Posted on: 20-02-06 12:42:59
Quote:
Orginally posted by pratickm
Quote:What's the logic/reasoning behind that?
Orginally posted by Brown Girl
Good point, paneer is great too, but isn't paneer supposed to be more fattening?
To me, any industrially processed food (aka junk food) can never sit well with the body, and is thus fattening.
It is not the quantity, but the quality, of food that determines whether it causes weight gain or not.
As I understand it, putting on weight is the human body's defense mechanism - it is trying to protect itself against what it perceives as threat.
It is the same for other animals as well - you will notice that when animals are sick, they either become very fat or very skinny.
Getting back to the point - I am not saying that tofu will cause weight gain for everyone, and that paneer will never.
However, one is obviously more industrially processed than the other, and to me that is reason enough to stay away.
Just because something is available at a health food store and costs an arm and leg doesn't mean it is healthy
Take those vitamin supplements as another example.....
Thought this was an interesting peice of info...
Tofu is made by grinding cooked soya beans until a milk is produced. The milk is then solidified with a mineral coagulant calcium sulfate. Natural calcium sulfate (gypsum) is naturally occuring and is one of the most common tofu coagulant used. They have been used for hundreds years in Japan and China.
Steamed tofu is particularly good for vegetarians. It will give the non-meat eater a plentiful supply of calcium ( which is derived from the calcium sulphate), as well as phosphorous and iron. Tofu is, therefore, an excellent substitute for meat in many vegetarian recipes.
Recent studies have also shown that Soya beans and products derived from them may play a role in preventing various types of cancer, particularly breast cancer. It has also been seen to have preventative capacity with regard to osteoporosis and symptoms related to menopause. An additional benefit of tofu is that it is extremely easy to digest. This is because the soya bean’s fiber is removed during the manufacturing process.
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Quote:It is more complex than this sounds.
Orginally posted by Brown Girl
Tofu is made by grinding cooked soya beans until a milk is produced. The milk is then solidified with a mineral coagulant calcium sulfate.
The extraction of milk from soy is a heavily industrialized process, especially because of the demands of mass production.
Soy protein contains large amounts of phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors and isoflavones.
Soy must be treated to extremely high temperature in order to de-activate the phytic acid and the enzyme inhibitors.
At that temperature, most of the proteins are de-natured and oxidize, which causes damage inside the body - damage which is not apparent immediately but takes years to manifest itself.
It is only now that food quality protection agencies are begining to recognise the dangers of this kind of food processing.
A couple of months back, the FDA finally turned down a petition from the soy industry, which was requesting FDA approval to label all soy based products as protection against cancer.
FDA had no choice other than to refuse the petition because of overwhelming evidence against any such claims by the soy industry.
Back to the main topic -
Quote:Not entirely true.
Natural calcium sulfate (gypsum) is naturally occuring and is one of the most common tofu coagulant used. They have been used for hundreds years in Japan and China.
It is partially true that the orientals have been consuming soy for a lot longer than the Western countries, but it is not "hundreds of years".
Even then, it was at best a marginal food - a side dish, more than a staple.
Also, the method od soy prepration during those days was a far cry from what it is today.
They did not have large industrial furnaces to heat the soy, the hexane oils to extract soybean oil, etc.
They used simple fermentation to de-activate the phytic acid and the enzyme inhibitors.
It takes several weeks, if not months, of fermentation to de-activate the phytic acid.
They used various kinds of cultures to neutralise soy, and produce natto and miso.
Quote:The phosphorous in soy is not absorable by the human body.
Steamed tofu is particularly good for vegetarians. It will give the non-meat eater a plentiful supply of calcium ( which is derived from the calcium sulphate), as well as phosphorous and iron.
Just because a food compound has a particular vitamin or mineral doesn't mean it will be absorable by the body.
It needs to be determine what kind of compunds that nutrient is bound by, and whether it can be effectively broken down by the human digestive enzymes.
Quote:See above - these were claims by the soy processing industry, which were long denied by most unbiased health professionals.
Recent studies have also shown that Soya beans and products derived from them may play a role in preventing various types of cancer, particularly breast cancer. It has also been seen to have preventative capacity with regard to osteoporosis and symptoms related to menopause.
Finally, the FDA came around and denied the official petition to this effect.
Quote:ROTFL - this is a classic example of the cliche - "if you repeat a lie enough number of times, it becomes the truth" !
