soy formula

[jtk'smum]

I have done some reserch on line about soy formulas and im a bit shocked(causing fertility problems and the more). i just wanted to know if anyone else knows much about this and are they concerned.
My DS has eczema and it has been suggested to try soy....

[Mummabear]

Hi. We went to soy for a while too as DS had tummy issuse. We were told that soy promotes higher estrogen levels in bubs and there is no conclusive research to this date as to what the long term effects are. We decided that we didn't want DS to be an experement and changed him to LF formual. He's now back on normal whey based formula.

Doc told us that if soy turned out to help the prob then a 'safer' alternative at this point in time was the chemically manufactured forumlas :eek: not sure how I feel about filling him with pure chemical!

Sorry, I don't know much else about it, just wanted to let you know that, yes, I had heard of it also.

[cosmic]

I have heard bad stuff about soy formula too. I have some links if you are interested, but if you've googled you have probably found them already.

here's one link that gives a neat little summary...
http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/03summary.htm

And this one lists a number of articles - it's about all formula but if you scroll to the bottom, it has a list of links specifically to do with soy.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/infant-formula.html

[cosmic]

And here's another little blurb specifically to do with the excema thing (kind of)..


Soy formula is a far from optimal solution for bottle-fed infants who are allergic to dairy formulas. The plant oestrogens in soy can interfere with proper development of the infant's thyroid, brain and reproductive systems. Soy formula also falls short as a solution to cow's milk allergy (see chapter 22 and elsewhere in this article).
Symptoms such as diarrhoea, bloating, vomiting and skin rashes sometimes go away when infants are switched from dairy formula to soy, but the relief is usually only temporary. In many infants, the symptoms return with a vengeance within a week or two.
As Dr Stefano Guandalini, of the Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, writes, "A significant number of children with cow's milk protein intolerance develop soy protein intolerance when soy milk is used in dietary management".85
Interestingly enough, researchers recently detected and identified a soy protein component that cross-reacts with caseins from cow's milk.86 Cross reactions occur when foods are chemically related to each other.
Adverse reactions caused by soybean formulas occur in at least 14 to 35 per cent of infants allergic to cow's milk, according to Dr Matthias Besler of Hamburg, Germany, and the international team of allergy specialists who help him with the informative website, http://www.food-allergens.de/contents-2000.html.87
Dr Guandalini's helpful website, http://www.emedicine.com/ped/ topic2128.htm, reports the results of an unpublished study of 2,108 infants and toddlers in Italy, of which 53 per cent of the babies under three months old who had reacted poorly to dairy formula also reacted to soy formula. Although experts generally attribute this high level of reactivity to the immature—hence vulnerable—digestive tract of infants, this study showed that 35 per cent of the children over one year old who were allergic to cow's milk protein also developed an allergy to soy protein. In all, 47 per cent had to discontinue the soy formula.88
Infants who are allergic to dairy formulas are allergic to soy formulas so often that researchers have begun advising paediatricians to stop recommending soy and start prescribing hypoallergenic hydrolysed casein or whey formulas.
A study of 216 infants at high risk for developing allergies revealed comparable levels of eczema and asthma whether they were drinking cow's milk formula or the more "hypoallergenic" soy formula.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you want the link to the whole article. It's reeeeeeally long!!!

[nemosmum]

HI,

When we weaned O we introduced a soy based formula but he became very sick on it so the paed. prescriped Elecare formula and it was wonderful!

O's allergies(egg, eczema) have all gone! He is only allergic to dust mites now.

We took him off the formula when he was about 15 months but found he got sick on normal cows milk, he is on soy now but has only been on it for 2 months. He no longer gets sick and his eczema is still clear.

However I have had reservations about soy and am thinking of switching him to goats milk, anyone heard good things about that? :)

Sarah

[hummingbird]

My DH was FF on soy over 32 years ago due to lactose intolerence and I can vouch that there are no (major) side-effects ;) . I imagine it was the only alternative those days and he is fine.

