The Other Side of Soy

TC · medicine forum Guru Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 1814

http://web.archive.org/web/20001121203500/abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/2020_000609_soy_feature.html

June 9 - From tofu and tacos to burgers and baby formula, soy
products have swept the nation as a healthy source of high protein,
with a reputation for being all natural and all good.
But a 20/20 investigation has found that amid all of this praise,
some scientists are now challenging this popular wisdom, and suggesting
there may be a downside to this "miracle food."
"The safety issues are largely unanswered," says Daniel
Doerge, a research scientist for the Food and Drug Administration and
an expert on soy.
New studies have raised questions over whether the natural
ingredients in soy might increase the risk of breast cancer in some
women, affect brain function in men and lead to hidden developmental
abnormalities in infants.
This unresolved scientific debate continues to develop. Just last
October, soy enjoyed a huge boost when the FDA issued a health claim,
concluding that soy may lower both cholesterol levels and the risk of
heart disease.
But two of the FDA's experts on soy - Doerge and his
colleague, Daniel Sheehan - have stepped forward to criticize their
own agency's claim and even attempted in vain to stop the
recommendation. Their main concern: that the claim could be
misinterpreted as a much broader endorsement for soy protein, beyond
benefits solely for the heart.
Signing a highly unusual letter of protest to their employer,
Doerge and Sheehan pointed to research that demonstrates a link between
soy and fertility problems in certain animals. (You can find a copy of
the letter in the related stories section on the right-hand column.)
"The animal data is a clear indication for adverse effects, the
potential for adverse effects in humans," Doerge says to 20/20.
Debate Over Soy Infant Formula
The core of their concern rests with the chemical make-up of soy: in
addition to all the nutrients and protein, exists a natural chemical
that mimics estrogen, the female hormone. Some studies in animals show
that this chemical can alter sexual development. And in fact, two
glasses of soy milk a day, over the course of a month, contains enough
of the chemical to change the timing of a woman's menstrual cycle.
About 3 to 4 percent of babies must ingest soy formula because
they are allergic or can't digest regular milk formula. (ABCNEWS.com)

"We are doing a large uncontrolled and unmonitored experiment on
human infants," Sheehan says. "We're exposing infants to the
chemicals in soy infant formula that are known to have adverse effects
in experimental animals, and we have never looked in the human
population to see if they have adverse effects."
The infant formula industry, along with some scientists, have
blasted this criticism of soy, calling it "scientifically unjustified
claims that could unduly frighten thousands of parents."
Kenneth Setchell, a pediatrics professor at Children's Hospital
in Cincinnati and a leading advocate of soy, contends that scientific
studies on soy show promise in fighting a number of diseases and that
adverse effects seen in animals do not apply to humans.
"There have been literally hundreds of thousands of infants that
have been raised on those soy formulas," Setchell says to 20/20.
"Some of those infants would be well into their late 30s, early 40s
now. And you know, I don't see evidence of tremendous numbers of
cases where there are abnormalities."
The debate over soy formula for infants poses a major issue
throughout the country. Soy infant formula is an undeniable lifesaver
for the 3 to 4 percent of babies who are allergic to or can not digest
cow's milk. However, heavy marketing of soy infant formula has led to
its much wider use, extending well beyond just those infants who are
allergic to 25 percent of the entire formula market.
"My careful and considered professional opinion is that it makes
more sense not to needlessly expose your baby to these compounds,"
says Dr. Claude Hughes, director of the Women's Health Center at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He adds that while
breast-feeding is preferred, mothers who don't breast-feed should use
a milk-based formula and choose soy as a last resort.

Other Health Concerns
Aside from his concerns about soy's health effects on infants, Hughes
has also raised potentially more serious questions about soy and breast
cancer. In some cases, soy is thought to protect against breast cancer.
But some studies now indicate, for other women, the chemicals found in
soy may enhance a widely found kind of estrogen-feeding breast cancer.
"It can speed up divisions of those cells that are already
cancer cells that depend on estrogen for their growth," Hughes tells
20/20.
The multibillion dollar soy industry has insisted that the health
benefits of soy significantly outweigh any potential risk.
Soy - consumed in the form of tofu - may have a connection to
accelerated aging in the brain, according to a three decade-long study
begun by the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Lon White of NIH says that he found greater brain aging and
shrinkage among elderly men - all Japanese-American and living in
Hawaii - who had eaten tofu at least twice a week during middle age.
"Their brains, looking at them in terms of how their brain
functions, memory cognition, their brains seemed to be showing an
exaggeration of the usual patterns we see in aging," White says.
The soy industry countered that White's study only shows an
association between tofu consumption and brain aging, does not prove
cause and effect and is in conflict with research on Asian populations
and animals.
While the scientific research on soy is still emerging and is
often contradictory, there are now some serious questions being raised
about this miracle food, and some of its staunchest defenders
acknowledge that these questions need to be answered.

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TC

TC · medicine forum Guru Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 1814

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