22 Sep, 2008
Ask the Coach: Soy and Infant Formula
Question
I am aware that soy is in baby infant formulas. Do Asian children eat soy formula like this, what are the dangers of this and is there an alternative available?Answer
Soy was never used in Asia as a baby infant formula. Its first documented use is by westerners in the Archives of Paediatrics when John Ruhrah MD attempted to develop a formula for sick infants who experienced severe diarrhoea on early cow’s milk formula. Dr Harry Miller recommends females breast feeding for a few months before switching to a dairy based formula as soy formula are deficient in a number of vitamins and so manufacturing companies attempt to fortify vitamins and minerals to replace what is missing in the sot formula. In 1979, the federation of American society of biology recommend that soy should be used as a sealer of cardboard boxes.
Soy formulas have been shown to contain10 x the level of amuminum that milk based formulas have and 100 x more aluminium than breast milk. The American academy of paediatrics warns that aluminium affects the nervous system and development. This coupled with the levels of Manganese and the dangers of iso-flavones has seen hormonal disruption of kids previously unheard of. Iso-flavones ingested by the mother in the first 3 months can have an affect on foetus development especially in males. Birth defects included the opening of the penis was well underneath and long-term increases of testicular cancer and prostate cancer. Young females are developing their breasts at an early age and there changes in hormones can increase the risk of breast cancer. Soy creates an imbalance where the menstrual cycles last long and lead to higher risks of infertility. It is often presumed that Africans are lactose intolerant they were switched from milk formulas to soy and now the children are hitting puberty earlier than Caucasians.
On June 13th, 1990, Stuart Nightingale, MD, Assistant Commission for health affairs at the FDA issued a warning about the use of soy milk in infant formulas. The warning said that the product was grossly lacking in the nutrients needed for infants, calcium, Vit D, Vit E and Vit C. The Chinese did not traditionally value soy as a product; it was merely a step in making Tofu. When it was released for sale it was not successful until they changed the marketing by calling it an energy drink and they started targeting stressed workers and business people. The oligo saccaharides in soy cause bloating and flatulence and it explains why it's known as the musical fruit.
Bernard Zimmerli PHD says that soy should only be used where there is clear medical indication, not for ecological or ideological reasons such as strict vegetarianism. The welfare of your child should be of more concern as Soy formulas have been shown to lower the immune system, reduce immunoglobulin level and soy is linked with more infections than breast or cow’s milk,
If you are interested in finding more information about formulas you can check with the book Nourishing Traditions- By Sally Fallon and Mary Enig Ph. D. or you can check the children’s section at www.westonaprice.org In these areas they offer three whole based formulas and also ways to improve your commercial formulas.