That being said, I studied nutrition several years back and was always advised that soy was a good alternative for lactose intolerance. However since falling pregnant I have been advised otherwise. My naturopath suggested using goat's milk over cow's milk and referred me to a site, www.mercola.com. To be honest I have not had the time to look at the site, but it is supposed to contain information on new findings from research relating to soy milk in the diet, specifically its eostrogenic effects.


If memory serves me correctly you can also get goat's milk based formula, but I am not sure of the brand. I think the lactose free formulas might be the best.

Sorry if my post is a little vague.

Post script: I just looked at the mercola site and did a search for soy which came up with several articles including http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/avoid_soy.htm and http://www.mercola.com/2005/feb/26/soy_myths.htm and http://www.mercola.com/2004/jan/21/soy.htm.
I am only including these links as a reference - remember they come from a website and unless substaniated by quoted studies, should be read with an open mind. That being said, I trust my naturopath implicetly.

[cosmic]

TanUch, I posted the links for the OP to read if she chooses and make up her own mind or to at least know what to ask a doctor. If you have read them and you have research that disputes any of the findings contained, perhaps it would be more useful to post that for the benefit of the OP.

Since you say
Whilst I agree with u about soy formula - I personally wouldn't use one for my children I have to wonder why you would feel it necessary to write two long paragraphs for for the sole purpose of discrediting what I have posted for jtk's mum. :confused:

I certainly don't need you to explain the ins and outs of research to me - thanks for the tip anyway. And if you want to talk about biased research, have a look at what is funded by formula manufacturers who have millions of dollars at stake... but that's a topic for another thread. ;)

Edited to add: Just to clarify that while Kellymom is a BF website, the articles it contains are from a variety of sources. The info they have on soy formula comes from groups such as:
* British Dietetics Association (Paediatric Group)
* NZ Ministry of Health
* Royal Australasian College of Physicians
* American Academy of Paediatrics

Not all of it says that soy is bad. Some of them touch on eczema and some don't.

[Refresh]

OMGosh....changed my mind....:rolleyes:

[jtk'smum]

Sorry guys i didnt mean to cause a rukus but im just at wits end with my sons eczema and i just want to try all i can to give him the best start. It dosent sit right with me to just let him struggle through it. (the GP say "Oh they just grow out of it" )

But thankyou all for your veiw, i know now that im not on the ban wagon when it comes to being too cautious about what people suggest to try.

I m amazed at how much ezcema is an issue and there is supposedlly no cure. there has got to be something out there that works........

[Sarie]

We tried soy for the same reasons and it gave my son horrible wind and cramps. Then we put him onto goats formula and he was brilliant!
My SIL had similar problems and when we told her about the goat formula she tried it and was very happy with it as well!:)

[cosmic]

Sorry guys i didnt mean to cause a rukus but im just at wits end with my sons eczema and i just want to try all i can to give him the best start. It dosent sit right with me to just let him struggle through it. (the GP say "Oh they just grow out of it" )

But thankyou all for your veiw, i know now that im not on the ban wagon when it comes to being too cautious about what people suggest to try.

I m amazed at how much ezcema is an issue and there is supposedlly no cure. there has got to be something out there that works........
You didn't cause a ruckus, Jtk's mum. Unfortunately, threads being taken off track unnecessarily is something that seems to happen all too frequently around here lately. I really hope you find something that works.

[bubbles28]

Hi jtk'smum, have you had your son tested for allergies?(prick test).

My son also gets eczema, I had him tested and found that he was allergic to Dairy, eggs, tuna and peanuts.

The allergy specalist put him on a prescribed infant formula called "Pepti-junior" for babies who have a known dairy allergie.

I asked about soy formula and he said although my DS is not allergic to soy at the moment if introduced he can still become allergic to it, therefore I should avoid it.

[rebeccamum]

Hi jtk'smum, my DD has Eczema as well although it's not very severe. I too want to find out something that works for her but I'm hesitant to change her to soy formula or goat formula. I don't know if she will have bad reaction to them and the last thing I want to do is to create more trouble with her.

