Why Is There Soy in Practically Everything?

Soybeans may be a simple protein-rich legume, but they continue to command outsized attention in our political and cultural discourse. The conversation around soy these days comes less from science and increasingly from misinformation. Eating soy has no effect on men’s hormone levels, but pervasive false claims that soy contains estrogen have led to myths that it causes “feminization” and so-called “soy boys.” Some “meatfluencers” have even taken to warning men not to consume soy for many unfounded reasons, including that it can suppress male fertility or cause men to develop breasts. None of this is true.

Swayed by these online scare campaigns, some people are shunning well-known soy foods, like tofu, plant-based meats and soy milk. But the reality is that soy is everywhere in the American diet, including in many meat products, and for good reason. “There’s very few foods that have as many great things and as few bad things,” says Christopher Gardner, director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, of soy. You may be eating much more of it than you know, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

From ‘Slim Jims’ to Nuggets, These Common Foods Contain Soy

Various components of soy show up in all kinds of foods in different forms, serving different functions. For example, soy flour is used in processed meats like chicken nuggets, fish sticks and those Slim Jim meat sticks currently experiencing a boom in sales. It’s also used in some baked goods, such as gluten-free crackers and breads.

“It’s a super functional food for the food industry,” says Gardner. Soy flour is used in many baked goods, breadings, coatings and gluten-free products, because it’s relatively inexpensive and delivers a mix of nutritional and functional advantages. Soy’s mixture of protein and fat gives it strong water-binding ability, so when soy flour is added to bread dough, for example, it can hold more moisture and ultimately increase the final yield. And according to BakingBusiness.com, because soy flour is high in protein, “low-fat soy flour (or meal) can be used in snacks and bars to increase protein content and reach the FDA ‘heart healthy’ claim of 6.25 g soy protein per serving.”

Research also shows that soy flour, even in small amounts, can improve sensory experience and nutritional properties in gluten-free products, while its proteins help build structure in ways that mimic gluten.

Many products contain soy protein thanks in part to the current craze of adding protein to everything and the rise of high-protein diets. These trends come despite the fact that most Americans are actually consuming more protein than they need.

Soy protein concentrate and isolate — which is the protein extracted from soy flakes or soy flour — are used to boost protein in powders, bars, cereals and even in meat products like meatballs. Textured soy protein is used to add meat-like texture to items such as chili, and to frozen entrées, including Healthy Choice Homestyle Salisbury Steak and Stoffers Meatloaf.

Fat expelled from soybeans, called soy lecithin, works as an effective and affordable emulsifier in items like chocolate, Nutella, margarines and salad dressings. Its phospholipids — a type of fat molecule within lecithin — bind water and fat, improving stability and texture of foods. Since lecithin is a byproduct of soybean oil processing, and soybean oil is the top produced oil in the U.S. (and the second most consumed in the world, behind palm oil), it is inexpensive to boot. Soybean oil is also commonly used as a cooking oil, especially for frying.

In other words, even consumers who believe they are avoiding soy may not realize just how embedded this ingredient is in our everyday food supply.

Misinformation Be Damned, Tofu Sales Are Surging

In the U.S., soy has long been the subject of misinformation, in part thanks to misconceptions about isoflavones, a type of plant estrogen that some studies have associated with male “feminization.” A 2020 extended meta-analysis of 38 studies looking at male patients consuming soy found “no effects of soy/isoflavones on testosterone or estrogen levels in men.”

Soy — soybean oil, to be precise — has also been dragged into the more recent debate over seed oils. Seed oils have come under fire thanks to false claims made by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that Americans are being “unknowingly poisoned” by them.

Gardner sees the fury over seed oils as misplaced frustration with the proliferation of “industrially processed junk food,” chock full of added sugars, sodium and refined grains. The issue is more with the food itself than any single ingredient. “If you took away the soybean oil and you put another oil in the junk food, like olive oil or avocado oil, would it suddenly be a health food?” he asks. “No, it would still be junk food.”

Soy is far less controversial elsewhere in the world. In many Asian countries, the “population has thrived for thousands of years on soy, a super staple crop,” Gardner says. In fact, research suggests that heavy consumption of soy in certain Asian populations is associated with reduced rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

In a 2022 study of about 98,000 adults in China, people who ate more soy (about 60 grams or more per day) had a 14% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and a 17% lower risk of dying from any cause, compared to those who ate less soy. A 2024 meta analysis of 52 observational studies found that people who eat a lot of soy foods, such as tofu or soy milk, had a lower risk of developing cancer overall.

The tide appears to be turning here in the U.S. too, at least if tofu sales are any indicator. U.S. consumers are increasingly buying soy-based foods, like tofu and soy milk, in part due to the protein craze, but also because of their low carbon footprint. Soy milk, for example, is one of the most environmentally friendly milks. Compared to both dairy milk and even some other plant-based milks, it uses less land and water and produces substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions.

As far as health is concerned, soy is much like any other ingredient in that its healthfulness depends on how you use it. “It’s just a really good, solid source of food,” says Gardner. “It shouldn’t be vilified and it shouldn’t be glorified.”