When I pick up a chocolate product and read the ingredients list, I’m usually just checking to see what sweetener has been used. So when a friend of mine asked what soy lecithin is (because it’s in just about every bar of chocolate), I shrugged and said I had no idea.
But now I can’t stop noticing it. Soy lecithin really is in a lot of chocolate products. And when last night when I was in Loblaws (Coles for you Aussies), I actually found a bottle of soy lecithin in the health food section!
So it got me wondering what soy lecithin actually is, and what it’s doing in my chocolate.
What is soy lecithin?
In the early 1900’s, the yet to be named ’soy lecithin’ was just a waste product produced during the “degumming” process of soybean oil. By 1908 the soy bean crushing and soy oil refining companies had expanded and they were having trouble disposing of the large amounts of foul smelling, fermenting waste product. Soy plants in Germany decided to name this waste product ’soy lecithin’ and looked for ways to utilize it. By 1939 scientists had found more than 1,000 different ways to use soy lecithin.
Why soy lecithin is in Chocolate
I may have found soy lecithin in the health food section but unfortunately it’s not added to chocolate to give you any nutritional value. Soy lecithin is an emulsifier, so it’s added to chocolate to keep the cocoa and the cocoa butter together.
And it’s added to bakery goods to make the dough less sticky and easier to rise.
Is soy lecithin bad for you?
Yes and no. First, it’s important to note that solvents are used during the “degumming” process of soybean oil, so soy lecithin itself is likely to contain chemical solvents.
You also need to consider the quality of the soybeans used to product soy lecithin. If the soybeans are not organic, then the soy lecithin will contain herbicides and pesticides. And soybeans are often genetically modified which is an additional concern.
Soybeans and hormones
My personal concern with consuming soy products is the high levels of phytoestrogens they contain, because phytoestrogens can elevate your estrogen levels if eaten in high doses.
I have a genetic problem with estrogen dominance, so I don’t like to eat a lot of soy products. It’s beginning to concern me that soy is in so many foods. Being vegetarian, in the past I’ve relied heavily on soy products for protein but now I’m considering cutting out soy altogether.
I’m also allergic to soy so I guess that’s another reason to void soy and it’s by-products.
But lecithin itself is a very healthy food!
Really, the questionable part of ’soy lecithin’ is just the ’soy’. Lecithin itself (without the soy) is actually a very healthy food, most famously know for its high choline content.
You can even buy lecithin as a supplement, although personally I’d stick with the natural sources – the best being egg yolks and bee pollen. Vegans, you can get your lecithin from peanuts, wheat and oatmeal.
So next time you pick up that chocolate bar, have a look for ’soy lecithin’ in the ingredients list. This time you’ll know exactly what it is!
16 responses ↓
Interesting blog today. I’ve wondered as well what exactly soy lecithin was. That sucks that you’re allergic to soy! It is in a lot of things, but you can be a soy-free vegetarian! I wanted to comment on the whole soy-estrogen thing-I don’t want people to be confused and scared about soybeans because they are very healthy. You would have to eat a LOT of processed soy before there was anything to worry about-like eating a ton of soy veggie burgers, soy milk, soy yogurt, soy desserts and the like every. single. day. As a vegan, I’m lucky I can eat soy, but I also look for whole food natural and organic protein sources like beans, lentils, vegetables, chickpeas, grains, etc. Here in Canada, there are many soymilks etc that are organic and non-GMO which are not expensive at all.
So, please boys, don’t think that eating soy foods will make you more feminine! Haha, that idea is actually out there so hence this comment!
I’ve seen this as an emulsifying ingredient in some natural facial cleansers as well.
i just wanted to add something to the organic vs non-organic soy. organic doesn’t mean there’s no pesticides, it just means that the pesticides used have been approved by the governing body (some of which are the same as those used in conventional farming). some organic farms have to actually spray MORE than conventionals because they have less options in terms of pesticides.
Hmm, organic food still with pesticides? This is definitely something I’ll be researching.
