What Are Soy Protein Isolate and Methylcellulose November 19, 2018
So my post Gardein Ultimate Beefless Burgers November 17, 2018 on the Gardein line of vegetarian/vegan foods got some interesting attention. A couple of you recommended the Beyond Meat line of products as a better option than the Gardein line. I was also educated on some of the finer points of ingredients and the need to look closely at the ingredient list of products such as the Gardein line by my good friend Kesia. Kesia is the owner and MamaPreneur of the More Better Brand which creates handmade products in down in Sunny Florida. You can find her products on her MoreBetterBrand Etsy page and on her MoreBetterBrand Instagram feed.
Now I am a noob when it comes to ingredient lists, additives and other items used to make some of these processed foods that, in theory, make our busier lives easier. And granted the best way to make sure that you know what you put into your body is to make the meals yourself. But in the busy world we live in, that can be a hard proposition. So I make no claims of being an expert when it comes to describing terms such as Soy Protein Isolate, Methylcellulose, Soy Protein Concentrate and Vital Wheat Gluten to name a few. But I will try to find proper definitions for these terms and try to see how they relate to what we should be eating and if we should even be consuming them at all.
So bear with me on this little side journey of mine. For now I am going to look for the definition of two of the ingredients that I mention in the last paragraph.
Soy protein isolate is a dry powder food ingredient that has been separated or isolated from the other components of the soybean, making it 90 to 95 percent protein and nearly carbohydrate and fat-free.
Advances in processing technology have led to a variety of ways soy protein isolate can be produced. Generally, soy protein isolate is made from de-fatted soybean flakes that have been washed in either alcohol or water to remove sugars and dietary fiber. Soy protein isolate is used through out the food industry for both nutritional and functional reasons.
The making of Soy Isolate Protein seems to be where the flags seem to be raised for many people.
According to the article The Sooner You Know About Soy Protein Isolate the Better by Nicole Wilder from the IdealRaw.com website, she describes one of the most common ways to make Soy Protein Isolate. The imbedded links are from her article. Give it a read:
How Soy Protein Isolate Is Made
There are actually a few different ways to make soy protein isolate, but the most common way is pretty disturbing.
Through a process called hexane extraction, the fats are separated from the soybean. This hexane bath the soybeans soak in is actually super dangerous.
Hexane is a gasoline byproduct that is extremely explosive. The USDA has also labeled it as a neurotoxin. In fact, the USDA won’t even allow for its use in organic foods. Sadly though, non-organic foods that contain soy still use the hexane extraction method.
The process doesn’t just stop there.
Once the fats are removed from the soybean, it’s then soaked in an ethanol or an acidic bath to remove carbohydrates and any lingering flavor.
The final result is the 90 percent soy protein isolate you get in your non-organic protein powders. Now, I’ll be completely real with you. There are plenty of soy products that don’t allow hexane extraction. If you buy only organic soy products you shouldn’t have to worry about that scary neurotoxin entering your body.
Methylcellulose, also known as methyl cellulose is a chemical compound taken from vegetable cellulose through heating with a caustic solution and treatment with methyl chloride. The end product is a white odorless powdery substance that swells up in the presence of liquid.
This has a wide range of applications and is used in many industries. In cooking, it is often used as a thickener and emulsifier. Sauces, dressings and ice creams are often produced with this added in.
Methylcellulose is an effective agent in preventing the formation of ice crystals in foods which need frequent refrigeration, keeping food fresher.
Basically methylcellulose is used in food production as a thickener. But it can also be used for a different purpose: as a laxative 💩. The article What Is Methylcellulose? from the Everyday Health website goes into detail on the use of Methylcellulose as a laxative.
Is the use of Soy Protein Isolate and Methylcellulose a bad thing? I really don't know. It really is too much to take in and digest (no pun intended.) I would say go with your gut. If it doesn't feel right to you, then don't buy the products that contain these ingredients, which might be easier said than done. Which goes back to the aforementioned point that you should be cooking your own meals. Doing so is really the only guarantee that you know what is going into your food and body.
