ome soyfoods producers are touting their "total isoflavones,"
based on the fact that many unrefined soy products have as much
as ten times as many "conjugated" isoflavones -- that is, "bound"
molecules not available for use by the body -- as they do "free"
isoflavones, those available for use by the body. Lumen Foods'
has created a special process which dramatically increases the
free-to-bound ratios. Although roasted soybeans have
about 120 mg. per 1/2 oz. serving of "total isoflavones"
compared to Heartline's 22 mg., the actual "free" isoflavones
are about the same -- meaning that the active components
are about the same in both. 
Thus, the "total isoflavone" approach is actually deceptive.
Genistein and daidzein are "free" compounds -- the center of the most
recent attention in soy phytochemistry. Lumen Foods' meat
replacement products average better than 84% in their free-to-total
isoflavone ratios. Such high ratios are not statistically
insignificant, Genistin-glucoside and daidzin-glucoside
are their "conjugated" versions, and can be broken down into
genistein and daidzein, but only by complex chemical reactions
not performed in the small intestines of humans. | Lumen Foods Product Name | Genistein (mgm/g) | Daidzein (mgm/g) | Genistin (mgm/g) | Daidzin (mgm/g) | Total Isoflavones |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isoflavone "type" | free | free | bound | bound | ----- |
| Heaven on Earth | 79 | 46 | 49 | 14 | 188 |
| Cajun Jerky (Beef) | 386 | 186 | 59 | 17 | 648 |
| Heartline Beef Fillet | 210 | 137 | 63 | 18 | 428 |
| Heartline Chix Fillet | 220 | 154 | 66 | 19 | 459 |
| Replacement Avg.* | 255 | 163 | 58 | 17 | 493 |
* Analysis performed by the Center for Advanced Food
Technology at Rutgers University, New Jersey. All figures
are in micrograms per gram. That final row of figures is the
average of the three preceeding meat replacement products.
Note that for all Heartline products above, 1.6 oz. of product
equals 1/2 cup. This is useful to know if comparing Heartline
products with chemical analyses of other soy-based products.
Using simple math to convert, the final averages above thus
show that Lumen Foods' meat replacement products averaged 11.58 mg.
of genistein in a 1/2 cup serving (255 mgm/g), or over
half (51.72%) of the 22.38 mg. per serving (493 mgm/g) of
"total isoflavones." No other soy-based product has
reported nearly as high a free-to-bound composition.
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