Soy-based formulas

An extensive study was undertaken to determine if pesticide residues are present in any infant formula products (Gelardi and Mountford 1993). Milk- and soy-based formulas were analyzed, as was the water used to make the formula. No pesticide residues, including methyl parathion, were detected in any infant formula manufactured in the United States. Thus, it does not appear that infants will be exposed to... 

CORDLE C T, WINSHIP T R, SCHALLER J P, THOMAS D J, BUCK R H, OSTROM K M, JACOBS J R, BLATTER M M, CHO s, GOOCH w M, PICKERING L K (2002) Immune status of infants fed soy-based formulas with or without added nucleotides for 1 year part 2 immune cell populations. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 34 145-53. 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, UK (1996) Soy based formula (96/244). Department of Health, London, UK. 

STROM B L, SCHINNAR R, ZIEGLER E E, BARNHART K T, SAMMEL M D, MACONES G A, STALLINGS V A, DRULis j M, NELSON s E, HANSON s A (2001) Exposure to soy-based formula in infancy and endocrinological and reproductive outcomes in young adulthood. JAMA. 286 807-14. 

Infants that are fed soy-based formula experience one of the highest exposures to phytoestrogen and during a stage of development at which permanent effects... 

There have been occasional case-reports of infants with goiter and hypothyroidism associated with soy-based infant formula consumption (Tuohy, 2003). There has been one case control study, by Fort et al. (1990), which suggested a higher prevalence of soy-based formula feeding in infants with subsequent autoimmune thyroid disease. However, an alternative explanation may be a greater tendency for atopic infants (who may be more likely to be fed soy-based infant formulas) to have such antibodies. 

Mendez MA, Anthony MS, Arab L. Soy-based formulae and infant growth and development. J. Nutr. 132, 2127-2130, 2002. 

Chicken (strained) Macaroni/tomato/beef Chicken noodle dinner Rice cereal (infant) Soy-based formula Mixed vegetables (strained) Turkey and rice Vegetables and beef Sweet potatoes (strained)... 

Two OPs were detected in the survey azinphos-methyl in one soy-based formula at 0.022 mg.kg-1 on RTF basis, and pirimphos-methyl in two cereal-based weaning foods at 0.005 and 0.014 mg.kg-1. All were well below MRLs. No other pesticides of the 140 screened for were detected. 

In recent years, a numbers of investigators have become concerned about the aluminum content of infant formulae (Koo et al. 1988 Simmer et al. 1990 Weintraub et al. 1986). The aluminum content of human breast milk or cows milk is very low (<0.05 g/mL [ppm]) (Koo et al. 1988 Simmer et al. 1990 Weintraub et al. 1986). Dabeka and McKenzie (1990) reported that ready-to-use milk-based and soy-based formulae contained 0.01-0.36 and 0.40-6.4 g/g, respectively. Thus, 1-3-month-old infants consuming certain soy-based formulae could ingest as much as 2.1 mg aluminum a day. This is compared to infants fed human breast milk or cows milk who would consume only 3 g aluminum a day. Infants fed the soy-based infant formulae would thereby ingest 700 times more aluminum than infants fed human breast milk or cows milk (Dabeka and McKenzie 1990 Greger 1992). 

Consumption of soy is common in children and soy-based formulae were introduced in infant nutrition about 80 years ago. Since the 1970s, use of soy-based formulae became common, and in 1980s, U.S. consumption was around 25% of that of cows milk-based formulae (NDA Opinion 2004). Soy is often introduced into the diet from an early age, often as a standard milk formula in healthy children and in children with suspected or proven cows milk allergy as a hypoallergenic substitute. However, this practice is now discouraged since a significant number of children with cows ... 

Manganese is found in much higher concentrations in infant formulas than in breast milk. In fact, soy-based formulas were shown to contain about 80 times more Mn than breast milk [11]. Also, animal protein-based formulas contained also about 30 times more Mn than human milk. Infants are not able to absorb and excrete excess Mn during their first year of life, a period of rapid development. As Mn is neurotoxic and impairs intestinal Fe absorption, it would be desirable to reduce Mn levels in infant formulas down to those found in human milk (4-8 p,g l-1). Coni et al. [12] reported that in formulas more than 25 percent of total Mn is bound to caseins. On the other hand, Mn present in soy- and in cow s milk-based formula whey is mainly associated with LMW components (< 10 kDa), as is the case with human milk whey [15, 18, 34, 72],... 

Hillman, L.S., Chow, W., Salmons, S.S., Weaver, E., Erickson, M., Hansen, J. 1988. Vitamin D metabolism, mineral homeostasis, and bone mineralization in term infants fed human milk, cow milk-based formula, or soy-based formula. J. Fed. 112, 864-874. 

The fluoride content of human milk i.s slightly under 0.01 mg/liter (0.5 iiAi), Milk fluoride levels are not much influenced by changes in dietary intake, even though plasma levels may vary widely. The fluoride content of cow milk is usually under 0.05 mg/liter. Commercially available milk-based and soy-based formulas contain 0.13 to 0.30 mg F/litcr. The recommended upper limit in infant formulas is 0.4 mg F/liter. 

The high plasma concentration of isoflavones in the infants fed the soy-based formula might be due to reduced intestinal biotransformation, as evidenced by low or undetectable concentrations of formononetin (equol) (4) of isoflavone and other metabolites, and could be maintained by the constant daily exposure due to frequent feeding. Moreover, isoflavones circulate at con-... 

The two major concerns are potential adverse effects in infants having a high intake of isoflavones from soy-based formula (Setchell et al., 1997 Whitten and Naftolin, 1998) and possible reproductive disorders in adults having high isoflavone intakes (Whitten et al., 1995). However, there is no direct evidence to show the adverse effects of isoflavones in humans. 

Jabbar MA, Larrea J, Shaw RA. Abnormal thyroid function tests in infants with congenital hypothyroidism The influence of soy-based formula. J Am Coll Nutr 1997 16 280-282. 

Fayed IM, Hashem M, Hussein A, et al. Comparison of soy-based formulas with lactose and with sucrose in the treatment of acute diarrhea in infants. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1999 153 675-680. 

Otto Shape s power supplement contains carnitine. However, his body can synthesize enough carnitine to meet his needs, and his diet contains carnitine. Carnitine deficiency has been found only in infants fed a soy-based formula that was not supplemented with carnitine. His other supplements likewise probably provide no benefit, but are designed to facilitate fatty acid oxidation during exercise. Riboflavin is the vitamin precursor of FAD, which is required for acyl CoA dehydrogenases and ETFs. CoQ is synthesized in the body, but it is the recipient in the electron transport chain for electrons passed from complexes I and II and the ETFs. Some reports suggest that supplementation with pantothenate, the precursor of CoA, improves performance. 

Clinical Trials Potential benefits and risks of high soy food consumption, the use of soy isoflavonoids in food supplements, as well as previous observations of the influence of soy-based formulas on hormonal balance and... 

Case Reports A few case reports showed only a transitory increase of TSH during soy-based food consumption. Jabbar et al. (1997), Conrad et al. (2004), and Bell and Ovalle (2001) report on higher thyroxine substitution required by hypothyroid children consuming soy-based formulas. The latter authors concluded that concurrent administration of thyroid hormone with a soy dietary supplement leads to decreased absorption of levothyroxine and the need for higher oral doses to attain therapeutic thyroid hormone levels. 

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