- Robert Cohen is the author of Milk, The Deadly Poison
and the website www.notmilk.com.
-
- Dear Mr. Cohen,
-
- Today an email was forwarded to us in which you cited
an article by Mark Messina minimizing the link between soy foods and thyroid
dysfunction. Apparently you are not aware of the vast literature on thyroid
dysfunction caused by soy foods, nor of Dr. Messina's position as a consultant
and promoter for the soy industry. It is unfortunate that so much dis-information
and misunderstanding exists around such vital health issues. Too often
it seems that scientific information is twisted and turned in order to
fit a pre-set agenda.
-
- DOUBLE STANDARD
-
- Soy promoters often operate under a double standard,
condemning a substance in milk while praising the same compound when it
occurs in soy. One egregious example is that of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1,
or IGF-1. You have been very vociferous in your condemnation of rBGH milk
because it contains high levels of IGF-1, a compound that has been implicated
as causing breast cancer. However, you are silent when it comes to the
IGF-1 levels in soy. When they are found in soy, promoters describe them
as a benefit for bones. This is similar to the promotion of fluoride by
the dental profession, while ridiculing its serious adverse health effects.
-
- According to findings reported by researchers Arjmandi
and Khalil, April 2001, soy increases serum IGF-1 levels. They took 64
healthy men and randomly assigned them to two groups, one that consumed
40 g of milk-based protein a day for three months and the other that took
in 40 g of soy-based protein on the same schedule. Urine and blood samples
showed that both groups experienced an increase in a substance associated
with bone formation known as insulin-like growth factor-1.1
-
- The group consuming soy protein had significantly more
of this growth factor, according to Arjmandi. He and Khalil presented their
findings at the Experimental Biology 2001 meeting in Orlando. "This
is the first study to show that soy may benefit skeletal health in males,"
Arjmandi is quoted as saying.
-
- It is unbelievable that an increase in IGF-1 levels could
ever be interpreted as something "beneficial," as there are over
1900 studies on MEDLINE alone clearly showing the implications of IGF-1
in hormonal cancers. Such is the double standard we fine in health research
science.
-
- As you know, IGF-1 is released from the liver in response
to growth hormones, etc. They act co-dependently with thyroid hormones
on many biochemical activities, especially with thyroid stimulating hormone
(TSH).
-
- FLUORIDE AND ALUMINUM
-
- Our own concern is the high amounts of fluoride and aluminum
in soy formula. We deal with fluoride poisoning in children from many different
sources, including soy foods. Soy formula is extremely high in both fluoride
and aluminum, as you may verify by the references listed below. Fluoride
not only causes increased IGF-1 levels,2 but acts additively with IGF-1.3
-
- When infants were fed soy formula there was an increase
of 200 percent in autoimmune thyroid disease as compared to breast-fed
infants.4
-
- More than a decade ago, Dabecka and McKenzie from Health
Canada did some surveys on fluoride, lead, cadmium, and aluminum content
in soy formula.5,6 In canned, ready-to-use formulas, lead, cadmium and
fluoride levels averaged 37.3,1.50, and 840 ng/g, respectively. In concentrated
liquid formulas, the respective levels were 21, 3.54, and 600 ng/g. In
powder formula concentrates, respective levels were 73.7, 6.78, and 1130
ng/g.
-
- They reported that aluminum content in soy formula for
1-3 month old infants could result in an intake of 363 micrograms/kg/day
(2088 micrograms/day) alone, not including potential contribution from
other foods or water.5 They also reported that soy based or milk-free formulas
contained about 8-15 times more cadmium than milk-based formulas,6 as well
as high amounts of fluoride, which, of course, has been known for a long
time now. (By the way, cadmium will also cause exactly the same enamel
condition as "dental fluorosis.")
-
- Ekland in 1999 reported that cadmium was 6 times higher
in soy formulas than cow's milk formulas.7
-
- Hawkins and colleagues found mean aluminum concentrations
of 534 micrograms/L in soy formula, as compared to 9.2 micrograms/L in
breast milk.8 These authors concluded that infants may be at risk from
aluminium toxicity when consuming formula containing more than 300 micrograms/L.
