The demand for fermented foods and drinks has grown over the years and can reach the $846.73 billion mark by 2027. This statistic proves the efficacy and potential health benefits of fermented food products. Most common in Asian diets, fermented soy foods, such as soy sauce, miso, natto, tempeh, tofu, and soymilk, are the main subjects of recent studies because of their health advantages.
Several studies have proved that fermented soy foods rich in protein can have lipid-lowering effects while also being instrumental in weakening the effects of cardiac disorders, cancer-related problems, diabetes, and blood pressure. Here, we will go through an in-depth analysis of the health benefits of fermented soy products or why more and more consumers should look closely at these foods.
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Improved Bone and Heart Health
Fermented soy foods help with disease prevention and improve overall health, but more specifically, they are known to improve bone and heart health. Fermented soy foods, like tempeh, satisfy 11% of an individual’s daily value for calcium, 65% for manganese, 20% for magnesium, and 27% for phosphorus.
All these nutrients are typically associated with reducing one’s risk of osteoporosis and improving bone health. Fermentation of soy foods increases hyaluronic acid that lubricates the joints and reduces arthritis-associated inflammation.
These foods also improve an individual’s overall heart health with their high levels of heart-healthy nutrients, such as calcium, niacin, folate, magnesium, copper, and potassium. It is only because of these reasons that you will find fermented soy products, like tofu and tempeh regularly, in the U.S. Soy news that reports how such products have fit into the world’s new normal.
As per articles and news on U.S. Soy, fermented soy foods are both sustainable and functional, and they are on-target ingredients that perfectly meet customer demands. The soy foods industry, specifically U.S. Soy, is well positioned to compete as customer behavior rapidly evolves in response to factors such as global warming and inflation.
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Fermented Soy Products Offer Better Overall Nutrition
As per the experts, fermentation of soy foods can transform minerals, such as calcium, iron, selenium, potassium, zinc, copper, and magnesium, into more soluble forms, so the human body gets more nutrients. Having fermented soy foods can increase an individual’s total intake of minerals and vitamins. Also, some of the yeast commonly used during the fermentation procedure can add huge amounts of nicotinic acid, biotin, and thiamin to the products, making them healthier.
Fermented soy products are also rich in isoflavones content and are available in the form of glycosides in soybeans while also including glycitin, daidzin, and genistin. These compounds have estrogen-like effects that can reduce the signs of menopause when added to a woman’s daily diet.
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Antioxidant Effect
Normal bodily reactions from different by-products, such as free radicals, increase oxidative stress and tissue damage if your body’s antioxidant defense structure is not in place. This can further cause cell apoptosis and a multitude of chronic diseases.
Several fermented soy foods contain bioactive compounds, like phenolic acid, polyphenols, sterols, flavonoids, and saponins, that safeguard against oxidative damage and have an antioxidant effect on the human body. The aglycone forms in fermented soy products also have greater antioxidant and estrogenic potential to wade off several diseases and infections.
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Protection Against Cancer
Different environmental factors, specifically diet, play an essential role in carcinogenesis, or the process in which healthy, normal cells convert into cancer cells.
Reports suggest the incidence of cancer is low in Asian people because they consume fermented soy products in large quantities. The same reports also suggest that a soy-rich diet can reduce breast cancer development rate in women of pre-menopause age.
The isoflavones in fermented soy foods can reduce cancer risk through their estrogen-like structure and antioxidant activity. Genistein, an essential member of the sub-group of isoflavones, is a phytoestrogen with estrogen-binding capability. It binds to estradiol receptors and thus helps to prevent hormone-related cancers. The broad-spectrum anti-cancer effects of this phytoestrogen can be seen in cancers of the prostate, breast, pancreas, colon, meta carcinoma, neuroblastoma, lymphoma, stomach, and esophagus. It even serves as a positive mRNA regulator that counteracts the function of inhibiting cell malignancy and growth-stimulating factors.
Several bioactive peptides in fermented soybeans can help prevent the development of tumor cells like saponins, and lunasin, deterring the creation of cell membranes while promoting the process of cell apoptosis. The anti-cancer effect of several fermented soy foods, like Doenjang, is related to compounds like vitamin E, unsaturated fatty acid, isoflavones, and trypsin inhibitors.
Additionally, Doenjang extracts re-vitalize glutathione S-transferase and thus increase the vitalization of killer cells. Therefore, fermented soy foods have become one of the best therapies for treating different types of tumors.
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Promote Better Brain Health
The human brain is quite vulnerable to oxidative damage because of its high oxygen consumption and high PUFA or polyunsaturated fatty acids content. One of the best treatments for neurodegenerative diseases is controlling microglial activation and reducing the number of pro-inflammatory factors.
That’s important because the over-production of cytokines and inflammatory mediators can lead to several neurodegenerative diseases and cause severe neuroinflammation, resulting in the death of neural cells.
Studies suggest that the isoflavones in fermented soy food can protect against neuronal cell death, enhance neuronal regeneration, and elevate existing neuronal function.
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Have Fermented Soy Foods to Avoid the Effects of Aging
Aging is a universal, complex, multifactorial, and inevitable progressive decline of the physiological functions of an individual. It affects the stability and balance of a person and makes them susceptible to different age-related diseases and injuries. Of all the different therapies that people try to achieve healthy aging, antioxidant therapy has some of the most advantageous effects, especially the dietary antioxidants found in fermented soy foods.
Different fermented soy products like tempeh have anti-aging properties that can maintain the quality of skin and uterus and improve bone strength. The anti-aging effects of all fermented soy products can also be attributed to their high bioactive polyamines and spermidine content, found in foods like tempeh and natto. Such compounds have several critical regulatory and functional properties related to cell aging, like reversing memory loss, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and improving the blood lipid profile.
Conclusion
While non-fermented soy foods are still more common, fermented varieties are increasingly available due to their potential health advantages. They effectively reduce the chance of several health issues, including stroke, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and coronary heart disease, while improving bone health simultaneously. However, people with strong food allergies must consult a healthcare professional before adding fermented soy foods to their diet.
