Tofu or Nofu?

 

 

Tofu, a fermented curd from soybeans, is a staple in nearly all Asian cultures. Nutritionally, it has a lot going for it. A half-cup serving has up to 22 grams of protein, little saturated fat and lots of iron and calcium. It is one of the few plant-based protein sources that is complete, meaning it contains all of the nine essential amino acids required to build and repair protein tissues in the body. It provides only 3.5g of carbs and all for about 110 calories.

There are several varieties of tofu. "Silken"blends very easily but has only about 6 grams of protein. Soft tofu is good for soups and stir fries while firm tofu can even be grilled. Tofu tends to taste like whatever it is cooked in or with, so it can be bland or spicy or fiery hot, according to your taste.

Still, many people in the US are wary of eating tofu because, like all soy products, it contains plant estrogens (phytoestrogens) and there has been conflicting information about whether these are harmful or helpful.

The phytoestrogens in soy are called isoflavones and they have a very similar chemical structure to human estrogen. Both can bond to estrogen receptors in the body. This means that, depending upon which receptors they bond to, phytoestrogens can either act like a weak form of human estrogen or block human estrogen from being absorbed.

When phytoestrogens act like a weak human estrogen then can be protective against certain conditions such as osteoporosis. But there is concern that they may also fuel breast cancer in the same way that human estrogen can. This doesn't seem to be the case however. Most studies have found that soy isoflavones have a protective effect against cancers. In fact, Asian populations where a high amount of soy is consumed have breast cancer rates as much as 60% lower than in the USA. (This is slowly changing as Asian societies begin to adopt a more western diet.)

There is some evidence that isoflavones can inhibit the grown and metastasis of cancer cells and have a protective effect against heart disease.

If you just don't like tofu fine. But avoiding it for health reasons is poorly supported by research.