An additional benefit of tofu is that it is extremely easy to digest. This is because the soya bean’s fiber is removed during the manufacturing process.
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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."
-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"
Soya milk is a substitute for children who have milk intolerance. So, I take it that Soya milk is equally healthy. Anything coming from plant unlike milk from cow is considered to be safer and nutritive.
Pratickm...did you ever thought of finding out how industrialized is 1% or 2% milk process is.....believe me cow's do not produce milk in that percentage of fat levels 
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Quote:Equally healthy as what?
Orginally posted by Charlie
Soya milk is a substitute for children who have milk intolerance. So, I take it that Soya milk is equally healthy.
Cow's milk, or the natural mother's milk?
I am guessing neither.
Quote:Please tell me you are kidding....
Anything coming from plant unlike milk from cow is considered to be safer and nutritive.
Also, in this case "plant" most likely means a factory plant, and not those things that grow in the ground - correct
Quote:I know - which I why I stear clear of the 1%, 2% or whatever % fat is available at grocery stores.
Pratickm...did you ever thought of finding out how industrialized is 1% or 2% milk process is.....believe me cow's do not produce milk in that percentage of fat levels
I was fortunate enough to grow up in that part of a big city in India that had a cluster of small villages close by, and have the good fortune of knowing what real milk smells and tastes like
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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."
-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"
Soybean Plant
Soya belongs to the papilionaceous flowers or to the leguminous plants and may reach a height of 80 to 100 cm. The flowers are red, white but can also be violet. The beans grow in pods that develop in clusters of 3 to 5 cm with each pod usually containing 2 or 3 beans. These beans are sometimes big or small, long, round or oval. The color can also vary. Some are yellow, others are green but can also be brown or violet and some are even black or with spots..
So from this I would guess that soy milk comes from the kind of plant that grows from the ground
Breast milk
Breast milk is the perfect source of nutrition for infants. Breast milk contains appropriate amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat. It also provides digestive enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and hormones that all infants require. Breast milk contains valuable antibodies from the mother that may help the baby resist infections.
Cow's milk
Cow's milk by itself is inappropriate for infants less than 1 year old. The infant may develop an allergy to dairy products if given cow's milk too early in life. Although cow's milk contains most of the same components as breast milk, these components are not in the same amounts. Cow's milk also lacks the immune factors (antibodies) that help protect infants until their own immune system fully develops.
Commercially prepared formulas may be based on non-fat cow's milk, whey protein, or soy protein.
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Reduce your food label confusion
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates what foods can contain before they can make label claims. Here are a few FDA label-claims requirements for food manufacturers:
Free. This means that a product contains no amount of, or only trivial or “physiologically inconsequential” amounts of one or more of the following components: fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugars and calories. For example, “calorie-free” means fewer than 5 calories per serving, and “sugar-free” and “fat-free” both mean less than 0.5 grams per serving. Synonyms for “free” include “without,” “no” and “zero.” A synonym for fat-free milk is “skim.”
Low. This term can be used on foods that can be eaten frequently without exceeding dietary guidelines for one or more of these components: fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and calories. Thus, descriptors are as follows:
Low-fat. 3 grams or less per serving.
Low-saturated fat. 1 gram or less per serving.
Low-sodium. 140 milligrams or less per serving.
Very low sodium. 35 milligrams or less per serving.
Low cholesterol. 20 milligrams or less and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving.
Low calorie. 40 calories or less per serving.
Synonyms for low are “little,” “few,” “low source of” and “contains a small amount of.”
The FDA labelling "rules" are confusing at best, and deceptive at worst.
For example, they allow manufacturers to round down if the content of a particular compound is less than 0.5.
So, if a product contains 0.5 gm of carbs (for instance), it can be labelled as containing 0 grm. of carbs.
For carbs and fats this is probably ok, but what about those things to which some people are allergic?
Also, manufacturers are allowed upto 20% margin of error.
So this hypothetical product can actually contain several gms. of carbs, and the manufacturer can list it as 0 because of the 20% margin and the rounding.
There are other gaping holes in their labelling too - such as, they allow trans fats to be clubbed alongwith saturated fat - completely different things.
Especially, since most manufacturers actually used partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which form trans fats that are not completely saturated.
OTOH, if they had fully hydrogenated the oil, it would have formed a saturated fat !
Bottom line - take FDA labelling with a pinch of salt 
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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."
-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"
