Why Meat-Lovers Love Soy
Meat-lovers love their burgers, sausages, and hot dogs. But these meats, often high in saturated fat and cholesterol, don’t always love them back. Now, more than ever, meat-lovers are discovering healthful, tasty soy-based burgers, sausages, dogs, and more!
To promote a heart healthy lifestyle, both the American Heart Association’s 2006 Dietary Guidelines and the USDA/HHS 2005 Dietary Guidelines encourage a diet high in plant foods, such as grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits, and avoiding foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Soy meat alternatives meet these dietary recommendations and keep saturated fat, cholesterol, and calorie intake in check. Soyfoods are low in saturated fat and contain no cholesterol. Soy is the only complete plant protein equal to animal protein and contains all eight essential amino acids. In addition, soyfoods are high in dietary fiber, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D, and other essential nutrients. Soyfoods help decrease your risk of heart disease by lowering your (bad) LDL cholesterol and increasing your (good) HDL cholesterol.
Health-wise meat lovers choose soyfoods because a vide variety of soy-based alternatives look, smell, and taste just like meat, chicken, and fish. With products like soy crumbles, soy burgers, soy pasta, soy taco mix, soy chilly, soy chicken nuggets, and even soy veggie dogs, only your imagination limits the great-tasting meals made possible by soy meat alternatives! Many cooks combine meat with textured soy protein in favorite recipes. Others top pizza with soy-based crumbles or pepperoni, or melt soy cheese over a burger. Substituting soy alternatives for favorite meat products decrease calorie, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake and helps maintain a healthy weight. For example, you save 90 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat by substituting 2 great-tasting soy links for 2 links of pork sausage.
Even the pickiest eaters of all, kids, enjoy soyfoods! According to a recent study by the United Soybean Board elementary school students ate soy-based chili, spaghetti sauce and ravioli with the same enthusiasm as traditional meat dishes. Even meat-lovers learn to love the great taste, wide variety and health benefits of soyfoods.
Visit our Soy Meat Alternative Fact Sheet for more information.
