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!
Fran Kerr is the founding editor of High on Health. To cure your acne, sign up to Fran's FREE acne cure mini-course or download her latest how to guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
6 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
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