Soy Milk

Hi R.,

Absolutely! It is a natural source of Estrogen. Girls shouldn't have it before puberty and boys should resist it completely. It is a cheap source of protein and it is in sooooo many more things than it used to be. You not only have to limit it but you need to read labels....

M.

I am not a fan of Soy and never have been. A Doctor friend even said that Soy is not good for males because of its estrogen properties. Here is a link below that gives some information about Soy and controversial effects.
Good luck! Hope this helps.
http://reliableanswers.com/med/soy.asp

I totally believe in moderation of all things. Excessive intake of soy (especially with infant formula being the main staple of an individual's diet) does not have good long term health benefits. If you look at the diet of Asian cultures, they eat a healthier version of soy that is not so manufactured. There was a good article in Mothering Magazine about it and I am sure you can go to Mothering.com and look for back articles.

Also, cow's milk is not fit for human digestion, its made for cows.

Really, drinking milk is not the #1 way to build a healthy diet. People use it as a "catch all" or substitute for getting their required nutrients in whole foods.

R.,

The main concern about soy is that it contains high levels of phytoestrogens -- estrogen-like substances found in some plants. Kenneth D.R. Setchell, PhD, a researcher and professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, believes the fears about soy milk causing developmental problems are unfounded. He points out that the studies that sparked this outcry were done in animals, not people. And while soy can cause some endocrine disruptions in animals, humans metabolize soy very differently, he says.

Please do your research formally, these responses here are just our opinions. I was raised on soy milk as were my three children and I had no early onset of puberty. There are too many different factors in our environment today for these causes to single out soy milk.

{{According to an FDA scientific review, soy does not interfere with childhood growth, induce early puberty, interfere with fertility, cause pancreatic or breast cancer, or interfere with mineral absorption as long as dietary consumption is adequate.}}

{{Another common misconception is that the flavones (isoflavones) in soy are "phytoestrogens," While almost everyone is calling isoflavones phytroestrogens, the fact is phytoestrogens aren't related to estrogens or any other human hormones whatsoever. Flavones are flavonoids, which are plant pigments. Estrogens (estradiol, estrone, estriol) are steroids secreted by the endocrine (ductless) glands and found only in mammals. There is no relation at all between the two.}}

The above were taken from an article called "the anti soy madness"
I personally would be more suspect of Cow milk, as it contains extra hormones so the cows can produce more milk. In my home, we only buy organic milk to avoid these extra synthetic hormones. But we also drink chocolate soy milk.

I am not sure, i have done a lot of research and have never heard of such a think, but i know cows milk does because of the hormones in it. This is proven notice girls getting their cycles earlier and earlier. I have even seen in my own life that those who drank more milk satarted sooner than those who did not. It also has all the drugs and other stuff they give to cows to make them produce more faster. After formula I gave my son only soy milk. The dr. said they needed the fat for the brain. However now I may go to Rice milk. We are the only mammal that drinks another species milk after being weined from the breast. It's really wrong in nature. Dairy can cause a lot of problems. We never use milk as a drink and only use it in recipes and cereal and use rice or soy now. There is a lot of controversery on this topic i would review it. One site is www.drmercola.com - it can be extreme but has lots of good information. And now with the price of milk going up soy and rice milk are about the same price at our wal-mart cheaper. Dont over due the soy milk because there is some research that shows negative effects with too much soy. But i highly recommend cutting out milk as a drink we all need more filtered water. Reverse Osmosis is the best kind. You can even get a unit to hook up to your sink really cheap. And it tastes really good warm or cold and makes you want more water because its not so yukky.

I have read several studies done on this that show yes it does in girls and delays it in boys. The reason why is because of the high level of estrogen in the soy plant. A girl friend of mine who has three boys who were all on soy formula they are all big now 17/15/14 years of age. She seems to think that it did. BUT on the flip side of that she continue to give them soy milk long after they were off the bottle so the long term use could be the cause as well. I have 5 children and they were on soy no longer than the first year of their life and then on to whole milk and I have not noticed a problem with there developement. So my personal oppinion is that it depends on how long they are on the soy. Take care and God bless.

R.

I have noticed that all of the comments on here referring to cow's milk are actually talking about milk from commercial dairies. We get our cow's milk through a grass-fed raw milk dairy in SC which is HEAVILY regulated by the government (much more so than your standard commercial dairy.) My kids have seldom been sick since we have been drinking it and it contains NONE of the hormones and meds that you would find in commercial milk. And yes, it is very clean and tested for contaminants regularly. No listeria or any of that. I agree that the hormone laced milk is in part responsible for making girls have early onset of puberty and I'd also throw in commercial beef and other meats.

We stay away from possible sources of estrogen including soy because excessive estrogen has been linked to breast cancer. If your grandson is allergic to regular cow's milk, has your daughter considered goat's milk instead? My dad had milk issues as a baby (yes he was raised on a farm and drank raw milk too) and his mom gave him goat's milk which is more digestible than cow's milk. I know they sell it in the grocery store if you are still leery of giving him the raw (I don't know where you would get raw goat's milk that is specifically for human consumption anyway), but I don't know if it is hormone free or med-free. You might actually be able to get organic goat's milk someplace like Trader Joe's or another health food place.