Soy Formula??!?!?!!

lkleiv77

New Member
Hi everyone. I was wondering if anyone has done any research on the effects Soy formula has later in life. I remember when I had my second son, the doctor said the FDA no longer reccomended Soy. She didn't go into too much detail. Last night when filling in L's journal, husband and I started talking about milk issues possibly being a "cause" and that spun us into talking about him being on Soy for a year(since he couldnt handle the milk based formula). I have to say that in the last 2 days, the research I have uncovered is disturbing to put it mildly. A simple Google search will give you countless pages on how damaging Soy can be. I know that there are also groups and pages of research that will show the benefits of Soy but having a child "raised" on it that has tremendous behavior issues makes me wonder. Anyone ever thought about this?
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a.../02/soy-formula-linked-to-fibroid-tumors.aspx
[h=2]Dangers to the Developing Brain[/h]
Infants being fed soy formula are at increased risk for developing behavioral problems because soy contains phytates, which block the absorption of essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc, all which are crucial to the proper brain and emotional development of infants.
The most common health concern stemming from phytates however, is that they can cause poor bone development.
Soy infant formula also contains another dangerous element, manganese. Though an essential nutrient found in soil and ground water, manganese becomes highly toxic when consumed in excess.
Here is an portion of what I am talking about. The link is at the bottom as well.
 

Ktllc

New Member
I have looked into it quite a bit when I ended putting Sweet Pea on soy. But she did not tolerate anything else. I tried EVERYTHING and soy was the only thing she could tolerate (breasfeeding on special diet, and all the other formulas).
Ultimately, we had to do what was best for her at the time. Her screaming from pain every time she would drink was just not a good option.
So don't beat yourself up, even if you believe soy is not the best option. Sometimes, a mediocre option IS the best for a child. Know what I mean??
And keep in mind that A LOT of kids have been raised on soy without any side effects.
I am not familiar with your paticular case, but chances are: your difficult child's condition is the results of a combinations of events, genetics, personality, etc...
You need to find the cause of the problem, but sometimes digging deeper and deeper is not healthy.
Just to give an hypothetical example: Johnny is acting out. It is tremendously important to know that Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is causing the behavior. But it would not be healthy to desperately go digging in order to find out why Johnny has Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
I hope it makes sense.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I never looked anything up because my kids were born before the internet and there were no warnings at the time, but it's interesting. My child who had to take soy milk has MANY psychiatric problems and he's 34...lol. On the other hand, I drank milk and I have many psychiatric problems too. I don't know...thanks for posting.
 
C

Confused

Guest
lkleiv77,
My kids have never been on soy milk but I I have not heard of this anyway. Very interesting news. Thanks for sharing.
 

apesfordana

New Member
My son had to do soy formula from about 3 months up to a year when we phased it out. He had a bad flu & oddly enough became extremely lactose intolerant after. Even had problems with breastmilk - although I could only produce very little. After a year, we very slowly phased dairy back in & at 4 we still have to take it easy. He's a good boy with nothing diagnosed and I only came to this site because a super odd behavior that has since gone away with a change of environment (thanks to great tips from this site by the way). Looks like this study doesn't see anything show up right away but leads to studies on adults that had soy formula. Meaning that is nothing really tied to the soy formula that is on the shelves now? Maybe it's gotten better and more properly regulated? Fingers crossed anyway!

I never heard any of this.. but I guess it's good because we really had no other choice.

Guess this will just be another thing on the huge pile of causes for everything bad ever that causes anything and everything. Apples, vaccines, TV, etc etc etc.

Sorry, no desire to be a synic, but it sure gets frustrating and difficult to trust 'research' and 'studies'. Most of the time is seems to go back to trusting your gut as a parent. SIGH.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
apesfordana... if you can find it... goat milk is a good substitute for cow milk. It has very similar nutritive value, but does not tend to trigger lactose intolerance, and can also be tolerated by people with moderate sensitivity to one of the proteins in cow milk.
 

apesfordana

New Member
interesting! I hadn't heard that before. I figured anything produced from a lactating mammal would trigger the same issues. I'll have to look around. Of course, from this post, sounds like the damange would be done if soy really was something we needed to have avoided.

I know my biggest worry was not providing whole milk like everyone says to provide the baby's brain necessary fats for development. Our doctor said what we were doing was exactly what we needed to do, but you know how it is... any time your child shows or develops an odd behavior, you go all 'mommy' coming to the worst conclusions and think of what you may have done to cause it.

Still a very interesting topic & item to note as I don't plan to be done having kids.
 

Ktllc

New Member
Goat's milk really work for V. I nursed him but avoided ALL dairy (no pizza, cookies, etc...). Since we still had our dairy farm at the time, we ended up buying a goad I would milk every day. I would drink the milk or cook with it so I could it better food and get enough protein to keep my weight. Sometimes, I would give a bottle of goat's milk (babysitting night, husband let me sleep at night, etc...). It worked wonders on him. We all stay on goat's milk until we moved to NC at which point we sold the goat.
Before putting Sweet Pea on soy, I tried the same thing with her. Did not work AT ALL. he kept on being sick.
Now that she is older, she drinks almond milk. Pediatrician assured me it was ok as long as she had a balance diet (which she does).
She can't talk and is in therapy for it, but I don't believe a second that the soy or almond milk should be blamed for it.
 

apesfordana

New Member
She can't talk and is in therapy for it, but I don't believe a second that the soy or almond milk should be blamed for it.

I've been reading your story Ktllc, and I think its beautiful that you step up for your kids & make sure to do the right thing. It is clear that they are in wonderful hands.

My boy has some stuttering issues, but I can't possibly sit back & trace it to a single thing. I suppose it would be nice to be told 'it was the soy milk' or something else specific... but I think that's why most of us are on this site, there are never clear answers like that. Wouldn't it be great if it was vaccines, or soy milk, or which side we sleep on & what we eat when pregnant? We can fix those things. But alas... all of our kids that have so much in common come from across every possible spectrum. SIGH.
 

Angela41

New Member
I just read your concern about soy formula! I was fed soy formula exclusively as a baby!! I have never had a behavioral problem, never been on any medication, never in trouble, and was described by my family as the easiest kid around! I have a master degree, a high IQ (at least enough to flourish through college, graduate school and a very responsible career), a successful marriage and no (zilch!!) physical health problems (I am over 40 by the way!). It was also ridiculously easy for me to get pregnant. I did this all on a diet of soy formula, and later fruit roll ups and happy meals! Mercola (the research you mention) is a "natural medicine" site. I have no problem with natural, but the wicked smart scientists and doctors are funded by NIH and located at prestigious hospitals and universities. Sites like Mercola will scare the **** out of you and probably unnecessarily. Please sleep well and don't worry about soy formula:)
 
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