My DH had Eczema when he was a baby and he was put on soy, goat, lactose-free and nothing worked. He seriously believes that eczema has nothing to do with food allergies whatsoever...I'm not sure if I should agree to that as a lot of mums here claim food elimination work for them.

My nephew and niece had skin prick test but the results came negative, not surprising my DH doesn't want to have our DD tested. I too am reluctant because I know the test isn't very nice to DD (kind of like getting immunisation), I rather not waste my time and money.

I'm using Medihoney cream and Sorboleane, they help quite OK although it's very disheartening to learn that there's no cure for Eczema :(

[aardvark]

My daughter has eczema quite badly, and I have suffered from it all my life.

In desperation nearly 2 years ago, we swapped from conventional food to an organic diet. The eczema cleared up on both of us. The original idea was to trial it for 6-12 weeks and see if there was any improvement, and nearly 2 years on, there has been no going back.

This year while on holiday interstate, we had trouble sourcing as much organic food as we normally would buy - organic items like butter, meat etc were hard to find. By the time we were coming home, my daughter had bad patches in her joint folds. Within four days of returning home and getting back onto the organic bandwagon more fully, it was already vastly improved.

My suggestion would be to try an organic diet, and see if it helps.

[cosmic]

Just another thought, jtk's mum... apparently hydro-cortisone based creams can be very good for excema in young ones so maybe you can ask your doc about that. And looking at everything that is having contact with his skin - such as the laundry powder, soaps and shampoos etc.. and going for as natural/organic as possible could help too.

[WeThree]

hi jtk's mum. when my oldest son was a baby i put him onto soy formula, thinking it would help his eczema. his eczema got alot worse and he still suffers very badly with it to this day. i kept up with the soy, assuming he was allergic to dairy, only to discover several yrs later that he wasnt allergic to dairy at all but was allergic to soy, among other things!!
i have read alot of interesting articles of late that discuss how much benefits soy actually has, and if what i have been reading is true, it doesnt really have many benefits at all for anyone. i'll have to ask dh about this as he is more clued up on it than me. but if you are in doubt, dont use it, i have heard more bad things than good.
ps sarah ive heard goats milk is very good, and i found goats milk soap nice on my sons skin too :)

[xkwzit]

Back on topic ... :rolleyes:

You've got a tonne of good info here and it sounds to me like a lot of mums have tried a few different things (lactose free, goats milk and organic diets) that have worked for them and that you could try if going to soy makes you uncomfortable.

And just a quick reminder that the forum is here to allow us all to discuss our opinions and to back them up with whatever research that we have done. We don't expect that everyone's opinions to be the same and we all realise that a person's opinion is going to be reflected in the research links that they post (other wise they would not post it - right?). The information is offered to the person requesting it and they will trawl through to find their answers. Personal messages are best left to PMs, rather than cluttering the thread.

Cheers

[Sarie]

Yeah Erin, we found out from my inlaws - after we'd put Nat on Goat formula, that my DH had been on Goats milk (there wasn't any goat formula back then) when he was a baby.
:)

[saqqara]

I know a few people who have used goat's milk formula and rave about it, even those with babies with no allergies. I'm seriously thinking about looking into it for DD.

A note on the soy formula - the problems come from the levels of phytoestrogens, and more importantly Isoflavones in the soy. In non-GE soy, the amount is negligible, however with GE soy, the real problems arise. All of the studies on the safety of soy formula that come out of the United States (including those listed on kellymom) are pretty redundant since you cannot get GE free soy there anymore. Interestingly, Asian countries outright reject GE foods and don't have the same issues/levels of allergies as we do in countries where we consume GE soy products. As an example, reported soy allergies in Britain increased by 50% in 1998, not long after 'roundup ready' soy was introduced there. Food for thought.

There are some GE free formulas available, just check the label for their organic status or stick to brands listed in the True Food Guide.

HTH