Is Soy bad for babies/children-particularly little boys?

[purpleeyes]

I was talking with some mommy friends who said that they are not giving soy to their sons b/c of concerns for sterlility and other problems. I had never heard this and my DS gets tofu every morning for breakfast! :)
I'm not too stressed (he still got the tofu this morning) but I was wondering if anyone got provide me with some info or places to research this topic?
I did a search here but mostly came up with soy formulas.
TIA!!

Beth

[Katia]

Personally, I've decided not to add this to the long list of things I worry about :-) It's not hard to find contrary opinions, but I tend to agree with our pediatrician who commented that in countries where soy is a major part of the typical diet, people seem to be pretty healthy.

Katia
DS 2003

[jbowman]

Here is an article from Mothering magazine (published in 2004):

http://www.mothering.com/articles/gr...soy_story.html

FWIW, I know that this article has been discussed here on BBB and elsewhere (and the author of the article has a book that expands on the themes discussed in the article, check it out on Amazon). Obviously I would do more research before making an informed decision about the place of soy in your child's diet, but I wanted to provide the link to this article for you.

[ajrivers]

Just today I got some soy formula samples from my ped for my 6 month old as I am planning on switching to formula for daycare and then ran across this post...

I decided to look into the above article and found a page that refutes what it says along with some additional links. I truly have no idea what to believe, but thought I would pass it on.

Amy

[Rachels]

I don't think the verdict is fully in yet. One thing that is true is that the rate of life-threatening peanut allergies has risen dramatically with the introduction of soy formula. Those may or may not be related, or there could be a million reasons why they're related (e.g., soy is a very common allergen, and exposure to lots of allergenic things tends to increase your allergies overall), but I've opted to be careful. I don't avoid soy altogether, but I don't give it very often, either. It's just as easy to choose other foods, kwim?

If you do a search here on soy, you'll see lots of topics about this.

-Rachel
Mama to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...ethyst_36m.gif
Nursed for three years!

and Ethan James
10/19/05
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...smilies/bf.jpg


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya

[JElaineB]

I'm wondering if there is a reason you are considering soy formula? Milk-based formula is typically the first choice after breastmilk unless there is a specific reason to use soy formula.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[purpleeyes]

Thanks for all the input, everyone! To follow up on some PPs...
We're not choosing soy formula-we're on to cow's milk. :) Thank goodness! But soy has been part of his diet-with tofu, edamame, etc. b/c of the protein content. That was why I was concerned.
I tried a search on soy but didn't get very far-any tips for searching? Should I use other words?

THANKS!
Beth

[JElaineB]

>We're not choosing soy formula-we're on to cow's milk. :)
>Thank goodness! But soy has been part of his diet-with tofu,
>edamame, etc. b/c of the protein content. That was why I was
>concerned.

I was responding to Amy about the soy formula. :)

Anway, here is the original thread from when the Mothering article first came out:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboar...ng_type=search

It has some additional opinions in it. I think the main thing is that soy is a controversial food, but there are lots of controversial foods. I would suggest doing some additional research on your own, but you have to be careful because there is lots of hype about soy in both directions and many websites are not reliable. For me it comes down to do the potential risks outweigh the benefits? My answer is no. There are lots of other food sources of protein that DS will eat, so I feel no reason to feed him soy-based foods, just in case. I don't care if there is a little soy added to something he is eating but I do not serve him tofu, edamame or soy-based fake meats, and I generally don't eat them myself either. I was a vegetarian for several years a long time ago and I did then though.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[purpleeyes]

Thanks for the link!
Sorry about the soy formula-I didn't watch who was replying to who! (or whom? ) :)
Anyway, thanks again!
Beth

[jbowman]

>Just today I got some soy formula samples from my ped for my
>6 month old as I am planning on switching to formula for
>daycare and then ran across this post...
>
>I decided to look into the above article and found a page that
>refutes what it says along with some additional links. I truly
>have no idea what to believe, but thought I would pass it on.
>
>Amy

I think it is an excellent idea to research a variety of sources. Although I posted this link, I do not want to appear to be biased for or against soy. Like everything, it is something that an individual must decide for her/himself after doing the appropriate research. I just recall discussions centering around this particular author/article.