Posted on 01/12/2005 11:05:18 PM PST by Coleus
| Soy Formula May Stunt the Intestinal Growth in Your Baby |
| Concerns regarding the safety of soy formula were raised after two studies revealed that the amounts of soy isoflavone genistein, a chemical found in commercial soy formulas, might inhibit the intestinal growth in babies. There is a great deal of merit surrounding this concern, particularly because nearly 25 percent of formula-fed babies in the United States consume soy formula. Commercial soy formulas contain anywhere from 32 to 45 milligrams of genistein. These concentration levels exceed the amount found to affect menstrual cycles in women. Since formula is the only source of nutrition for infants during their first four to six months of life, a period in which several critical organ systems are developing, researchers were motivated to study the possible effects of genistein. Two Soy Studies Show Same Results -- Slowing of Cell Reproduction The first study involving the treatment of intestinal cells in culture with genistein that included the same amount found in soy formula showed that the cells ceased to grow. One researcher did point out that the actions observed in cells in culture might not be the same as those in infants. The second study was made up of two groups of piglets: one group was fed cow's milk-based formula and the other was given formula supplemented with genistein at the amount it is found in soy formula. It was discovered that the piglets given the genisten formula displayed 50 percent less proliferating cells in the intestine over the group that was fed solely the cow's milk formula. Because the metabolism and physiology of newborn pigs is so similar to human infants, researchers believe these results could be applied to infants. Researchers of the study cautioned that although the soy formulas might appear to be safe based on some clinical data, these above studies show that it might not come without side effects. Pediatric Research December 7, 2004. DOI: 10.1203/01.PDR.0000150723.87976.32 Science Daily December 27, 2004 |
Received March 25, 2004
Accepted November 4, 2004
Division of Nutritional Sciences [A.-C.C., K.A.T., S.M.D.], University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801; and United States Department of Agriculture [M.A.B.], Agricultural Research Service, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Peoria, IL 61604
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sdonovan@uiuc.edu.
Currently 15% of U.S. infants are fed soy formulas that contain up to 14 mg of genistein equivalents/L. Our goal was to investigate the impact of dietary genistein on intestinal development. Piglets (n = 8/group) were fed sow milk replacer (MR), MR + 1 mg/L of genistein (LG), or MR + 14 mg/L of genistein (HG) for 10 d. Formula intake, weight gain, and intestinal length and weight were similar in all groups. Average serum genistein concentration in the HG group was similar to that of soy formula-fed infants. No significant effects of genistein on enterocyte apoptosis, lactase, and sucrase activities or electrophysiologic measures were observed in jejunum or ileum. Jejunal and ileal villus heights were not significantly different, but the percentage of proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive jejunal crypt cells in the HG was reduced 50% compared with that in MR and LG (p = 0.001), indicating decreased proliferation. Enterocyte migration distance in the HG group tended to be 20% less (p = 0.1) than LG or MR. Jejunal estrogen receptor 
mRNA expression in HG was half of that in LG (p = 0.05), but neither was significantly different from MR. In conclusion, genistein at the level present in soy infant formula is bioactive in the small intestine and results in reduced enterocyte proliferation and migration. The lack of effect of genistein on nutrient transport and enzyme activity suggests that the impact of genistein is greater on proliferating versus differentiated intestinal cells.Abbreviations: BrdU, 5'-bromodeoxyuridine • ER, estrogen receptor • HG, high genistein • ITF, intestinal trefoil factor • LC-MS, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry • LG, low genistein • LPH, lactase phlorizin hydrolase • MR, milk-replacer • PCNA, proliferating cell nuclear antigen • SP, spasmolytic polypeptide • TFF, trefoil factor
URBANA, Ill. -- Two studies by University of Illinois food science and human nutrition professor Sharon Donovan show that the soy isoflavone genistein, in amounts present in commercial soy infant formulas, may inhibit intestinal cell growth in babies. So what are we to think about soy in a baby's diet?
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Donovan said it's an important question to ask because almost 25 percent of formula-fed babies in the United States consume soy formula. Although babies on soy formula appear to grow normally, these formulas contain very high concentrations of genistein, from 32 to 45 milligrams, which is higher than the amount found to affect menstrual cycles in women, she said.
"I'm struck by the fact that these babies are receiving isoflavones at such high concentrations," Donovan said. "Formula is the sole source of nutrition for these infants for the first four to six months of life, when so many important organ systems are developing."
