Soymilk has long been used as a nutritional and tasty beverage for centuries. With roots as a drink staple where author Han Yi during the Ming Dynasty mentioned soymilk being consumed in his cookbook Yiya Yi, doujiang, or soymilk, paved its way into historical records in 1365 A.D. It was then followed with becoming popularized and having pedestrian usage in 1640 A.D. during the Qing Dynasty in China.
Served in tofu shops during breakfast time since 1866, doujiang was given at a hot temperature and ladled from a cauldron into a cup for consumption. It would be a soup base garnished with salt and deep-fried crullers or had sugar added to it and was supplied as a beverage. It wasn’t until 1897 that the USDA acknowledged soymilk and then used in 1909 in infant formulas, firmly establishing itself in the United States.
Besides being used in infant formulas, soymilk also had nutritional content for older generations to benefit from. One being how soymilk may act as a preventative for dementia and more specifically non-vascular dementia. Out of 307,271 participants in a 2023 study that was conducted for over 12 years, soymilk consumers showed a notably lowered risk of being diagnosed with dementia compared to other groups. Even when soymilk consumers included milk and other beverages, risk of dementia was still lower compared to groups that did not include soymilk in their diet. Soymilk consumers also had a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease along with lowered risk of dementia.
Besides being a superfood for the brain it provides power for the muscles, with 12 grams of protein offered in one 8 oz glass of soymilk.
With one 8 oz serving, you too can feel like a superhero at the office!
Soymilk can have only 2 grams of sugar, 12 grams of protein, and 120 calories in one cup depending on the brand. The unsweetened version of Edensoy offers this nutritional content, only including purified water and organic soybeans as their ingredients.
Edensoy also has 8.3 mcg of biotin in one serving, which is 30% of the daily amount needed in a 2,000 calorie per day intake. Biotin in particular might have health benefits for the skin, hair, and nails. Biotin deficiency can cause skin rashes, hair thinning, eye rashes, and nervous system disorders, so it's vital to get a healthy dose of biotin. Biotin supplements have also been found to have improved body composition parameters and quality of life for patients with ulcerative colitis and has shown positive effects during fetal development. In a recent 2024 study with rats, biotin supplements given to pregnant rats later showed their female offspring to have improved protection against cardiometabolic risk. Regardless of specific discrepancies, studies have concluded there are benefits to biotin in the diet.
So when it comes to finding a plant-based substitute that offers a multitude of nutritional benefits, soymilk may be a great solution!
