Soy products may cause developmental and growth delay in infants and young children

This study was published in Pediatrics 2012 Sep;130(3):e699-702

 

Study title and authors:

Unawareness of the effects of soy intake on the management of congenital hypothyroidism.

Fruzza AG, Demeterco-Berggren C, Jones KL.

Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. afruzza@rchsd.org

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22908106

This paper describes two patients born with hypothyroidism (hypothyroidism is a state in which the thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormone) who were fed soy products and continued to manifest clinical hypothyroidism despite receiving recommended doses of levothyroxine (a synthetic form of the thyroid hormone thyroxine).

Patient1
(i) The first patient was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and treated with 50 µg of levothyroxine since six days of age while simultaneously starting soy formula.
(ii) At three weeks of age, she was clinically and biochemically hypothyroid.
(iii) Her soy formula was stopped and her levothyroxine dose decreased.
(iv) Three weeks later signs of hypothyroidism were resolving, and, by 10 weeks of age, her thyroid was clinically and biochemically normal.

Patient 2
(i) The second patient was diagnosed hypothyroid, received levothyroxine, and did well.
(ii) Over the next two years she began consuming soy milk and became profoundly hypothyroid even though her primary care physician had increased her levothyroxine dose to 112 µg/day.
(iii) She was switched to cows milk, and her thyroid function slowly normalized with decreasing doses of levothyroxine.

These two patients highlight the adverse affects soy products have on thyroid function and may cause developmental and growth delay in infants and young children. 

Soy may cause goiters in healthy people, especially the elderly

This study was published in Nihon Naibunpi Gakkai Zasshi 1991 May 20;67(5):622-9

Study title and authors:
The effects on the thyroid gland of soybeans administered experimentally in healthy subjects.

Ishizuki Y, Hirooka Y, Murata Y, Togashi K.
Ishizuki Thyroid Clinic.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1868922

This study investigated the effects of soy consumption on thyroid function. The study included 37 healthy subjects who were given 30g of soybeans everyday and divided into 3 groups.

(i) Group 1 were given soybeans for one month.
(ii) Group 2 (average age 29 years old) were given soybeans for three months.
(iii) Group 3 (average age 61 years old) were given soybeans for three months.

The study found:
(a) In all groups thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels rose significantly (high TSH levels may indicate an underactive thyroid gland).
(b) TSH levels in group 3 increased more significantly than that in group 2.
(c) Symptoms such as malaise, constipation, sleepiness and goiters appeared in half the subjects in groups 2 and 3 after taking soybeans for 3 months, but they disappeared 1 month after the cessation of soybean ingestion.

The author of the study, Dr. Yoshimochi Ishizuki of Aichi Medical University in Japan, concludes: "These findings suggested that excessive soybean ingestion for a certain duration might suppress thyroid function and cause goiters in healthy people, especially elderly subjects".

Soy should not be consumed by infants and children because of it's potential adverse side effects

This post contains a synopsis of a paper published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health 2003 Aug;39(6):401-5 and a recipe for Thai chicken with cauliflower and diced peppers.

Study title and author:
Soy infant formula and phytoestrogens.
Tuohy PG.
Ministry of Health, Wellington, New Zealand. pat_tuohy@moh.govt.nz

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12919490

Books:

Tuohy notes that soy infant formula contains high levels of the isoflavones, genistein and daidzein, which are commonly referred to as phytoestrogens. These are chemicals similar to estrogen. Infants consuming soy formula have high levels of circulating isoflavones. These are an order of magnitude greater than the levels of isoflavones which have been shown to produce physiological effects in adult women consuming a high soy diet.

There is an increasing number of recent reports that suggest that in experimental animals, phytoestrogens have adverse effects with respect to cancer, reproductive function, immune function, and thyroid disease.

Tuohy concludes that soy should probably not be consumed by infants and children because of it's potential adverse side effects.

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Recipe of the day

Thai Chicken with Cauliflower and Diced Peppers

Ingredient list:

One pound of skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Food Mall: Chicken Thighs

One medium-sized cauliflower

One 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
Two 4-oz cans of mild green chilies
One package of fresh baby spinach
Extra virgin olive oil
Curry powder (red, yellow, or green)
Hokan Fish sauce
Salt

In preparation, perform the following:
Cut chicken into bite-sized cubes, cauliflower into bite-sized florets, and dice chilies into small pieces.

