On my post about breastfeeding, a commenter said something about milk being worse for “soy babies”.
I’m sorry, commenter. I’m not picking on you, I promise. It’s just that soy is something I feel rather strongly about.
First and foremost, and the reason I don’t feed soy to my children: soy isoflavones can act like estrogen in the body and they can block estrogen from binding to estrogen receptors. (The study linked did animal testing. Sorry, but yes, I am for animal testing- better than human testing!) It is thought that soy can thus cause early onset of puberty. This quote, in particular, is pretty scary: “Infants exclusively fed soy formula receive the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day.” WOW. (This is a good read on soy formula.)
Soy may be a cause of ADHD and autism. Soy weakens the immune system. Soy formula may be a cause of type 1 diabetes. Soy products negatively affect the thyroid. Soy can cause digestive upset. (I can totally attest to that one. I cannot tolerate soy and “digestive upset” is an understatement of what I experience when I eat soy…) Soy is one of the top eight allergens. (Which makes it even stranger that it is recommended as an option for an infant that can’t tolerate its mother’s milk!) Just check out the many wonders of soy.
I’m not telling you what to do here. I’m presenting research. Look at it, do your own research, and decide for yourself.
reading your tags made me get that song stuck in my head. Hellooooo 1990.
I agree about soy. I’ve never understood why soy formula is even made!! It’s a very WTF thing to me.
And, Soy is one of the big three crops that are GMO (genetically modified organisms), unless it’s organic soy. Soy, corn, and canola are the big three to avoid. This means that unless you are buying organic (of these three), there’s a very high chance that if it was grown in the U.S., it is a GMO crop.
“Most GM crops are either insect-resistant (Bt corn), herbicide-tolerant (Roundup Ready), or carry multiple, or “stacked” bioengineered traits. Bt corn produces its own insecticide in every plant cell, therefore in theory, would require fewer applications of pesticide. Roundup Ready (RR) crops can survive being sprayed with the herbicide glyphosate, which kills surrounding weeds while leaving the desired plant intact.” from http://www.iatp.org/FASPF/publications.cfm?refID=104587
GMO has never been tested on humans so we really have no idea what effect it will have.
yes…well…as a baby allergic to milk you can imagine the guilt my mother felt when she couldn’t breast feed me or give me any dairy. For some children soy was the only option! Thats all I’m saying… whenever people go on breastmilk tangents, people like my mother instantly feel like bad parents for not doing the “right” thing, and it hurts. Just another point of view. I’m happy to say I survived, I’m healthy, and I’m normal. Every single thing you digest has something bad for you in it. Moderation is key.
Ok, you’re going to have to help me out here. If you truly were so allergic to any other substance other than soy formula (I’m taking your word for it, anonymous commenter…), and if you ate it as a baby and have turned out healthy and fine, why on earth would your mother feel guilty about not breastfeeding you? Why should she have guilt for not feeding you something that had potential to kill you?
You are an exception, being allergic to your mother’s milk. That is extremely rare. It does not change the fact that breastmilk is the hands-down best food for babies, nor does it change the fact that soy has potential to be hazardous to health.
Also, I’m not exactly sure that ‘everything in moderation’ applies to milk/ baby formula, which is the one and only food that babies should be eating for their first six or so months.
And, I continue to stand by the fact that soy is never the only option. Maybe the most commonly used/known option, but it most certainly not the only option.
She feels bad about it because of people who spend forever rattling off about how they know whats best for everyone’s children. Honestly, why do you even care what other people feed their children? They’re not your children, so whatever. All I was pointing out is that sometimes people have other situations and when people like you go on and on about how you’re not “judging” but basically ARE judging, its rude. No one likes to feel like a bad parent and whats best for you might not be best for someone else. And that will be the last comment I’m leaving about it, sorry to offend everyone so horribly with soy milk.
i am sorry if science offends you.