Soy: A Formula for Disaster

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Soy: A Formula

for Disaster

http://www.americanfreepress.net/Alternative_Health/Soy__A_Formula/soy__a_formula.html

 

Experts say a new

study on

soy-based formula neglects to mention the products’ serious side

effects.

 

By the

Staff of Whole Body Health

 

A recent study

giving infant formula made from soy a clean bill of health was biased

and white

washed evidence that proves the baby products can hurt children, say

nutritional experts.

In the study, researchers ignored higher

rates of

reproductive disorders, asthma and allergies in those who received soy

formula,

said Dr. Mary Enig, president of Maryland Nutritionists Association.

“This is in line with a number of

reports in the

scientific literature,” said Enig. “The research team glossed over

negative

findings and omitted them from the abstract and conclusions, noting

only that

women who had been fed soy formula reported slightly longer duration of

menstrual bleeding and greater discomfort with menstruation.”

Other serious problems, Enig noted,

included higher

rates of cervical cancer, polycystic ovarian syndrome, blocked

fallopian tubes,

pelvic inflammatory disease and hormonal disorders.

Also, soy-fed women reported higher

rates of

sedentary activity and use of weight-loss products, which could be

indicative

of thyroid disfunction, said Enig.

The study, published in the Aug. 15

issue of the Journal

of American Medical Association, was conducted by drawing on

telephone

interviews with 282 adults fed on soy formula and 563 adults fed milk

baby

products during controlled research at the University of Iowa between

1965-1978.

Medical experts point out that soy

contains a

constituent that is chemically similar to the human hormone estrogen.

Dr. Kenneth Setchell, a professor of

pediatrics at

the University of Cincinnati, said that babies receiving soy formula

get a

daily exposure to plant-based estrogen that is 13,000 to 22,000 times

higher

than babies fed milk-based formula.

This is the equivalent to receiving at

least five

birth control pills a day, Setchell said.

“The amount of phytoestrogens in soy

formula can

vary as much as tenfold, depending on the way it is processed,” said

Dr. Naomi

Baumslag, professor of pediatrics at Georgetown University. “The soy

used today

is genetically engineered, which means it has more isoflavones in it

than the

soy they were using 20 years ago.”

In the United States, approximately

750,000

infants receive soy-based baby formula, more than any other country in

the

world.

Concern over the effects of soy formula

is so high

in Britain and New Zealand, the two countries’ governments issued

warnings on

the use of the products.

Experts cite a 1986 study in Puerto Rico

which

concluded that the use of soy formula was strongly linked to premature

maturation in girls. Other adverse reports included “extreme emotional

behavior, learning difficulties, immuno-deficiencies, irritable bowel

syndrome

and disrupted sexual development in boys.”

“The question we should be asking is why

are so

many of our babies on soy?” said Baumslag. “In the UK and New Zealand,

only 1

percent of babies get soy. In the United States, at least 20 percent

get soy.

It can only be because of massive influence of the soy industry,

because there

is scientific evidence that soy formula can be damaging to newborns.” ™