Someone asked me that milk is an important source of calcium, but if I drink milk rarely, what food can I get more calcium? My answer is always tofu, or dried tofu, tofu, Vegetarian chicken and other soybean products. These soy products are rich in high-quality protein and calcium, which happens to be the nutritional characteristics of milk. Therefore, the Chinese Nutrition Society recommends the combination of soybean products and dairy products: "Eat milk, soybeans or their products every day."

　　 In terms of calcium content, tofu is undoubtedly the best in soybean products. Half a piece of tofu (about 200 grams) contains roughly the same calcium as a large glass of milk (300 ml). Why does tofu contain so much calcium? First of all, the soybean material itself contains more calcium. More importantly, the coagulant added during the production of tofu, such as gypsum (calcium sulfate) and brine (containing calcium chloride), etc., made the tofu calcium content soar. Two large soybeans (about 150 grams, containing 286 mg of calcium) make a piece of tofu (about 450 grams, containing 738 mg of calcium), the calcium content increased by 1.6 times. The increased calcium comes mainly from the coagulant.

　　Because the coagulant greatly increases the calcium content of soybean products, the calcium content in tofu far exceeds that of soybeans, soy milk, yuba and other products without added calcium coagulant. Moreover, the calcium content of tofu is related to the "old" or "tender" tofu. The calcium content of old tofu is higher than that of tender tofu, while the calcium content of lactone tofu using "gluconolactone" (without calcium) as a coagulant is very high. Low, a large box of lactone tofu (350g) contains only 60mg of calcium.

　　All soybean products that use calcium-containing coagulants like tofu, such as dried tofu, tofu silk, vegetarian chicken, tofu skin, etc., contain more calcium. If milk is the best source of calcium, these calcium-rich soy products are deservedly second. The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that under normal circumstances, each person should consume soy products equivalent to 30 to 50 grams of soybeans per day. Based on the median value of 40 grams of soybeans per day, it is equivalent to half a piece of tofu (200g), 1 small plate of dried tofu (80g), 2 medium bowls of tofu brain (700g) or 3 large cups of soy milk (800ml). If the intake of milk in the recipe is insufficient, it is necessary to increase the intake of calcium-rich soybean products such as tofu, dried tofu, and vegetarian chicken to obtain sufficient calcium.

　　The high nutritional value of soybean products exceeds people''s imagination. In addition to high-quality protein and calcium, they also provide nutrients such as phospholipids, unsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, B vitamins, potassium, and oligosaccharides, isoflavones (phytoestrogens), saponins, sterols, etc. . These beneficial ingredients are the darlings of the health care product market.

　　Many people have not realized that different processing methods have a great influence on the nutritional value of soybean products. The use of coagulants increases the calcium content, but "deep water washing" (refinement to remove juice) and filtration to remove slag cause nutrients to be lost. The former loses water-soluble beneficial substances, such as B vitamins, potassium, oligosaccharides, isoflavones, saponins, etc.; the latter loses part of dietary fiber and phospholipids. Tofu, dried tofu, tofu skin, vegetarian chicken and other soybean products have two processes in the process. Soymilk, especially home-made soymilk, does not add coagulants or undergo "deep water washing", so although the calcium content is not high, it can retain the above beneficial ingredients to the maximum extent and is also highly recommended. Even the okara filtered out when making soy milk or tofu is not considered waste. Okara contains a large amount of dietary fiber, phospholipids and a small amount of protein, isoflavones, oligosaccharides, etc., can be mixed into pasta for cooking.

　　If you have only eaten the above-mentioned soy products, then you have missed something else. Fermented soybean products, such as soybean paste, tempeh, fermented bean curd and natto, are a very unique type of soybean products. Fermentation makes the original nutrients in soybeans easier to digest and absorb, for example, increased protein digestibility, increased absorption of calcium and iron, and conversion of isoflavones to the active form. Fermentation also produced new beneficial substances, such as vitamin B12, nattokinase and so on. Restricted by taste, although the daily consumption of these fermented soybean products is not large, it still has important value.

　　 In short, soy products such as tofu and soy milk are a type of food with extremely high nutritional value and great health value, and should become one of the indispensable components of our daily diet.