Soy / Soya - A Holy Food

Soy or Soya is a crop which has been cultivated from thousands of years. Although it considered as a native of East Asia particularly China it is now grown in all parts of the world and is an important food and cash crop. It is one among the five holy crops. It belongs to the family of legumes. It grows under variable conditions. Hence it is an important crop world wide.

Soya beans are a very pale yellow in colour. Some rare varieties are black, brown or even green in colour. Fresh soya beans have a shelf life of upto two days. The dried soya beans can be stored in airtight containers for very long periods of time. When properly stored they can maintain their original state for over a period of one year.

Soy has been in the news as it is cheap source of high quality protein, other nutritional benefits. It has many benefits and can be the ideal food for diabetics.

Soya has a lot to offer to the consumer in terms of nutrition. But claims of it being considered as a wonder food are better taken with a pinch of salt as although it has a lot of health benefits there are also some potentially limiting factors in soy.

It is best to treat it as a high protein food which is a boon for vegetarians. It should form part of a balanced diet together with other basic foods.