 |
Oct. 17, 2001 |
||||||
|
Browse Archives
n Lung n Breast n General n Prostate n Leukemia n Lymphoma n Colon n News/Issues |
Soy may not be good for infants BETHLEHAM, PA.-- Oct. 17, 2001 -- Health-conscious Americans have long accepted the benefits of tofu, infant formula and other food products made from soybeans and soy extract. But a new study in hamsters raises questions about the advisability of soy products for infants. The research team led by Dr. Jill Schneider at Lehigh University found that a component of soy beans - isoflavones - significantly accelerated the onset of puberty in the rodents. The researchers will present their findings next month to the Society for Neuroscience. She says her results are similar to those reported in rats by other laboratory investigators. Consequently, she has joined with others in a request to the FDA not to allow soy manufacturers to claim their products are good for health. "I would not feed infants soy products. I would breast-feed," Schneider said in a press release."If for some reason a woman can't breast-feed, I would not recommend feeding infants foods that are high in isoflavones." Many babies who are allergic to cow's milk are fed soy-based formulas that contain isoflavones, which Schneider says can act like estrogen, a natural hormone important in the development of both male and female humans. "The sexual behavior of the soy isoflavone-treated animals was much more pronounced," Schneider says. "They showed much more sexual receptivity and more interest in mating. "Like estrogens, these isoflavones can work early in development and change how an animal acts later." Besides triggering early puberty in hamsters, Schneider and colleagues found that early exposure to soy isoflavones also influenced the sexual behavior of the rodents, long after they had stopped eating the isoflavones. Schneider says the experiments conducted by Jamie Swanson, an undergraduate student in her lab provide evidence that isoflavones might have far-reaching effects on behavior. "People should be concerned about giving these formulas with isoflavones to infants," she says. "They should not necessarily jump on the bandwagon to consume these products. We do not yet know whether there is a safe dose of isoflavones for infants." Schneider thinks infants fed soy formula containing isoflavones should be studied to determine if they experience accelerated onset of puberty. She also advocates examining sex differences in response to isoflavones, to see if they affect baby boys differently from baby girls. And she believes it would be prudent to try to measure the possible long-term benefits of soy formulas, such as lowering the incidence of obesity and diabetes. While some people believe soy products protect women against heart disease and other ailments, Schneider says the products might be linked to a number of health risks including breast cancer and accelerated aging in the brain. Estrogen stimulates cell division and growth in some types of breast cancers. Isoflavones bind to estrogen receptors, and mimic estrogen in some cases. Naturally occurring soy products like soy beans or tofu, Schneider says, do not concern her as much as the isoflavone pills or concentrated soy powders, which contain larger quantities of isoflavone than those contained in the beans or curd. |
||||||
SUBSCRIBE
FREE