concerns about soy (especially formula) and reproductive development

[kristine_elen]

My husband mentioned yesterday that we might want to cut down on all the soy milk that our son drinks because of the plant estrogens. (Son was breastfed until he weaned himself at about 7 or 8 months. He has a milk allergy, so he drinks soy milk.) I did some research and found this article, with excerpts and link to full story below. I'm not advocating one thing or another, just sharing something I saw.

A crucial time for the programming of the human reproduction system is right after birth-the very time when bottles of soy formula are given to many non-breastfed babies. Normally during this period, the body surges with natural estrogens, testosterones, and other hormones that are meant to program the baby's reproductive development from infancy through puberty and into adulthood. For infants on soy formula, this programming may be interrupted.

(I think just excerpting is fair use and not a copyright infringement...)

"Male infants experience a testosterone surge during the first few months of life and produce androgens in amounts equal to those of adult men. So much testosterone at such a tender age is needed to program the body for puberty, the time when a male's sex organs should develop and he should begin to express male characteristics such as facial and pubic hair and a deep voice. If receptor sites intended for the hormone testosterone are occupied by soy estrogens, however, appropriate development may never take place. ...

Soy formula is bad news for girls as well. Natural estrogen levels approximately double during the first month of life, then decline and remain at low levels until puberty. With increased estrogens in the environment in the diet, an alarming number of girls are entering puberty much earlier than normal."

full article with notes/sources:
http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/soy_story.html

[lmintzer]

Hmmm. I've never heard of these problems associated with soy. DS#2 eats soy products as well because of a milk protein allergy (he's still bf, so soy milk intake itself is limited to when I can't pump enough on work days, but he does eat soy yogurt).

The thing to do is look at the primary source. I wouldn't necessarily trust what you read in an article like this. I don't have the time today (we're preparing to go out of town tomorrow), but what I will probably do is a Medline search to look for a primary source (i.e., an article published by the researchers themselves on their study). Of course, some primary sources are better than others, but it will still give you a better idea than reading an article written in laymen's terms. It's easy to get bogged down by the statistics and the details in a scientific journal article. You could always print it off and bring it to your pediatrician at your next visit. Sorry if I am telling you something you already know (I can't remember what your backgrouns is here--are you medical?).

[nathansmom]

I think more research needs to be done but I have several thoughts on this based on real life experiece.
I went on a soy kick in my younger years as did my dh. I replaced everything I could with soy. I've had problems with IF, thyroid problems and my peanut allergy has gotten worse. Is this associated with soy? I don't know but I believe it is. Dh has the same problems and was on soy for less time then I was.
IF- I'm the only one on my side of the family with this problem. Same with dh.
Thyroid problems- My sister and I have problems with this. My sister was given soy formula as an infant for 2 months. Other than that she hasn't touched soy.
Peanut allergy- This does run in my family although I'm the only one of my siblings to have this allergy. Dh didn't develop his allergy until later in life (after starting soy).
Maybe all of this is just bad luck but I have no intention of giving Nathan or his brothers more than 8 oz of any soy product in a day. This was recomended by my allergist.
Here's a few links for you to look at. Some say soy is okay and others don't. I think until more research is done each person needs to reach their own conculsion.
http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/132/8/2127

http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/141/10/3898

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/21/health/main509731.shtml

http://www.nbc4.com/health/1783187/detail.html

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jan04/soy0104.htm

[daisymommy]

I've been reading about this for months, both in mainstream as well as natural family books/artcles/websites where people were usually very pro-soy (many of them vegetarians)--but even they are now steering clear of soy.

I was a veggie for a number of years, and ate alot of soy products. I now have many fertlity and reproductive problems...I am the only one in my family to have these problems, but also the only one who ate soy based products. Coincidence or cause?.

The American Academy of Pediatriacs does not reccomend soy as a first choice for formula replacement, because it is not only linked to peanut allergies, but having soy so young in life can trigger a soy allergy, and then you are allergic for life. The kicker? A huge number of food and drink products in grocerie stores have some amount of soy in them, so then your child would not be able to eat/drink those products.

Also, many doctors don't tell you that if your child is allergic to dairy, there is a 40-60% chance that they will also be allergic to soy.

[lmintzer]

This is also what I've heard re: the overlap between dairy and soy allergy. The pediatric nutritionist I work with quoted the 40% number. My son doesn't show the same allergic symptoms to soy, so he's one of the lucky ones.

[kristine_elen]

I'm not in the medical field but I do know to look at who/what is doing the study, and the article lists all the sources for any of us who want to see from what study they are getting their info. Like I said, I'm just putting this out there in case anyone else is interested. I know I am going to at least look at the issue in greater depth and make sure I'm not doing avoidable damage.
Thanks!