Directions:
Heat 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in wok. Add 2-tablespoons of curry powder and stir-fry for one-minute. Add chicken and a good dusting of salt and stir-fry until chicken begins to brown. Add coconut milk, cauliflower, and chilies (with all liquid in cans). Add a heavy splash or three of Fish Sauce. Stir well and bring mix to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook 10-15 minutes until cauliflower becomes tender. Serve over a bed of fresh baby spinach.

Feeding soy formula to infants with congenital hypothyroidism prolonges abnormal thyroid function

This post contains a summary of a study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood 2004;89:37-40 and a recipe for pulled chicken.

Study title and authors:
Soy formula complicates management of congenital hypothyroidism
S C Conrad, H Chiu, B L Silverman
Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL, USA
This paper can be accessed at: http://adc.bmj.com/content/89/1/37.full.html
 

Books:

The study concluded that infants fed soy formula had prolonged increase of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) when compared to infants fed non-soy formula.

 

When the thyroid, for whatever reason -- illness, stress, surgery, obstruction, for example -- does not produce enough thyroid hormone, the pituitary detects this reduction in thyroid hormone, and it moves into action. The pituitary then makes MORE TSH, to help trigger the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormone. This is the pituitary's effort to return the system to "normal" and normalize thyroid function.

So, a TSH that is higher than normal suggests a thyroid that is underactive and not doing its job of producing thyroid hormone. So, in general, HIGHER TSH = UNDERACTIVE THYROID / HYPOTHYROIDISM.

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Recipe of the day

Pulled Chicken

Ingredient list:

Food Mall: Chicken

1 whole young hen

Red chili powder
Coriander powder
Garlic powder
Salt

Directions:
Remove chicken from packaging and giblets (package including the heart, liver, and neck) from the body cavity. Freeze the giblets to use in making chicken stock later. Rinse chicken and add the whole bird to pressure cooker (alternate method noted below). Dust generously with salt, garlic powder, coriander powder, and add a little red chili powder. Add enough water to almost submerge the chicken. In my case that was about 10 cups. Lock top on pressure cooker. Increase heat to high. After achieving high pressure, reduce heat to the lowest level consistent with maintaining high pressure. Cook under high pressure for 20 minutes. Turn off heat under pressure cooker, use the slow-release method to bring pressure down, and remove top. Remove chicken from pressure cooker with tongs (because it is hot!) and transfer to a large mixing bowl. If the chicken falls apart, remove the pieces as best you can with tongs and scoop the rest out with a slotted spoon. Leave the broth in the pot while you continue. Use a pair of tongs to separate the chicken from the bones and skin and transfer it to another large bowl. Once you have all the chicken separated, pull the chicken apart with a pair of forks.

Soybeans interfere with the thyroid hormones and cause goiters

This post includes a summary of a paper published in Pediatrics Vol. 24 No. 5 November 1959, pp. 752-760 and a recipe for curried salmon salad.

Study title and authors:
THE EFFECTS OF A SOYBEAN PRODUCT ON THYROID FUNCTION IN HUMANS

Books:

Judson J. Van Wyk M.D.1, Mary B. Arnold M.D.1, James Wynn M.D.1, , Francis Pepper M.D.1

1 Departments of Pediatrics and Radiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and Departments of Medicine, Veterans Administration Hospital, and Duke Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina

This study can be accessed at: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/5/752
 
A 10-month-old infant reared on a soybean product (Mull-Soy®) from birth developed a goiter and hypothyroidism, which was cured by the administration of 4 drops of Lugol's solution and the replacement of the soybean product by whole cow's milk.
 
The study suggested that a goitrogenic agent was present in the soybean product, which interfered with the thyroid hormones.
 
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Recipe of the day

Curried Salmon Salad

Ingredients:

■1 4-6oz salmon fillet

■1/2- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (for cooking fresh salmon)

Food Mall: Salmon Fillets

■2 cups romaine lettuce, shredded

■1/2 avocado, cut into chunks
■2 tablespoon sliced or slivered almonds
■2-3 tablespoon chopped green onions

Dressing:
■2-3 tablespoons coconut milk
■1/2 teaspoon turmeric
■1/4 teaspoon garam masala
■1/2 teaspoon coriander
■1/2 teaspoon cumin
■1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
■dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Season salmon with coriander, cumin and garam masala then pan-fry the fillet in coconut oil.
Flake salmon into small pieces and mix with other ingredients. Whisk dressing ingredients together and drizzle over salad.