-
- In 1986 a research team headed by McGraw reported in
The Lancet that, compared with carefully collected human breast milk containing
5 to 20 micrograms per liter, aluminum concentrations were 10 to 20 fold
greater in most cow's milk-based formulas and 100-fold greater in soy-based
formulas.9
-
- ZINC DEFICIENCY
-
- Fluoride and phytates in soy formula will induce zinc
deficiency. Rat studies have shown that this zinc deficiency will cause
a child to absorb more aluminum into his system in general, and into his
brain in particular. Aluminum will be absorbed by competing for binding
sites on a zinc-containing ligand.10
-
- Casey and colleagues conducted a zinc-loading test investigating
the uptake of zinc from human milk, cow's milk and four infant formulas.11
Female subjects consumed 25 mg of zinc with the milk or formula, the amount
of which was calculated to provide 5 gm of protein, after an eight-hour
fast. Blood samples were taken prior to (base line) and at 30-minute intervals
for three hours after consumption of zinc. The plasma response with human
milk was significantly greater than with cow's milk and all the formulas.
The response with cow's milk and a cow's milk-based formula was one third
that with human milk; responses with a soy-based and two casein hydrolysate-based
formulas were even lower.
-
- Compared to breast-fed children, the exposure of dietary
cadmium from weaning diets can be up to 12 times higher in children fed
infant soy-formula.
-
- The promotion of soy milk as a healthy alternative for
adulterated milk must stop, as it has no proper basis in fact. Neither
is appropriate for growing children, but soy milk is far worse than any
commercial milk product, including milk-based infant formula.
-
- Andreas Schuld, Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children
(PFPC)
- Vancouver, BC, Canada, brou@sprint.com
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- REFERENCES
-
- 1. http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1728.76177.
- 2. Turner CH, Garetto LP, Dunipace AJ, Zhang W, Wilson
ME, Grynpas MD, Chachra D, McClintock R, Peacock M, Stookey GK. Fluoride
treatment increased serum IGF-1, bone turnover, and bone mass, but not
bone strength, in rabbits. Calcif Tissue Int 61(1):77-83 (1997).
- 3. Veldman CM, Schmid C. Differential effects of fluoride
and insulin-like growth factor I on sodium-dependent alanine and phosphate
transport in a human osteoblast-like cell line. Growth Horm IGF Res 8(1):55-63
(1998).
- 4. Fort P, Moses N, Fasano M, Goldberg T, Lifshitz F.
Breast and soy-formula feedings in early infancy and the prevalence of
autoimmune thyroid disease in children. J Am Coll Nutr 9(2):164-7 (1990);
Fort P, Lanes R, Dahlem S, Recker B, Weyman-Daum M, Pugliese M, Lifshitz
F. Breast feeding and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in children.
J Am Coll Nutr 5(5):439-41(1986).
- 5. Dabeka RW, McKenzie AD. Aluminium levels in Canadian
infant formulate and estimation of aluminium intakes from formulae by infants
0-3 months old. Food Addit Contam 7(2):275-82 (1990).
- 6. Dabeka RW, McKenzie AD. Lead, cadmium, and fluoride
levels in market milk and infant formulas in Canada. J Assoc Off Anal Chem
70(4):754-7 (1987).
- 7. Eklund G, Oskarsson A. Exposure of cadmium from infant
formulas and weaning foods. Food Addit Contam 16(12):509-19 (1999).
- 8. Hawkins NM, Coffey S, Lawson MS, Delves HT. Potential
aluminium toxicity in infants fed special infant formula. J Pediatr Gastroenterol
Nutr 19(4):377-81 (1994).
- 9. McGraw,MD, Bishop N, Jameson R. Aluminum content in
milk formulae and intravenous fluids used in infants. Lancet I:157 (1986).
- 10. Wenk GL, Stemmer KL. Suboptimal dietary zinc intake
increases aluminum accumulation into the rat brain. Brain Res 288:393-395
(1983).
- 11. Casey CE, Walravens PA, Hambidge KM . Availability
of zinc: loading tests with human milk, cow's milk, and infant formulas.
Pediatrics 68(3):394-6 (1981).
