best of the tissue building proteins. This is due to the fact that it contains an abundance of the four essential amino acids (lycine, cystine, histidine and tryptophane) for the creation and maintenance of human tissues. It is rich in calcium and all the other basic mineral elements as well as the various vitamins and because of its nutritional virtues the bean is now classed as a "Protective food" along with milk and the various fresh fruits and vegetables. Indeed a milk may even be manufactured from the 'bean which is as satisfactory an article of diet as ordinary cows milk and is capable of providing ft :• the nutritional requirements of children.

Unlike most other beans, the Soy bean contains a comparatively small amount of starch and on this account they are of particuuar interest to those persons who for various reasons have to strictly limit their starch and sugar consumption. As for instance, diabetites and those suffering obesity. A German investigator, Dr. C. Becker, claims special virtues for the bean in the treatment of urinary disorders and in the various skin diseases.

These beans can 'be successfully grown in the Hutt but as there are endless varieties, both green and dried, one may experience a little difficulty in obtaining the best type to grow locally and to be used as a green vegetable or in the dried state. There is no dou'bt that the Soy bean will come into considerable popularity not only with the genuine health seeker but with the general public as well.