Hello Fran, That was helpful, especially the bit about how lecithin is made in the degumming of soy oil, and the potential for pesticides and solvents to be in the lecitihin. I was also surprised about a year ago to find that Organic does not necessarily mean less/no pesticide. As Lizzy correctly said, there may end up being more (although I kind of hope it is not such a nasty type they use..) Organic should really be called Sustainable Farming. Having said that, I tend to buy organic. On soy products, I was wondering the basis for Jill’s assertion on phytoestrogen, which if correct might lead me to eating soy products again. Does anyone know the scientific evidence either way? The little research I have read put me off eating soy.
Hi John, the definition of certified organic seems to vary from country to country, but yes – it appears that most often the rules state that only synthetic chemicals can’t be used. This doesn’t worry me too much because I take natural vitamins and supplements myself, so I’m sure organic and natural herbicides aren’t too bad. In fact, when I’m back at home I’m going to start researching more of this and even talking to organic farmers at my local market about it.
There is one farmer in particular who is ridiculously healthy. I love to just wander around his stall listening to him speak to people because I’ve actually learned a lot from him! Like to eat all seeds in a piece of fruit (including apple cores), to try and find raw milk if you can, etc.
As for the soy, I wish, wish, wish I could show you guys an audio I recently listening to within the Best Day Ever membership site. It was by Daniel Vitalis who’s been researching estrogen dominance and how massive a problem it’s become in the western world. He talked about how much estrogen pollution there is from plastics (especially flexible plastics), non-organic foods, the water we drink, and the food choices we make – particularly soy, flax and beer which are all VERY high in estrogen.
Apparently there is so much estrogen within our environment already that most of us are already too overloaded. And it’s a myth that the Japanese used to eat a ton of soy (of course they ate a little of it) …if any Japanese can verify this one I’d love it – he said that Japanese women in ancient times when they found out their husband was cheating, they’d even start feeding them heaps of soy every day because they knew it would feminize them.
And interestingly enough, some health food stores in the US are not stocking ANY soy products anymore (which is actually upsetting some of their customers) because they no longer think of it as a health food. So this in itself is worthy of delving deeper and doing a lot more research into this topic.
I personally am trying to avoid soy now because I realize soy and estrogen are everywhere and in everything so I want to limit how much goes into my body.
Thanks for your comment by the way, I love talking about this stuff. I could do it all day
Hi Fran!
Thank you for all of the information on soy lecithin. I am vegetarian as well and am trying to cut out soy from my diet – well, non-organic soy in any form. However, I am finding it very difficult to locate any products that contain organic soy and/or organic soy lecithin. Do you or anyone know any food products that can be purchased in the US that contain organic soy and/or soy lecithin? What do you eat instead of soy to ensure you are eating enough protein daily?
Thank you!
Hi there and congrats on soon being Mrs Z!! Most health stores will stock organic soy products. As for organic soy lecithin, I’m not convinced you really need it in your diet.
Fran,
Thank you!
and thank you for your response. I just think that if I continue to consume products with soy lecithin that is not organic that the GMO soy will build up in my system.
So do you think just ensuring that the other soy products and soy byproducts (save the soy lecithin) is organic is okay enough?
Also, sorry to ask again, but what do you do to ensure you have enough protein in your diet without consuming soy?
Thank you!
Hi there, nice post! I just wanted to make a comment about soy and phytoestrogens. These components of soy (primarily genistein) certainly bind to estrogen receptors in the body, however, their exact role is still unclear. It has been shown that low doses of genistein can increase growth of breast cancer cells, whereas high doses can inhibit its growth. It has also been shown to reduce the incidence of colon cancer, and reduce the incidence of cancer metastasis to the lung. There is also a lot of research out there showing that it may be beneficial in preventing coronary disease. More recently still, it was shown to decrease the risk of lung cancer associated with smoking. Clearly, there is still a lot we have to learn about soy as it relates to human health. Please be careful when you get all your information from one person who may have a pet theory. What I suspect is that Daniel Vitalis does not “do a lot of research on estrogen dominance”, but rather, he probably read some books or articles. I am pretty sure he is not a scientist who is doing real research in a lab; these researchers are not so ready to draw a lot of big conclusions about their findings on soy just yet.
Also, I don’t think any experts ever said that the Japanese used to eat a ton of soy. What we do know is that Chinese and Japanese diets TODAY contain more soy than North American diets, and they have lower breast cancer rates. However, it is hard to directly relate these two facts because there are so many others that can account for their lower rates of breast cancer (genetics, other dietary factors, etc). I could not find any information anywhere about Japanese women feeding soy to feminize their husbands, and there is certainly nothing in the literature to suggest that this is a risk of eating soy.