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- SIDEBAR ARTICLES
-
- INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR-1
-
- Insulin-like Growth Factor is produced in the liver in
response to growth hormone (GH). Milk from cows treated with rBGH has greatly
increased levels of IGF-1 compared to milk from untreated cows-this is
the main reason why rBGH was not allowed in Canada. Elevated (as opposed
to normal) levels of IGF-1 in the blood have been shown to be risk factors
for breast, prostate and colon cancers. Soy promoters have used this fact
to denigrate milk (without making a distinction between commercial milk
and unprocessed milk from pasture-fed cows). But soy products also increase
levels of IGF-1. One explanation is the high levels of fluoride-aluminum
compounds, which can act as growth hormone analogs, stimulating the body
to produce high levels of IGF-1.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- SOY NOTES
-
- Cargill, the multinational grain conglomerate, has received
the FDA's GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) approval, through a process
of "self determination," for the use of AdvantaSoyTMClearTM as
a source of concentrated soy isoflavones in a variety of foods, including
beverages, nutrition bars, yogurt, meal replacements and confections. The
products would provide 30 to 50 milligrams of soy isoflavones per customary
serving, an amount that exceeds the average daily levels found in the Japanese
diet and that has been associated with thyroid problems and endocrine disruption.
The Weston A. Price Foundation will be working with counsel to protest
the decision.
-
- The British newspaper Sunday Herald advises parents to
avoid feeding soy formula to young babies after researchers in Edinburgh
discovered that soy formula lowered testosterone levels in infant male
marmosets. In humans a "neonatal testosterone surge" takes place
between one and five months of age. Monkeys, including marmosets, undergo
the same surge. The testosterone surge is thought to be responsible for
stimulating bone and muscle growth and the development of sexual characteristics
(http://www.sundayherald.com/27177).
-
- The July-August issue of Mothering Magazine carried an
article by Lynn Goldman, MD of Johns Hopkins University, warning parents
to avoid giving soy formula to their children, citing endocrine disruption
and immune suppression. Meanwhile, the Organic Consumers Association is
lobbying to have soy and rice milks included in school lunches.
-
- The isoflavone genistein in soy was found to inhibit
potassium in Guinea pigs, leading to heart arrhythmias (J Biomed Sci 2002;9:321-326).
We have had many reports of frightening arrhythmias in individuals consuming
high levels of soy.
-
- Researchers have proposed adding soy phytoestrogens to
hamburgers in order to lower cholesterol levels in young men. "Fortifying
ground beef with phytosterols may be a convenient way to tackle the escalating
problem of obesity without obliging sufferers to undergo a significant
change in diet" (Am J Clin Nutr June 25, 2002). The researchers made
no mention of soy's depression of thyroid function, which often leads to
weight gain.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Soy Alert! Campaign
-
- We are now beginning our third year of educational and
lobbying efforts to warn consumers about the dangers of modern soy foods
and to have soy infant formula removed from the marketplace. And while
we continue to read a lot of hype about soy foods in newspapers and magazines,
we are encouraged by the progress we have made so far.
-
- Throughout the year, we have been working closely with
Bill Sanda, our Director of Public Affairs, to meet with members of Congress
and their staff about health issues related to the use of soy infant formula.
We will be actively engaged with the staff of the Senate Agriculture Committee
and the House Education and Workforce Committee during their deliberations
on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act in order to develop sound
proposals for the safeguard of infants and children. In particular, we
will be presenting testimony on the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) legislation
and will request a ban on the routine use of soy formula in the program.
-
- Our most exciting breakthrough so far is the scheduling
of a Georgetown University forum on the food supply, with emphasis on soy
products, during the spring of 2003. The Environmental Law Forum of the
Georgetown Law School has specifically asked the Weston A. Price Foundation
to prepare a brief on the legality of soy foods. This event will have wide
exposure to the press, members of Congress and many Washington lawyers.
-
- Thanks to the efforts of Bill Sanda, we have been able
to engage the services of James Turner to help us prepare our report. Mr.
Turner is a Washington lawyer with a long and distinguished career in the
area of health freedoms and the safety of the food supply. He will raise
questions about the legality of using soy protein isolate (SPI) as a food
additive, due to its lack of Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status
and the fact that genistein in soy has been shown to be highly carcinogenic
in rats. The famous Delaney amendment to the regulations of the Food and
Drug Administration prohibits the addition to our food of any substance
that causes cancer in humans or test animals. We also plan to file a protest
to the recent grant of GRAS status to Cargill for their isoflavone additive
for common items of food.
-
- You may already have received our once-yearly Soy Alert!
appeal. We urge you to be as generous as possible so that we may move forward
with our strategy and expert support.
-
- ------------------
-
- This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming
and the Healing Arts,
- the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation,
Fall 2002
-
- This page was posted on 02/09/03
-
- The Weston A. Price Foundation, PMB 106-380, 4200 Wisconsin
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016
- Phone: 202.333.HEAL, Email: WestonAPrice@msn.com , Web:
www.westonaprice.org
-
- http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/notmilk.html
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