Say yes to soya

Soya beans are little legumes that can be turned into just about anything. Well, within reason.

When they're soaked and ground up with water, soya milk is created. That doesn't sound overly-appetising, but detailing cows' milk production would sound much worse.

Plant milk has been available in China since forever, and they were bottling the stuff as far back as 1920. By 1968, the only soft drink more popular than soya milk in Hong Kong was Coca-Cola.

We westerners tend to use it as an alternative to cows' milk rather than a beverage in its own right. It's doubtful that our second-best-selling drink in the United Kingdom after Coca-Cola is anything other than Diet Coke.

The first soya milk boom began in around 1980 and it seems that 2014 has seen another spike in demand.

It's similar to cows' milk insofar as it's a "complete protein" and is fortified with every vitamin ever created. The similarities end there. Unlike cows' milk, soya milk has very little saturated fat and absolutely no cholesterol.

Soya milk should be the dieters' wonder drug, leaving skinny milk by the way side. It shouldn't be a hippy alternative for the minute percentile of vegans, eco-warriors, and tree-huggers.

It behaves just like cows' milk, so you can still have your cappuccino, latte, Shakeroono, or whatever, but also feel safe in the knowledge that you are doing your bit for the animals, the planet and for yourself.

Order a soya something today, but please don't drop the "a" unless you're in Starbucks or America.