I downloaded the Fooducate app to my phone and so far I find the app to be very helpful. You scan the barcode of a particular product and they'll show you its grade based on the ingredients list. You can see top alternatives and nutrition info for said products. Any little bit help, right?
So bear with me on this little side journey of mine. For now I am going to look for the definition of two of the ingredients that I mention in the last paragraph.
Soy Protein Isolate
According to the website for the Soyfoods Association of North America, their fact sheet for Soy Protein Isolate states:Soy protein isolate is a dry powder food ingredient that has been separated or isolated from the other components of the soybean, making it 90 to 95 percent protein and nearly carbohydrate and fat-free.
Advances in processing technology have led to a variety of ways soy protein isolate can be produced. Generally, soy protein isolate is made from de-fatted soybean flakes that have been washed in either alcohol or water to remove sugars and dietary fiber. Soy protein isolate is used through out the food industry for both nutritional and functional reasons.
The making of Soy Isolate Protein seems to be where the flags seem to be raised for many people.
According to the article The Sooner You Know About Soy Protein Isolate the Better by Nicole Wilder from the IdealRaw.com website, she describes one of the most common ways to make Soy Protein Isolate. The imbedded links are from her article. Give it a read:
How Soy Protein Isolate Is Made
There are actually a few different ways to make soy protein isolate, but the most common way is pretty disturbing.
Through a process called hexane extraction, the fats are separated from the soybean. This hexane bath the soybeans soak in is actually super dangerous.
Hexane is a gasoline byproduct that is extremely explosive. The USDA has also labeled it as a neurotoxin. In fact, the USDA won’t even allow for its use in organic foods. Sadly though, non-organic foods that contain soy still use the hexane extraction method.
The process doesn’t just stop there.
Once the fats are removed from the soybean, it’s then soaked in an ethanol or an acidic bath to remove carbohydrates and any lingering flavor.
The final result is the 90 percent soy protein isolate you get in your non-organic protein powders. Now, I’ll be completely real with you. There are plenty of soy products that don’t allow hexane extraction. If you buy only organic soy products you shouldn’t have to worry about that scary neurotoxin entering your body.
Keep in mind both the Soyfoods Association of North America and IdealRaw are highlighting their respective products on their websites so the information may be skewed in one direction or the other. But two common themes come up: Hexane usage to process the Soy Protein Isolate and buying organic eliminates the hexane threat altogether.
Methylcellulose
According to the AmazingFood Made Easy website, Methylcellulose is:Methylcellulose, also known as methyl cellulose is a chemical compound taken from vegetable cellulose through heating with a caustic solution and treatment with methyl chloride. The end product is a white odorless powdery substance that swells up in the presence of liquid.
This has a wide range of applications and is used in many industries. In cooking, it is often used as a thickener and emulsifier. Sauces, dressings and ice creams are often produced with this added in.
Methylcellulose is an effective agent in preventing the formation of ice crystals in foods which need frequent refrigeration, keeping food fresher.
Basically methylcellulose is used in food production as a thickener. But it can also be used for a different purpose: as a laxative 💩. The article What Is Methylcellulose? from the Everyday Health website goes into detail on the use of Methylcellulose as a laxative.
Is the use of Soy Protein Isolate and Methylcellulose a bad thing? I really don't know. It really is too much to take in and digest (no pun intended.) I would say go with your gut. If it doesn't feel right to you, then don't buy the products that contain these ingredients, which might be easier said than done. Which goes back to the aforementioned point that you should be cooking your own meals. Doing so is really the only guarantee that you know what is going into your food and body.
I downloaded the Fooducate app to my phone and so far I find the app to be very helpful. You scan the barcode of a particular product and they'll show you its grade based on the ingredients list. You can see top alternatives and nutrition info for said products. Any little bit help, right?
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