Soy milk is a nutritious beverage that’s low in calories, high in protein, and rich in several vitamins and minerals. Drinking soy milk may improve your cholesterol levels, reduce high blood pressure, fight inflammation, and support weight loss or weight maintenance.

Soy milk is a popular plant-based alternative to cow’s milk.

It’s popular among people who are lactose intolerant (a type of sugar found in milk) or who have milk protein allergies. Others drink it because they follow a plant-based diet, or because they think it’s healthier than cow’s milk.

Either way, you might be wondering what’s in soy milk and how its ingredients affect your health.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the ingredients, health benefits, and drawbacks of this popular plant-based milk alternative.

What is soy milk?

Soy milk is made by mixing soaked soybeans with water and straining out the solids to create a smooth, milk-like liquid.

You can buy both unsweetened and sweetened versions.

Unsweetened varieties usually contain only purified water and soybeans, although some brands also add salt, vitamins, and minerals.

Sweetened varieties contain a sweetener, usually cane sugar, and often contain oil, salt, and vanilla to create a taste that is closer to that of cow’s milk. Some variations contain cocoa to produce a chocolate flavor.

Sweetened soy milk and some unsweetened soy milk also contain thickeners and stabilizers. These additives help the ingredients in the milk form an emulsion, or uniform mixture, and maintain properties such as a thicker texture and better mouthfeel.

Here are a few commonly used thickeners and stabilizers in soy milk:

  • Locust bean gum. This thickener is obtained from the seed of the carob tree, native to the Mediterranean region.
  • Gellan gum. This type is produced by fermenting a carbohydrate source using a specific strain of bacteria.
  • Carrageenan. This agent is extracted from red seaweed.

Of these, carrageenan has received the most push-back from consumers. That’s because early research suggests a link between its consumption and inflammatory conditions like colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), rheumatoid arthritis, and colon cancer.

However, this link is not necessarily related to carrageenan, but possibly only with a form of degraded carrageenan called poligeenan. Unlike carrageenan, poligeenan is not approved for use as a food additive.

In fact, carrageenan is generally recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It’s also deemed safe for the general population by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Still, many brands have replaced carrageenan with locust bean or gellan gum due to the controversy surrounding its safety and poor acceptance by consumers.

Nutrition

Soybeans are rich in a variety of nutrients, making soy milk a nutritious beverage.

Here’s a look at the nutrition provided by 1 cup (240 mL) of unsweetened soy milk:

  • Calories: 80
  • Fat: 4 grams
  • Carbs: 4 grams
  • Protein: 7 grams

Many popular brands of soy milk are fortified with vitamins and minerals like riboflavin, calcium, and vitamins A, B12, and D.

Unfortified, unsweetened soy milk tends to be a good source of, magnesium, folate, and zinc. Some brands also deliver vitamin K and iron.

Sweetened varieties typically contain cane sugar and provide around 5–15 grams of added sugar per serving.

Some people believe that plant-based products shouldn’t be named using typical dairy-centered phrases like milk or yogurt, since this could convey that the products are nutritionally equal to cow’s milk-based products.

Still, when it comes to fortified soy milk, it may not be so far-fetched, as it’s similar to low fat cow’s milk in terms of calories, fat, protein, vitamin D, calcium, and potassium.

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