Soy unsafe for children?

[Anonymous]

I am putting this here, but my hope is it isn't a hot topic. I myself have always been leary of too much soy since pregnant. My OB/nutritionist both told me to limit my soy intake. Our peditrician doesn't recommend soy for children, then my mom sent me this article:

http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/articles/125/1/Soy-Unsafe-for-Children

My question is really, 'does anyone else steer clear of soy'? I am not talking about hummus, edamame, etc...but all the tofu and 'like meat' products out there?

[Anonymous]

We use these products on a limited basis - one time a week max. We do not use soy milk, soy cheese, soy formula, but that is the only option for some parents.

BTW - Hummus has no soy components: chickpeas, tahini and lemon.

Moderation in everything!

[Anonymous]

Did you notice that all of the "medical references" in the article were from 2000 and earlier? (Most of the cites were from the mid-1990s.)

[Anonymous]

I stay away from it for a few reasons:

1. The way soy (and corn) are heavily farmed as monocrops is very destructive on the environment.
2. We don't eat foods that we cannot identify readily, so this rules out any textured soy products such as soy hot dogs.
3. I'm leary of the health claims of unfermented soy and am fully aware that soy is the 2nd largest farmed product on the planet and that industry will go to great lenths to try tp "prove" any negative study out there and spread misinformation.
4. I don't fee comfortable feeding my children foods that mimic estrogen in the body (which is why post-menopausal women are advised to stay away from it).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I stay away from it for a few reasons:

1. The way soy (and corn) are heavily farmed as monocrops is very destructive on the environment.
2. We don't eat foods that we cannot identify readily, so this rules out any textured soy products such as soy hot dogs.
3. I'm leary of the health claims of unfermented soy and am fully aware that soy is the 2nd largest farmed product on the planet and that industry will go to great lenths to try tp "prove" any negative study out there and spread misinformation.
4. I don't fee comfortable feeding my children foods that mimic estrogen in the body (which is why post-menopausal women are advised to stay away from it).

Well said. These are basically the reasons we (mostly) stay away from it in my house too. Especially because of your fourth point. My pedi doesn't recommend it either.

[Anonymous]

So, what are we supposed to feed our kids? Animal flesh pumped full of hormones and antibiotics? Support the awful conditions that these animals are bred and kept? The damage that cows to the the planet? I mean, there is no good choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, what are we supposed to feed our kids? Animal flesh pumped full of hormones and antibiotics? Support the awful conditions that these animals are bred and kept? The damage that cows to the the planet? I mean, there is no good choice.

Op Here: well, you could get organic meant sans antibiotics and hormones. But if you're vegetarian, get your protein from other places, e.g., other nuts, beans, etc. My doc warned specifically of the phytoestrogens in soy. Also, there's some current thinking (sorry I don't have the links/sources as I cannot for the life of me remember where I saw this) that the soy formula push may have contributed to the huge rise in peanut allergies. Makes sense, since soy is a nut and you're giving it to your newborn! Anywho...

[Anonymous]

What about the kids who are allergic to enfamil/similac and need to take soy formula? What are they supposed to eat?

[Anonymous]

Sigh. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by all of the things that are bad for us, that I feel like giving up. DS loves Gardenburgers, and has them several times a week. I am somewhat leary of chicken and the natural organic ones are expensive. I'm not ready to give DS nuts yet (he recently turned 1) and so far he doesn't like beans. What's a mom to do?!?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, what are we supposed to feed our kids? Animal flesh pumped full of hormones and antibiotics? Support the awful conditions that these animals are bred and kept? The damage that cows to the the planet? I mean, there is no good choice.

BUY LOCAL!!! There are GREAT choices right under your nose.

I get my beef, pork, and chicken from Polyface farm. There are pick ups all over the DC region. These animals are NOT kept in CAFOs, you can visit the farm whenever you chose, there are no antibiotics or growth hormones used, and the animals are fed a diet that is natural to their biology. For example, the cattle eat grass not grain.

There are DOZENS of responsible farms in the greater DC area that offer veggies, eggs, and animal meat. There is no need to get suspicious meat at the grocery store and you end up doing something good for the local economy and for responsible small farmers.