In the first study, published in the Journal of Nutrition in June 2004, Donovan treated intestinal cells in culture with genistein in the amount present in soy infant formula and found that the cells "basically stopped proliferating." However, actions seen in cells in culture may not be seen in infants, Donovan said.
In a second study, she fed one group of newborn piglets a cow's milk-based formula, while feeding other piglets formula supplemented with genistein at the level found in soy formula. This study will be published in the February 2005 issue of Pediatric Research, but an electronic version was released on line on Dec. 7.
Newborn pigs are an excellent model for human infants because they have a similar metabolism and physiology, Donovan said.
In the piglets fed genistein, the number of proliferating cells in the intestine was 50 percent lower than piglets fed the cow's milk formula alone. Concentrations of genistein in the piglets' blood were similar to those of babies fed soy formula, so these data may be applicable to human infants, the researcher said.
No differences in the activities of digestive enzymes or uptake of nutrients were observed, which suggests that genistein had little effect on mature intestinal cells that were no longer proliferating.
Although these data are the first to show that genistein is bioactive in the neonatal intestine, Donovan said these results do not mean soy formulas should not be fed to babies. "Clinical data suggest that soy formulas are safe," she said, "but even though they appear to be safe, they may not be without effect."
So far, Donovan has studied genistein alone, but soy formulas contain other soy isoflavones that likely affect genistein's actions in the intestine. The researcher plans to study those interactions. "Soy isoflavones may have both positive and negative effects that need to be better understood," she said.
Donovan pointed to recent research that showed adding long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids to infant formula improves brain and retinal development and even IQ scores. Recent research has also shown that adding nucleotides to baby formula causes babies to react better to vaccinations and make more antibodies, she said.
"And although that research showed differences that were measurable, the babies fed formula with added fatty acids or nucleotides appeared to grow the same as other babies do," she said. "So I don't think you can use growth as the sole parameter for normal development."
An-Chian Chen contributed to the cell-culture study. Other researchers contributing to the piglet study were An-Chian Chen, a doctoral student in nutritional sciences; Mark A. Berhow, an adjunct professor of biochemistry in the UI department of crop sciences and researcher for the USDA-ARS Bioactive Agents Research Unit in Peoria, Ill.; and Kelly A. Tappenden, professor of food science.
Both studies were funded by the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research and the USDA.
Not surprising; their intestines weren't designed to use soy.
As for myself, I thank the humble soybean farmer for producing a most versitile product. You can make everything from soybeans except wine, it seems.
But soylent green is people.
LOL. There is an ice cream parlor on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach that actually has a "Soylent Green" flavor. When I first walked in there I asked if it was made from "people." The clerk was not amused.
LOL!!! You forgot, "--while bleeding from a gunshot wound."
I did a very poor Heston impersonation. There is only one Chuck Heston.
We had a baby daughter who was allergic to almost all of it.
Goat milk got her going and she thrived on it.
dead link, and Nexus is flakier than Tony the Tiger, but worth reading. The Wayback Machine gave me a bogus error when I tried looking it up, maybe later...
Tragedy and Hype
The Third International Soy Symposium
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/soydangers.html
LOL. There is an ice cream parlor on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach that actually has a "Soylent Green" flavor. When I first walked in there I asked if it was made from "people." The clerk was not amused. >>>
LOL, what a dumb name for an Ice Cream flavor, I wouldn't eat it. Kind of like naming a car a Chevy Nova and selling it in Hispanic Countries!! What a bomb.
Soylent Green, a left-wing propaganda movie starring Charlton Heston, which was made to push "abortion" "sustainable development" and "population control"
Wow, and I guess my eight children were just starved to death.
The Natural Dangers of Soy (PDF)
Dangers of Isoflavins in Soy and Soy Based Foods
The disclosure, which sent shockwaves through the multi-billion dollar food industry, came after the scientists decided to break ranks with colleagues in the US Food and Drug Administration and oppose its decision last year to approve a health claim that soya reduced the risk of heart disease. They wrote an internal protest letter warning of 28 studies revealing toxic effects of soya.
In an interview with The Observer, one of the scientists, Daniel Doerge, an expert on soya, said: 'We have very real worries that this health claim will be used by the industry as an endorsement of much wider health benefits to soya beyond the heart. Research has shown a clear link between soya and the potential for adverse effects in humans.'
