admin December 28th, 2008

So, what do you need to know about Soy Protein?

As mentioned on our previous page, Soy Protein comes in two forms: Soy Protein Concentrate, and Soy Protein Isolate. Soy Protein Isolate is the more “pure” form of the two, and therefore the most expensive.

A few things you should know with regards to the differences between the two… from those boffins at Wikipedia:

Soy protein isolate is a highly refined or purified form of soy protein with a minimum protein content of 90% on a moisture-free basis. It is made from defatted soy flour which has had most of the non-protein components, fats and carbohydrates removed. Because of this, it has a neutral flavor.

Soy protein concentrate is about 70% soy protein and is basically soybean without the water soluble carbohydrates. It is made by removing part of the carbohydrates (sugars) from dehulled and defatted soybeans.

Soy protein concentrate retains most of the fiber of the original soybean. Soy protein concentrate is widely used as functional or nutritional ingredient in a wide variety of food products, mainly in baked foods, breakfast cereals and in some meat products. Soy protein concentrate is used in meat and poultry products to increase water and fat retention, and to improve nutritional values (more protein, less fat).

Ok, so that’s the technical terms out of the way. But how does Soy Protein measure up when it comes to your workout? Well let’s split that up into certain sections

Digestibility and Amino Acids

Digestibility & Amino Acids should always be a factor when it comes to making your decision on what Protein Powder is right for you. And when it comes to examining Digestibility and Amino Acids, there’s a good yardstick to use… it’s called the PDCAAS, or Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score. What’s that? Well, the definition of the PDCAAS, given to us from Wikipedia again is:

a method of evaluating the protein quality based on the amino acid requirements of humans. The PDCAAS rating is a fairly recent evaluation method (it was adopted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) in 1993 as “the preferred ‘best’” method to determine protein quality.

So, now we know what it is, how does Soy Protein stack up? The highest possible PDCAAS score is 1.0, and soy protein scores 1.0… so we know it’s good on that count. And, obviously, being Soy, it’s a suitable protein powder for vegans, unlike some of the other options available like Whey.

Cons

That said, there are some fall downs for Soy Protein though. Compared to some of the high-end Whey Proteins, the protein content is usually not AS high, and in terms of recovery from your workout, you may need to take more of the Soy Protein powder than you would a whey alternative. Also, Soy protein often does not mix as well in your shaker (while this may not seem to big a deal, try living with it for a while… it will definitely start to get on your nerves).

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