Soy Sauce Nutrition

"Soy sauce: a strong-tasting dark brown liquid made from fermented soya beans and used especially in Chinese and Japanese cooking." - Cambridge Dictionary.

The debate over the question as to whether soy sauce is really healthy or not has been a long stretched one and most people are yet to know that the sauce from soy actually does have some health benefits. Also in today's health conscious world, even the nutrition value of water is sought, so it is hardly unusual that people will be inquisitive about the nutritional value of soy sauce. This condiment which is known for its oriental aroma but also the dark hue that it suffuses is does have both pros and cons which we will be analyzing in the next few paragraphs in relation to the nutrients present to soy sauce.

Soy Sauce Nutrition Facts

All the soy sauce nutritional information given below corresponds to 255 grams or one cup of the condiment, which is being used by humans for over 2,500 years.

• Amazingly, soy sauce has literally a negligible amount of fat. In one cup only 0.1 gram of polyunsaturated fat can be traced. It has no saturated fat at all and neither any helpful monounsaturated fats present.
• As far as the carbohydrates content is concerned in one cup there is usually 21.7 grams present out of which 2 grams are metabolism boosting fibers and nearly 4.3 grams of energy producing sugars.
• Protein wise soy sauce isn't bad as 1 cupful is enough to cater to 26% (13.2 gms) of the Daily Value stipulation of necessary protein intake.
• Soy sauce may have 0% cholesterol, but it is very very high in sodium. A single cup of this sauce has approximately 8499 mg of sodium which is 254% more than the total daily bodily requirement of sodium. This is not always good.
• 255 grams of soy sauce not only has about 459 mgs of potassium but, it is also rich in other minerals, such as phosphorus (281 mg), magnesium (87 mg), zinc (6.26 mg), and manganese (1.2 mg). Besides, it also fulfills about 43% of calcium and 29% of the daily iron requirement of the body.
• Lacking in A, C and E vitamins, varieties of vitamin B can be traced in soy sauce. For instance, the above mentioned measurement has about vitamin B1 called thiamin (0.13 mg), B2 or riboflavin (0.33 mg), B3 known as niacin (8.56 mg), B5 or pantothenic acid (0.81 mg), and 22% of the DV of vitamin B6. It also comprises bits of choline, betaine, and cell developing folates.
• Even though lacking in vitamin C, soy sauce has nothing less than 150 times more the antioxidental potency of C vitamin. So, it inhibits the damage wrecked by carcinogenic and skin harming free radicals much better.
• Soy sauce is concocted by fermenting soy beans with either barley or wheat (roasted) along with yeast in salty water. This removes the side effects of oxalic acid derivatives and phytic acid which releases the nutrients for utilization, the latter binds together, thus becoming the healthiest form of edible of all soy products.

So, how many calories in soy sauce? One cupful has 135 to 170 calories out of which only 2 comes from fats.

[* Percentages in the bracket indicate the DV (Daily Value) of the contents and not their quantity in the condiment.]

Soy Sauce Health Benefits

It is believed that the body derives isoflavones which are known to shield the body from the risk of impending breast and prostatic cancer along with other complications such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular troubles. As they also happen to closely resemble female steroid sex hormones called estrogen, they can only regulate and tackle problems triggered by excess or low estrogen levels in the body and therefore can subsequently harness menopause symptoms.

If the low sodium variety of soy sauce is less likely to heighten blood pressure and therefore one can actually reap the other benefits of soy sauce. Reading the label before purchasing the sauce can help you to determine the soy sauce ingredients and how safe it is. You can also use only soy sauce in a recipe and no salt at all to curtail the sodium content by at least 50% and research has shown that even the taste doesn't get affected by the absence of salt at all. However, if you are already a pressure patient then it would be in your interest to keep away from it.

But those with wheat allergies or are intolerant to gluten, a chronic digestive problems causing protein composite will have to make do with a viable soy sauce substitute depending on what you're making and the availability of substances. Liquid aminos with caramel are gluten free, low in sodium content and are taste wise undifferentiable when used in cooking.

So, there you have a detailed picture of soy sauce nutrition and the potential benefits you can reap from it health wise. There are a variety of soy sauces flooding the markets, other than the traditional Chinese ones. Check with the label, take your pick wisely, do not over use it and you'll not miss benefiting from it.