[lizajane]

while i believe that soy formula (of course, used in the first year of life) does have some repercussions, but ped said that soy milk (post 12 months) is totally fine. my son, my dh and i all drink soy milk. every ped in the practice that i have asked said that everyone has something to say about everything and that soy is just not that big a deal. not saying that you shouldn't do your research, or that soy doesn't cause trouble for many. just saying that our peds gave us the ok and that dairy milk causes problems, too.

[chlobo]

So if your child is allergic to milk what are you supposed to give them after 1 year if you stop breastfeeding? We think DD has a problem with dairy (we're not sure if its an allergy or just digestion trouble, if there is a difference). Anyhow, now she is a year and I just don't know what to give her.

She does eat some soy yogurt and occassional soy nuggets but that's all.

[kristine_elen]

Maybe rice milk? (If indeed there's reason to avoid soy.)

[lmintzer]

Kristine,
Hope you didn't take offense at my post. Didn't know what your background was. I certainly respect that you know how to look critically at the article/references.

Yes, I believe rice milk is what is recommended if soy products need to be avoided. But is rice milk fortified with vitamin D? If not, you can always give vitamin drops (my ped recommended polyvisol (sp?).

I may not have e-mail/internet access for the next few days. We aren't sure if we are taking our laptop on the trip to Philly or not. So, if anyone wants to get in touch with me, I might not be able to respond until Tuesday.

I'd be interested to hear more info. on the soy issue.

[kristine_elen]

No, no problem. ... Not sure on the rice milk; I've never really looked at the nutritional content because we don't use it. I would imagine some are fortified.
Cheers!

[starrynight]

I have been afraid of soy ever since I read in parents mag that soy infant formula should only be used if absolutely necessary because it surpresses the immune system.

I have a fried who's child was on soy formula and the kid was always sick, could be a coincidence but...

We avoid soy as much as possible, one dd is allergic and just to be safe I don't give it to the other kids.I do occassionally cook with soy sauce but no tofu, soy milk or other pure soy items in my house.

[luvbeinmama]

I have 2 kids on soy, so, of course, I've heard the uproar about soy. Here is my take on it...

DH and his brother both were given soy formula as babies, and had soy (no dairy) until they were in elementary school sometime, when they outgrew their dairy allergy. We have 2 healthy children. Uncle has no apparent affects either (they don't have kids, but only because she is type I diabetic).

I did NOT grow up on soy, no allergies in my family. I have reproductive challenges related to my cycle. Totally not soy-related.

My 2 children have the same dairy allergy their father and uncle had as kids. They were both on soy formula until 2 yrs and have been on soymilk since then. I tried goats milk, lactose free milk, etc. to no avail. So what formula was I supposed to use??? There are 2 choices available. Milk-based and soy-based. Period. So I chose to ignore the media and trust God that my kids will be just fine as their father and uncle are. I don't believe that everything affects everyone the same way. Thus, I don't think soy will affect everyone the same way. And, for me, worrying is not an option, it's just not something I choose to do most of the time. Why did I not use rice milk or another milk before age 2? Well, they need more fat in their diet than is available in those other milks. Even soymilk has only as much fat as 2% cows milk. They need that fat for brain development (fatty tissue). The AAP recommends whole cows milk from 1 yr to 2 yrs, so I used toddler soy formula until age 2 when the recommendation is to go to 2% cows milk. And believe me, if there had been no problems with them when I breastfed, I would have LOVED to have breastfed them as long as possible (they both were great bfers), but the problems with their little digestive systems and rashes were too plentiful for me to continue with that. So that is why I've used soy without looking back and without regret. I believe I have done what is in the best interests of my children given the experiences we have had.

HTH a little. :)

[MamaKath]

I have heard this before, and it scares me so completely! DD is allergic to milk and has soy milk daily on her cereal. I need to figure out some other alternatives I guess. :-( DS has it on cereal too since he is showing dairy symptoms as well. Rice milk is very hard to find locally.

What is the next step that those of you who have dairy allergic kids take? What do you use?

[barbarhow]

I have heard the horror stories as well and with a child who is allergic to dairy and eggs it does concern me. I try to limit his intake of soy however given that he doesn't like many other sources of protein it gets very difficult. Currently I try to limit him to about 16 ounces a day. When he drinks it it doesn't seem like alot-writing it, it does. He also eats soy yogurt-probably one a day.
I don't believe that rice cereal is a good source of protein and am pretty certain that there is a large correlation of goats milk allergy with kids who are dairy allergic.
When I asked our allergist about the problems with testosterone/estrogen her reply was a tad flippant which made me annoyed at the time but in hindsight I see her point. She basically said "What are you going to do? He needs protein-the sources are limited-the research is limited."
We keep our fingers crossed.
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03, a Red Sox fan
expecting #2, a Yankee fan, around 5/9/05!