Soya risks raised

[Guest guest]

The Sunday Times,

Western Australia

Feb 16th 2003

 

New York

Pregnant women who eat soya could be endangering their babies,

scientists warn.

 

A chemical found in the bean plant may damage the sexual organs of boys

in the womb

and make them less fertile as adults, research shows.

 

The alert, which also applies to breastfeeding mothers, follows studies

that discovered the harmful

effect of soya on male rats. Scientists are worried that women who eat

food such as tofu,

soya beans and soya flour are at risk.

 

Last week a British scientific panel warned there was " clear evidence "

of a potential risk from

soya-based formula milk for babies. The findings may help explain the

rise in infertility problems.

 

But Dr Richard Sharpe, of the Medical Research Council, said the results

mightn't apply to humans.

 

He said hundreds of millions of Asians ate a soya rich diet with no

obvious adverse effects.