Vegans and individuals who suffer from lactose intolerance turn to soy milk as an alternative to cow's milk. While unfortified soy milk doesn't offer the calcium cow's milk does, it's otherwise a relatively healthy alternative. A 1-cup serving of regular soy milk has 80 calories, 7 g of protein, 4 g of unsaturated fat, 4 g of carbohydrates, 3 g of fiber, 1 g of saturated fat and no cholesterol. Soy milk is also an excellent source of three B-complex vitamins and contains trace amounts of other B vitamins, vitamin A and vitamin E.
Thiamin
One cup of soy milk provides 25 percent of the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of thiamin, or vitamin B-1. Thiamin is integral to nerve and muscle function, energy production, appetite regulation and hydrochloric acid production. Thiamin deficiencies can develop quickly because the body is able to store only about 14 days worth of thiamin, according to the Mayo Clinic. Severe thiamin deficiency can lead to beriberi, a disease that can cause fatal nervous system, cardiac and gastrointestinal symptoms. Beriberi is rarely seen in the United States, where many staple foods are fortified with thiamin.
Riboflavin
A cup of soy milk provides 10 percent of the RDA of riboflavin, or vitamin B-2. Riboflavin is essential to good vision; skin health; energy production; and the absorption of vitamin B-6, niacin and folate. According to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, riboflavin deficiency symptoms include visual sensitivity to light, dermatitis around the nose and mouth, redness and inflammation of the lining of the mouth and throat, and dryness or sores at the edges of the mouth.
Vitamin B-6
A 1-cup serving of soy milk supplies 6 percent of the RDA of vitamin B-6. Vitamin B-6 plays vital roles in protein and red blood cell metabolism, nervous system and immune function, hemoglobin production and oxygenation, blood glucose regulation, and niacin absorption. Vitamin B-6 deficiency is unusual because the vitamin occurs naturally in many foods, and fortified cereals provide an additional source, but the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements warns it is seen in individuals with chronic low-quality diets, alcoholics and children treated with theophylline. Symptoms of vitamin B-6 deficiency include anemia, inflammation of the skin, a sore tongue, depression, confusion and convulsions.
Trace Vitamins
A 1-cup serving of soy milk also contains 2 percent of the RDA of vitamin A; 2 percent of the RDA of niacin; and less than 1 percent of the RDAs of vitamin E, folate and pantothenic acid, or vitamin B-5. Vitamin A is an anti-oxidant vital to night vision. Niacin is a B-complex vitamin essential to metabolism and healthy skin and nerve cells. Vitamin E is a powerful anti-oxidant. Folic acid is another B-complex vitamin that is vital to protein metabolism, red blood cell formation, and the prevention of serious and sometimes fatal neural tube birth defects. Pantothenic acid aids in hormone formation and energy production.
References
- Nutrient Facts: Soy Milk Nutrition Facts
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin B6
- Linus Pauling Institute: Riboflavin
- Colorado State University Extension: Water-Soluble Vitamins
- Mayo Clinic: Thiamin (Thiamine), Vitamin B1
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Beriberi
Member Comments