BSE and other health scares related to meat have led to rocketing sales of soya-related products in Britain. But it is not just vegetarian foods such as tofu that use soya. It is a key ingredient in products from meat sausages and fish fingers to salad creams and breakfast cereals.
The concerns of Doerge and fellow FDA researcher Daniel Sheehan focus on chemicals in soya known as isoflavones which have effects similar to the female hormone oestrogen.
While these chemicals may help to prevent a range of conditions including high cholesterol, they also lead to health problems in animals including altering sexual development of foetuses and causing thyroid disorders. Although soy is thought to protect against breast cancer, some studies show that chemicals in soya may increase the chances of breast cancer which uses oestrogen-type hormones for growth.
Their letter to the FDA seen by The Observer states: 'There is abundant evidence that some of the isoflavones found in soy demonstrate toxicity in oestrogen sensitive tissues and in the thyroid. Additionally, the adverse effects in humans occur in several tissues.
'During pregnancy in humans, isoflavones per se could be a risk factor for abnormal brain and reproductive tract development.'
This will frighten mothers who increasingly use soya milk for babies. Doerge said: 'They are exposing their children to chemicals which we know have adverse effects in animals. It's like doing a large uncontrolled and unmonitored experiment on infants.'
The soya industry insists that most research shows the health benefits of soya outweigh risks and that adverse effects seen in animals do not apply to humans.
Richard Barnes, European director of the US Soy Bean Association, said: 'Millions of people around the world have been eating soya for years and have shown no signs of abnormalities or disorders.'
Useful links:
www.ifrn.bbsrc.ac.uk/public/FoodInfoSheets/soya.html Institute of Food Research information sheet on soya
| Soy Formulas and the Effects of Isoflavones on the Thyroid |
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Environmental scientist and long-time campaigner against soy-based infant formulas, Dr Mike Fitzpatrick, has warned about the risk of thyroid disease in infants fed soy formulas, high soy consumers and users of isoflavone supplements: "There is potential for certain individuals to consume levels of isoflavones in the range that could have goitrogenic effects. Most at risk appear to be infants fed soy formulas, followed by high soy users and those using isoflavone supplements". The report noted that infants fed soy formulas are exposed to high levels of isoflavones, which are potent anti-thyroid agents, and that the risks to normal growth and development were significant. Fitzpatrick stated that thyroid problems due to soy might not be recognised "due to difficulties in establishing a cause and effect relationship" and noted that even experienced soy researchers may be ignorant of the connection between isoflavones and goitre. Fitzpatrick also rejected claims that there was no evidence that isoflavones in soy formulas harmed infants citing the reported cases of goitre that have occurred in infants fed iodine sufficient soy formulas. Fitzpatrick stated his support to the position of the New Zealand Ministry of Health: "The Ministry of Health has found that infants with a history of thyroid dysfunction should avoid soy formulas and soy milks. Additionally, there is potential for isoflavone exposure to cause chronic thyroid damage in all infants fed soy formulas" Fitzpatrick stated that exposing infants to isoflavones was unnecessary and that the risk of harm could be avoided if manufacturers removed isoflavones from soy formulas. "In the interim" he stated "it is appropriate for medical practitioners to monitor the thyroid status of infants fed soy formulas" Fitzpatrick also claimed that high soy consumers and users of isoflavone supplements were also at risk of thyroid disorders. He stated that the subtle effects of anti-thyroid agents on thyroid function would most likely be evidenced as subclinical, or even overt hypothyroidism. Fitzpatrick also noted that a sporadic pattern of soy use may also not be without risk since the resulting thyroid stimulation parallels the classic method for inducing thyroid tumours in laboratory animals. He recommended "a more cautionary approach to the use of soy and isoflavone supplements". New Zealand Medical Journal (Volume 113, Feb 11, 2000) |
| Soy Can Lead to Kidney Stones |
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New research indicates that soybeans and soy-based foods, a staple in the diets of many health-conscious consumers, may promote kidney stones in those prone to the painful condition. The researchers measured nearly a dozen varieties of soybeans for oxalate, a compound that can bind with calcium in the kidney to form kidney stones. They also tested 13 types of soy-based foods, finding enough oxalate in each to potentially cause problems for people with a history of kidney stones, according to Linda Massey, Ph.D., at Washington State University in Spokane. The amount of oxalate in the commercial products easily eclipsed the American Dietetic Association's 10 milligram-per-serving recommendation for patients with kidney stones, with some foods reaching up to 50 times higher than the