Soy Baby Formula Linked to Behavioral Problems

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Soy Baby Formula Linked to Behavioral Problems

 

 

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http://www.mercola.com/2002/oct/26/soy_formula.htm

 

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breastfeeding continue for at

least 12 months and then as long after that period as it is mutually desirable.

However, that is not always the reality. A study by Yale researchers last year

found that most women in underpriveleged populations do not continue

breastfeeding after four months because they lack the confidence they will be

able to do so and think their infants prefer formula. Of the 64 women who

participated in the study, 27% had stopped breastfeeding their infants after one

week; 37% after two weeks; 70% after two months, and 89% by four months.

 

These figures have special importance due to the recently released study on

manganese in infant formula and possible links to behavioral problems in

children. In the study, the researchers found that newborn rats fed a mineral

found in higher levels in infant formula -- especially soy formula -- than in

breast milk may have attention-related changes in a brain chemical. The

preliminary findings need to be confirmed in larger studies before it is known

if manganese is definitely linked to behavioral problems.

 

The reason manganese is such a concern is that it can be toxic in very high

levels, even though it is essential for life, as it helps cells gather energy.

The levels of manganese differ considerably in different infant foods:

 

Breast milk contains 4-6 micrograms per liter (mcg/L)

Milk-based infant formula contains about 30-50 mcg/L

Some soy formula contain 200-300 mcg/L

 

The study included 32 newborn rats that were fed 0 to 500 micrograms of

manganese daily. The amounts given to rats were designed to mimic the amounts in

breast-fed and formula-fed infants.

 

Those rats who received no or very low doses of manganese didn't show any

chemical irregularities, but those on the highest level of manganese dose were

associated with lower levels of dopamine, a brain chemical that helps in

problem-solving tasks.

 

The researchers chose manganese because past research on miners who were exposed

to very high doses of the mineral developed serious health problems akin to

Parkinson's disease. They are worried about soy formula because it contains

approximately 80 times the manganese of human breast milk, but they caution that

other minerals in the formula could offset the effects of the manganese. Iron

and milk calcium are known to protect against manganese toxicity.

 

Two prominent manufacturers of soy-based formulas are Ross Products, a division

of Abbott Laboratories, and Mead Johnson Nutritionals. Ross products makes,

Isomil, and Mead Johnson makes ProSobee. ProSobee and Isomil both contain 25 mcg

of manganese per 5 fluid ounces of normally diluted formula. This is still 400%

higher than breast milk.

 

One important fact to remember, however, is that the rats were not given infant

formula - only a manganese supplement, so the results are definitely not

conclusive as of yet. Much more study needs to be done to establish a

relationship between the mineral and health problems.

 

NeuroToxicology 2002; 145: 1-7

 

Pediatrics 2001 March; 107(3): 543-8

 

 

 

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

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Manganese can be quite a significant neurotoxin in high levels. This is a

classic example of where too much of a nutrient can have a devastatingly serious

side effect. Mark Purdey, who did some ground breaking work on Mad Cow's

Disease, confirmed this when he traveled to Groote Eylandt, an island north-east

of Australia where 25% of the world's Manganese is currently produced. He wrote

a long detailed account of his journey on his web site.

 

About one in thirty people in the largely aboriginal village, where the fine

mine dust regularly settles most heavily, have Groote Syndrome, a progressive

neurological disease. This is the end stage of severe manganese toxicity.

 

With respect to soy here are some key issues:

 

Many people associate soy with Asians, good healthy and longevity. However the

Chinese did not eat unfermented soybeans as they did other legumes such as

lentils because the soybean contains large quantities of natural toxins or

" anti-nutrients " . First among them are potent enzyme inhibitors that block the

action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein digestion.

 

These inhibitors are large, tightly folded proteins that are not completely

deactivated during ordinary cooking. They can produce serious gastric distress,

reduced protein digestion and chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake. In test

animals, diets high in trypsin inhibitors cause enlargement and pathological

conditions of the pancreas, including cancer

 

Soy also contains goitrogens - substances that depress thyroid function. Since

it is likely that over 50 million women have impaired thyryoid function, this is

a significant issue.

 

Additionally 99% -- a very large percentage of soy -- is genetically modified

and it also has one of the highest percentages of contamination by pesticides of

any of our foods.

 

Soybeans are high in phytic acid, present in the bran or hulls of all seeds.

It's a substance that can block the uptake of essential minerals - calcium,

magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc - in the intestinal tract.

 

Although not a household word, phytic acid has been extensively studied; there

are literally hundreds of articles on the effects of phytic acid in the current

scientific literature. While phytic acid may actually help those who have high

iron levels, it can clearly be a problem for many women who are menstruating and

losing large amounts of iron and other minerals.

 

Related Articles:

 

How Safe is Soy Infant Formula?

 

Responses to Manganese in Soy

 

Ross Isomil

 

Mead Johnson Enfamil ProSobee

 

 

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