Soy – the Complete Protein

Herbalife is the #1 purchaser of soy in the US!

Where does the soybean come from?

China cultivated the first soybean over 3,000 years ago, yet it took nearly 1,000 years before the country fully realized what they had: a product that was not just suitable for farming, but one that is an excellent food source, loaded with protein and containing all the amino acids a healthy body requires. Since that time, the popularity of soy in China has grown exponentially. According to the Earth Policy Institute, in 1995, China was producing andconsuming 14 million tons of soybeans. In 2011, China was still producing 14 million tons of soybeans – but it was now consuming 70 million tons, meaning that 56 million tons had to be imported!

In the United States, the consumption of soy has followed a similar track. In the 1930s, farming for soybeans was almost unheard of, but took off soon after World War II. Today, the U.S. is the world’s largest producer and exporter of soybeans, accounting for over 50% of the world’s soybean production and $3-4 billion in soybean and product exports.

The number one purchaser of soy in the United States is Herbalife!

Soy in the United States

Illinois and Iowa are the top producers of soy in the United States, and Herbalife has a strong presence in both states. We’ve created thousands of jobs with our supplier in Illinois thanks to the 55,000 metric tons of soybeans used in manufacturing Herbalife products. In Iowa, the impact on farming has been almost as tremendous with 45,000 metric tons of soybeans harvested there for use in Herbalife products. Herbalife’s soy purchases have made a huge difference to the economic health of our farming communities – in Iowa and Illinois, as well as Tennessee and Oklahoma, and we are not slowing down.

Soy is not overrated

Research shows that protein is a key building block for any healthy diet, and as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, 25 grams of protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease. Protein also helps build muscle tissue during exercise regimens, and maintain lean muscle mass for healthy aging. Soy is the predominant source of protein in the majority of Herbalife products, including our Formula 1 nutritional shake, one serving of which, when mixed with milk, provides 19 grams of protein.

Soy benefits our economic health and physical health while helping the environment too. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), by 2050, there will be nine billion people on earth, and food consumption will have doubled. Demand for protein, if historical growth rates remain constant, will increase by 74%. Given its efficiency to grow, and producing more protein per acre than beef, egg, or milk protein – soy provides an affordable solution to this increased demand. At the same time soy has a lesser impact on the environment, using significantly fewer resources, especially water, than other ‘complete’ proteins. All of this means that with soy, we can feed more people with less impact on the earth.

Herbalife’s use of soy has a

• Positive economic impact

• Positive impact on physical health

• Positive impact on the environment