suggested limit, she noted. "Under these guidelines, no soybean or soy-[based] food tested could be recommended for consumption by patients with a personal history of kidney stones," she said. No one had previously examined soy foods for oxalate, thus the researchers are the first to identify oxalate in store-bought products like tofu, soy cheese and soy drinks. Other foods, such as spinach and rhubarb, also contain significant oxalate levels, but are not as widely consumed for their presumed health benefits, Massey said. During their testing, the researchers found the highest oxalate levels in textured soy protein, which contains up to 638 milligrams of oxalate per 85-gram serving. Soy cheese had the lowest oxalate content, at 16 milligrams per serving. Spinach, measured during previous research, has approximately 543 milligrams per one-cup (2 oz. fresh) serving. Soy, a natural source of protein, fiber and healthy oils, is used to enhance a myriad of foods, ranging from hamburgers to ice cream. It can be ground into flour and used in a variety of grain products, or formed into chunks and ground like meat. Soy is also being studied for its potential to lower cholesterol, reduce bone loss and prevent breast cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new label on foods containing at least 6.25 grams of soy protein per serving that boasts of a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Oxalate, however, cannot be metabolized by the body and is excreted only through urine, Massey said. The compound has no nutritional value, but binds to calcium to form a mass (kidney stones) that can block the urinary system, she said. Further research is needed to find types of soybeans with less oxalate, or to develop a processing method to remove the compound before it reaches consumers, she added. No one knows precisely why kidney stones occur in particular individuals. But Massey said high levels of oxalate in the urine increase the risk and those with a family history of the ailment are more likely to suffer from the condition; individuals with a low probability of kidney stones are unlikely to be affected by oxalate in soy-based foods. More than one million people were diagnosed with kidney stones in the United States in 1996, the most recent available data, according to the National Institutes of Health. Stones can range in size from the diameter of a grain of rice to the width of a golf ball. An estimated 10 percent of the U.S. population, mostly men, will develop a kidney stone at some point in their lives, according to the NIH. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry September 2001 |
| Soy Weakens Your Immune System |
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A hormone-like compound found in soy products, including soy-based infant formulas and menopause remedies, may impair immune function. When mice were injected with the "plant estrogen" genistein, which is found in soy products, levels of several immune cells dropped and the thymus, a gland where immune cells mature, shrank. Of course, people eat rather than inject soy products, but the thymus also became smaller in mice that consumed genistein in their diet. This is particularly concerning, researchers say, since the resulting blood levels of genistein in the mice were lower than those reported in human babies fed soy formula. A few reports from the late 1970s and early 1980s suggested that a soy-based diet impaired infants' immune functions. About 15% of infants in the US, or roughly 750,000 children, consume soy-based formula each year. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 21, 2002;99:7616-7621 |
| Soy Can Cause Severe Allergic Reactions |
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A Swedish study shows that soy, like its botanically-related cousin the peanut, could be responsible for severe, potentially fatal, cases of food allergy, particularly in children with asthma who are also very sensitive to peanuts. Soy has probably been underestimated as a cause of food anaphylaxis" and that "labeling of foods containing soy protein should be improved. Between 1993 and 1996, 61 cases of severe reactions to food were reported, including 5 that were fatal. Peanut, soy and tree nuts caused 45 of the 61 reactions. Including two cases that occurred shortly before the study began, four deaths could be attributed to soy, say the researchers. All four of the youngsters who died from soy anaphylaxis were allergic to peanuts but had no known allergy to soy. In most cases, after consuming the food containing soy, there were no symptoms for 30 to 90 minutes. However, that period of no or mild symptoms was followed by severe and rapidly deteriorating asthma. Those most at risk for developing a severe reaction to soy are young people with asthma and severe peanut allergy, say the researchers. In cases where the allergy was fatal, the amount of soy consumed varied between 1 and 10 grams. Such an amount may occur in hidden form in hamburgers, meatballs, kebabs, sausages, and bread, but rarely in other foods. Allergy 1999;54:261-265. |
Of course, now I gotta ask Clemenza - did you taste the Soylent Green ice cream, and what flavor was it? Caucasian? African? Polynesian?
I chose Chocolate Chip instead. It just didn't feel right eating Soylent Green.
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