Soy+babies=bad idea

Almost half of Haiti’s population is under the age of 18 and many of those are infants. Since the earthquake, there have been numerous calls for aid, supplies and money. Our family put together a package of children’s clothes and toiletries that we hope will get into the right hands and be of use. (If you want to help click here or here.)

One of the items I see asked for over and over again is infant formula. This makes sense. There are many orphans in Haiti, the pre-earthquake estimate was 380,000, and they are clearly some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens. A friend of ours finally was able to get her adopted daughter out of Haiti a few days after the earthquake. You can read her story here.

Newborns need special food, and Haiti’s orphans are no different. Yes, “breast is best” — I nursed my eldest daughter and I am still nursing my second — but sometimes nursing is just not an option. This is not a political statement, this is just a reality. So it is a terrible shame, a crime really, that some commercial formulas are made with such garbage. And by garbage I mean chemicals that actually poison the human body instead of helping nourish it.

Let’s talk about soy formula, which makes up about a quarter of the infant formula market. The soy content alone is enough to scare the bejeezus out of anyone.

Of course the standard line is that soy is safe.

“Soybeans are high in phytoestrogens, which are estrogen-like compounds found in plants or plant products. The AAP says that there is no “conclusive evidence” from any animal, adult, or infant study showing that that eating soy causes problems to “human development, reproduction or endocrine function.”

Blah, blah, blah. Actually there is. Here’s a sampling:

According to Cornell University’s Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors:

• . .  animal and human studies suggest that soy phytoestrogens can behave like estrogen and potentially increase breast cancer risk.

According to Tulane University’s eHormone site (study citations available on website):

• Diets rich in certain phytoestrogens also adversely affect the fertility of experimental and domestic animals.
• Mice and rats exposed before or right after birth to several phytoestrogens, including coumestrol and genistein, develop adverse reproductive function later in life. The studies report altered ovarian development, altered estrous cycles, problems with ovulation, and subfertility (fewer pregnancies; fewer pups per litter), and infertility.
• One study found that women eating a vegetarian diet during pregnancy have male offspring with an increased incidence of hypospadias (a birth defect in boys where the penis opening is not located in the normal position at the tip of the penis), possibly due to high maternal levels of soy isoflavones.
• Other studies show young adult men and women fed soy based formulas as infants had increased use of allergy medicines and women had longer menstrual bleeding and more discomfort during the menstrual cycle than their counterparts who were fed cow based formula.

According to an article entitled “Dubious benefits and potential risk of soy phyto-oestrogens” in The Lancet, the world’s premiere medical journal:

• Furthermore, at the third international symposium on the role of soy in preventing and treating chronic disease (Washington, Oct 31 to Nov 3, 1999) disturbing data were presented on potential mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic properties of phyto-oestrogens.

OK, I’ll stop. I think you get the idea.

But if that wasn’t scary enough, the vast majority of soy formula contains . . . high fructose corn syrup. I think at this point, we all know high fructose corn syrup is not a superfood. Despite an inane public relations campaign trying to convince the public that it is harmless, we now know that high fructose corn syrup often contains mercury. According to the Washington Post: “Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply,” the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement. Click here to read the whole article.

So why would are we putting mercury in the mouths of newborn babes?

Because it’s cheap. Corn syrup is one of the cheapest sources of carbohydrates available, and babies need carbohydrates. And why is it so cheap? Because of subsidies. Tax-payers like us pay farmers to grow corn, to the tune of more than $56 billion in the past 12 years. Call and write your senator and tell them to end this. Call and write the formula companies. Babies deserve better.

And if you buy formula — whether it’s for your own baby or a needy infant in Haiti, don’t buy soy formula. Even if your baby is allergic to cow’s milk, there are other options, such as here and here.

Here’s what you can do, write a letter of protest and concern to:

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services – email: kathleen.sebelius at hhs.gov

Kristina Thayer, Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction – email:  thayer at niehs.nih.gov

Click here or here for more information.