My family is almost completely off the big supermarket grid and we could not be healthier or happier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, what are we supposed to feed our kids? Animal flesh pumped full of hormones and antibiotics? Support the awful conditions that these animals are bred and kept? The damage that cows to the the planet? I mean, there is no good choice.

BUY LOCAL!!! There are GREAT choices right under your nose.

I get my beef, pork, and chicken from Polyface farm. There are pick ups all over the DC region. These animals are NOT kept in CAFOs, you can visit the farm whenever you chose, there are no antibiotics or growth hormones used, and the animals are fed a diet that is natural to their biology. For example, the cattle eat grass not grain.

There are DOZENS of responsible farms in the greater DC area that offer veggies, eggs, and animal meat. There is no need to get suspicious meat at the grocery store and you end up doing something good for the local economy and for responsible small farmers.

My family is almost completely off the big supermarket grid and we could not be healthier or happier.

YES, this is 100% true. We too, buy almost all of our animal products (milk, beef, chicken, eggs, cheese, ice cream, yogurt) from local organic farms. It may feel like we live in the middle of a big city, but these farms are all around us, and they have drop off points once or twice a week in many local neighborhoods. I agree that commercially raised meats should be avoided, because everything about the process is disgusting -- the food the animals are fed, how the animals are treated, the chemicals the animals ingest, etc. etc. I would never feed my kids that junk. However, local, organic, sustainable farms produce very healthy food!

As for the orignal question about soy products, I used to drink soy milk thinking it was "healthier" but now I see it is just another big marketing push. Soy is easy and cheap to grow worldwide, and many companies are eager to profit off of our current ideas about being "healthier." However, I believe there is nothing healthy about processed soy products at all, and completely agree with these points:

1. The way soy (and corn) are heavily farmed as monocrops is very destructive on the environment.
2. We don't eat foods that we cannot identify readily, so this rules out any textured soy products such as soy hot dogs.
3. I'm leary of the health claims of unfermented soy and am fully aware that soy is the 2nd largest farmed product on the planet and that industry will go to great lenths to try tp "prove" any negative study out there and spread misinformation.
4. I don't fee comfortable feeding my children foods that mimic estrogen in the body (which is why post-menopausal women are advised to stay away from it).

The best way to be environmentally friendly is to buy local food, that is produced in a bio-dynamic way, which is minimally processed. Buying tofu burgers, where the soy was brown in rural Brazil, brought to California to be heavily processed, then shipped to your local Safeway, is a lot less healthy and a lot worse for the environment than eating biodynamic beef that was raised in Maryland.

If you're vegetarian for moral reasons, I second the suggestion to get your protein from nuts and beans, rather than processed soy.

[Anonymous]

How do you find out where the drop points are for the local farms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about the kids who are allergic to enfamil/similac and need to take soy formula? What are they supposed to eat?

Breastfeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the kids who are allergic to enfamil/similac and need to take soy formula? What are they supposed to eat?

Breastfeed.

Or, get donor breastmilk. Or, make your own formula out of raw goat's milk, which is much less allergenic than cow milk based formulas. If I couldn't breastfeed, I'd do a combination of these two things. I would only use commercial formula as a last resort.

[Anonymous]

I can only speak for polyface http://www.polyfacefarms.com/default.aspx click into "taste of polyface"

There are also other local farms that do this concept as well and large buying clubs, hopefully other people can post their resources.

If you have the freezer space, the most economical way to do the beef and pork is in bulk. For example, I have deep freezer and I get my meat once a year. I order 1/2 of a cow. 1/2 of a hog, and dozens of chickens. They have a butcher that will cut it to order, so everything comes packaged and labeled. When you buy in bulk it is cheaper than even the grocery store.

I get my lamb from another farmer in The Plains, the farm is called www.overthegrassfarm.com.

You can also get TONS of things delivered to your door from South Mountain Creamery, including milk (in glass bottles to your door!) cheese, meat, local honey, and full meals. Go to www.southmountaincreamery.com and click "place your order".

Polyface farm is considered the leader in bio-dynamic farming with the owner, Joel Salatin giving lectures all over the country on responsible farming. We are very lucky to have this farm in Virginia. He was the farm in the book, Omnivores Dilemma which was a best seller.