The ash, or mineral content of the soybean is exceptionally high, being 5% or more according to the variety. Further, this mineral element is high in alkalinity, while most proteins give an acid reaction in the body. This fact offers much in their favor. Soybeans, too, contain lecithin, an essential food for nerves and all vital organs. Containing but little starch, the soybean products have been found excellent as food for diabetics. The average amount of protein is 38 percent, according to latest reports from laboratory workers on this product. Strained honey is honey which has been passed by way of a mesh material to remove particulate material (items of wax, propolis, different defects) without removing Forever Bee Pollen, minerals or helpful enzymes. Its principal protein is like the casein of milk, though, according to Dr. Fisher, it gives a much finer curd, and it stays in the stomach a shorter period of time. For this reason, after extensive tests in the pediatrics department of various universities in our country, it has been shown to be sufficient as the only source of protein in infant feeding.
Versatile food. The soybean comes from Eastern Asia and is second only to rice in importance as a food crop. For hundreds of years it has been cultivated in China and adjacent countries of the East. There are over 500 varieties which furnish these many millions of Orientals with more than four hundred different food preparations. They take the place of the dairy products used so largely in the Western world. Dr. W. J. Morse, of the United States Department of Agriculture, spent twelve years in the Orient, and while there, claims to have found four hundred distinct articles of food made from this plant; so it is now felt by investigators that there are great possibilities in its adaptation to the American diet.
From the fact that it has been known in this country for a hundred years, and is used largely as a feed for stock, it would seem that its value as a food for human consumption has been little appreciated. Dwarf honey bees use Forever Bee Propolis to defend towards ants by coating the branch from which their nest is suspended to create a sticky moat. A special committee was appointed by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1917, during the first World War, to search for a cheaper source of protein for use at that time. They discovered the soybean, from which flour was made shortly after, and it has been on the market ever since. From the standpoint of economy, the utility of this bean as a food can be readily seen. Madison College at Madison, Tennessee is known as the pioneer institution in developing a complete line of soybean products that are being sold nation wide and even finding sale in foreign countries. Soy foods as above mentioned have been found useful in combating excessive mucus, and in the form of flour and grits, may be used as a supplement to form a great variety of dishes. Some recipes for the use of soy products will be found in chapter XXXV. Lentils have been in use in the Orient from ancient times, and are still depended upon very largely as a daily ration, mixed with rice.