Soy milk is often hailed as one of the healthiest beverages. People can use soy milk to address issues such as physical weakness, malnutrition, lung atrophy and abscess, dry mouth and sore throat, difficulty urinating, and insufficient breast milk, making it a great health aid. Due to its health benefits, many parents also choose soy milk as a healthy drink for their children. However, before giving soy milk to children, parents need to be aware of the precautions for children drinking soy milk. Specifically as follows:
1. Do not drink it without thoroughly cooking it
Many parents like to buy raw soy milk and heat it at home. When heating, they see foam rising and mistakenly think it has boiled. In fact, this is a phenomenon caused by the expansion of organic substances in the soy milk when heated, forming bubbles, and it is not boiling, meaning it is uncooked.
Uncooked soy milk is harmful to the human body. Because raw soy milk contains harmful substances such as saponin and trypsin inhibitors, drinking it without cooking it can cause poisoning symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Soy milk must not only be boiled but must also be cooked with the lid off. This is because only with the lid off can the harmful substances in the soy milk evaporate with the steam. If a baby shows symptoms such as headache or difficulty breathing after drinking soy milk, seek medical attention immediately. Do not delay to prevent a life-threatening situation.
2. Do not add raw eggs
Many people like to crack eggs into their soy milk, thinking it is more nutritious, but this method is unscientific. The viscous protein (egg white) in eggs will combine with the trypsin in soy milk, creating substances that are not easily absorbed by the human body, causing both the egg and the soy milk to lose their original nutritional value.
3. Do not drink soy milk on an empty stomach
It is best not to let babies drink soy milk on an empty stomach. Most of the protein in soy milk is converted into calories and consumed by the body, and cannot fully provide nourishment. When a baby drinks soy milk, it is best to eat some starchy foods like bread, cakes, or steamed buns. This allows the protein in the soy milk to undergo enzymatic digestion more fully with the action of starch, ensuring that nutrients are fully absorbed.
4. Do not add brown sugar
Adding brown sugar to soy milk makes it taste sweet, but brown sugar contains more organic acids, such as acetic acid and lactic acid. These can combine with the protein and calcium in soy milk to produce denatured substances and blocky substances like calcium acetate and calcium lactate. This not only damages the nutritional value of the soy milk but also affects the absorption of the nutrients it contains.
5. Do not store soy milk in a thermos
Storing soy milk in a thermos will allow bacteria inside the bottle to multiply in large numbers under suitable temperature conditions. After 3 to 4 hours, the soy milk will spoil.
6. Soy milk is inherently cooling, so people with poor digestion, belching, or poor kidney function should drink it in moderation
Because soy milk is made from soybeans, which are high in purine components and are considered cooling foods, people with a deficient and cold constitution who have symptoms such as gout, fatigue, weakness, and mental fatigue are not suitable for drinking soy milk.
In addition, soy milk can produce gas under the action of enzymes, so people with bloating and diarrhea should avoid drinking it. Also, people with acute gastritis and chronic superficial gastritis should not eat soy products to avoid stimulating excessive gastric acid secretion, which could worsen the condition or cause gastrointestinal bloating.
7. Those who often drink soy milk should pay attention to supplementing zinc
Legumes contain inhibitors, saponins, and lectins, which are all harmful to the human body. The best way to deal with them is to cook the soy milk thoroughly. People who consume soy milk long-term should not forget to supplement the trace element zinc.
8. Soy milk must not be taken with antibiotics such as erythromycin
Because the two will have an antagonistic chemical reaction. It is best to have an interval of more than 1 hour between drinking soy milk and taking antibiotics.
For the sake of our health, we must investigate the source of our food and understand its production process.