Soy is finding its way into our diets more and more as soy is a cheap filler for processed foods. I do not think this processed type of soy is healthy; you covered the plusses and minuses of soy lecithin nicely in your article. I do think that things like tofu, or especially fermented soy like tempeh or natto, are overall good for health. Highly processed soy, such as TVP, are probably not. You also covered the fact that a lot of soy is GMO, so look for non-GMO soy sources.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen_dominance – interestingly, this article says that soy lecithin in little amounts (1% in a non-dairy vegetarian chocolate? ) is less harmful than soy milk and other soy products – just read on the rest of this wiki article.
I brought up the above link for discussion because I am curious as why many food products especially Chocolates contain soy lecithin. I wonder if it’s an important ingredient required to make our favourite chocolates.
by the way, I personally like the taste of non-dairy chocolates more than the usual dairy ones – however, dark chocolates and non-dairy ones still contain soy lecithin. I am also curious to look out for information about chocolates without any soy ingredients (though I don’t really have an issue with soy lecithin in a very small amount). As my body possesses an intolerance to soy products (feeling fatigue after taking them), I rarely drink soya milk and even tofu etc. While I dislike eating white rice (it makes me tired digesting it), I discover from some sources that it isn’t very healthy since it has also been proven to increase our estrogen dominance.
I have been on hormone replacement treatment for several years. I have recently stopped taking it. Is soya lecithin
a good replacement for it?
i’m allergic to soy but I do not know if it is just the soy bean or the lecithin how can I find out?
I have eliminated soy from my diet as much as possible. As a vegetarian I was consuming a great deal of soy products and used to even eat stofu straight out of the package. During October of 2009 I unintentionally didn’t consume many soy products. I began to notice my complexion to clear up. So, I thought to myself if soy was involved in my acne breakouts. For the next 2 weeks I did not eat any soy products and my face stayed clear( even without the use of acne medication). One day after that 2 week period I ate some grilled tofu at a local deli and ate some of that grilled tofu again the following day. 2 days after my initial intake of tofu I had a mild ance breakout. I again stopped eating soy products for another 2 weeks and voila! my face cleared up. One day I was at a gas station and saw a bag of flamin’ hot cheetos and purchased a bag and ate it. Bad idea! Following day I broke out slightly. I went to a nearby store to read the ingredients in the flamin’ hot cheetos and to my suprise it contains soy.
I believe there is a stong corelation between soy and acne. Most people say don’t eat chocolate beacause it will cause you to break out but I believe it’s the soy lecithin that is added to most chocolate products thats causes breakouts. I began to eat organic chocolate bars that contain no soy lecithin and my face has not broken out.
I don’t have an intolerence to Soy, I am allergic. Twelve months ago I had a skin allergy test done and found out I am allergic to it. Sometimes my stomache is so upset from it I end up in hospital on the drip. It is in so, so much processed food!
In an odd twist, I have discovered a problem of my own in the going totally soy free diet.
Not as a result of allergens, but because of fertility issues my wife and I both no longer intentionally consume any soy. We know there probably is some soy in our diet somewhere and know its level is probably inconsequential. However while we were consuming soy I had long noticed that my body felt as though it was falling apart. I am 42, and get moderate exercise and am within weight range. But I equate it to feeling like a Model T falling apart at the seams. My body felt very wore out.
After stopping the soy, my body felt better and now feels whole and complete. However, I now feel like I am out of gas.
I can only hypothesize, but I believe that the soy was probably supplying the missing protein from my diet that now shows itself in earnest. I am NOT a vegetarian but I do not eat large quantities of meat either. I had figured that various other sources of protein were available and it seems to help some, but I believe that this energy deficiency is due to the lack of nutrients in our food that is so prevalent today.
Vitamin supplements are the norm now, but there I have to watch for soy products as well. This goes to show that the food stores in our society has truly suffered when our diets have become so saturated with soy, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, and other evils that have lack of nutrition and we have become dependent on a supply of food which origins we do not know, rather than grow it ourselves.
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