According to Wang Yi, Director of the Nutrition Department at Guang'anmen Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, soy milk is not suitable for everyone.
1. Soy milk is considered cooling in nature. People with poor digestion, frequent burping, or kidney problems should drink it sparingly. Additionally, soy milk can produce gas under the action of enzymes, so people with bloating or diarrhea should avoid it.
2. Brown sugar should not be added to soy milk because it contains various organic acids that can bind with the proteases in soy milk, easily causing the protein to denature and precipitate, making it difficult for the body to absorb. This phenomenon does not occur with white sugar.
3. Some people like to keep soy milk warm in a thermos, but this method is not recommended because the warm, moist interior of a thermos is an excellent environment for bacterial growth. Furthermore, saponins in soy milk can dissolve the scale inside the thermos, which is harmful to human health.
4. Since soy milk is made from soybeans, which are high in purine content and are considered a cooling food, individuals with a "deficient-cold" constitution, especially those with symptoms of gout, fatigue, weakness, or listlessness, should not drink it.
5. Soy milk must not only be brought to a boil but must also be boiled with the lid off. This is because only with the lid open can harmful substances in the soy milk be volatilized away with the steam.
6. It is also important to note that soy milk should not be taken with antibiotics such as erythromycin, as they can have an antagonistic chemical reaction. It is best to wait at least one hour after taking antibiotics before drinking soy milk.