For the past couple of year the number of Americans that are overweight keeps increasing. Today fifty five percent of Americans are overweight. Because of this unhealthy trent the media, researchers, doctors and specialists have been educating and informing the population that eating a healthy diet is beneficial for the body in many ways. As a result of the growing awareness of the benefits of eating a healthy diet today's consumers have become more health-conscious than ever before. When researchers and scientists talk about a healthy diet they emphasize on cutting back on a diet high in animal fat, which increases one's risk for osteoporsis according to a study done at the University of California in San Francisco (shape magazine Nov. 2001) and focusing on a plant-based diet, which has many health benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease, protecting against breast and prostate cancer, and helps in the prevention of osteoporosis. The focus on a plant-based diet has stimulated the interest in soy products in the United States.
             Dana Jacobi states that soy is a complete vegetarioan protein derived from soybeans that has been consumed by people in Asian countries for thousands of years. This protein is considered "complete" because it contains all eight amino acids (protein building blocks) that are essential (cannot be made by the human body) to maintain healthy cells in the human body. "Recently soy has been gaining recognition and popularity as the American population learns more about its potential health benefits. In Octover of 1999 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the "heart healthy" claim on soy protein products." The FDA put this claim on soy because it can reduce the risk of heart disease, which is the leading cause of deaths in the United States, can help protect the immune system, ward off heart attacks, strokes, osteoporosis, diabetes, and kidney disease. Soy is also an excellent sourc...