Laura Lippman points to a quart of soy milk on her desk.
It's one of a dozen products she has assembled to demonstrate the new food choices for those wishing to increase their soy intake. Soy milk is ideal for the totally natural, "no additives, please" consumer, says Lippman, vice president of sales for Stonecrest Natural Foods in Inglewood, a soy products manufacturer.
There is a "handful" of those hard-core soy consumers, she says.
Then there are the rest of us, who got interested in soy only recently, after a spate of studies suggested that the simple little soybean--packed with protein and hormone-like substances called isoflavones--can reduce cholesterol, build bone mass, alleviate the hot flashes associated with menopause, and possibly reduce the risk of prostate and breast cancers.
In this camp of recent converts reside a number of folks who think chocolate-covered soy sounds much tastier than tofu (especially when tofu is called by its nasty alias, soybean curd).
Fortunately, as researchers have been busily studying the health benefits of soy, manufacturers have been working overtime too. So now it's possible to find something soy-based for almost any meal, or in between, at grocery or specialty stores, health-food stores or by mail order.
Among the options: soy wieners, cheeses, powders, flour, pills and, yes, even a chocolate-coated soy bar. There are also soy performance-enhancing drinks and soy protein shakes. Miso, a fermented soybean paste, can be used as a soup base. Tempeh--soybeans combined with grains--can be used as a meat substitute. Tofu now comes dressed up in spicy and barbecue flavors or with added parsley and oregano, ready to add to soups or other dishes. Among products expected on store shelves soon are soy protein soups and oatmeal with soy.
Fresh soybeans, which usually come two beans to a pod, are difficult to find. But specialty markets often carry frozen edamame, a soy bean snack. "They're addicting, like peanuts," Lippman says.
Someone's taking the soy message seriously. U.S. sales of soy products are booming--topping more than $1.1 billion in 1996, compared to $300 million in 1980, according to the Soyfoods Assn. of North America, a trade group.
Researchers still don't completely understand how soy protein or its two isoflavones, called genistein and daidzein, yield health benefits.
