Soya bean: nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   The top protein food in IFCT

   Brown soya bean has 35.6 g protein per 100 g, 1st of 257 foods in IFCT 2017. 100 g meets about 66 per cent of a man's daily requirement and 78 per cent of a woman's, and soya protein is unusually complete for a plant.

2. 02

   Minerals across the board

   It gives 239 mg calcium, 8.29 mg iron, 4.01 mg zinc and 259 mg magnesium per 100 g, ranking 2nd, 2nd, 1st and 1st among pulses. The magnesium covers about 59 per cent of a man's need.

3. 03

   An oilseed's fat

   Soya bean has 19.8 g fat per 100 g, mostly unsaturated: 11.28 g polyunsaturated and 4.56 g monounsaturated, with 1310 mg of plant omega-3, 7th of 203 foods.

4. 04

   Folate and thiamine

   With 297 micrograms of folate and 0.59 mg thiamine per 100 g, it ranks 4th and 7th of all foods for these vitamins. On paper, 100 g gives about 99 per cent of a man's daily folate.

Values per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad. Daily-need shares use the ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances for a 65 kg man and a 55 kg woman doing sedentary work (ICMR-NIN brief note). Nutrients IFCT did not analyse for this food are left out rather than shown as zero.

• Bhatt ki churkani: black soya beans roasted, then simmered in a rice-flour thickened gravy, Kumaoni style.
• Bhatmas sadeko: roasted soya beans tossed with onion, chilli, lemon and mustard oil, a Nepali and Sikkimese snack.
• Soya flour in atta: a small share of soya flour kneaded into roti dough raises its protein.
• Kinema curry: fermented soya bean cooked with onion, tomato and chilli, eaten with rice in Sikkim and Darjeeling.
• Soya milk and tofu: soaked beans ground with water, strained and boiled; the milk can be set into tofu.

Raw soya beans contain trypsin inhibitors that block protein digestion, so they must be soaked and cooked thoroughly or roasted well; never eat them raw. Soya is one of the common food allergens, so introduce it carefully to children with other allergies. At 381 kcal and 19.8 g fat per 100 g, the whole bean is dense, and a small portion goes a long way. People taking thyroid medicine are often advised to keep soya foods apart from their dose, so they should check timing with their doctor. Soya chunks are a different, defatted product covered in a separate NNWA article.

Food composition is general information, not a diet plan. Anyone managing a medical condition should plan their diet with a doctor or a registered dietitian.

• Soyabean oil

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Rajma (red kidney beans)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Bengal gram (chana)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Paneer

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Rice bean

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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