{"id":16704,"date":"2020-12-31T10:00:49","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T15:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=16704"},"modified":"2020-12-18T12:51:37","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T17:51:37","slug":"soy-and-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2020\/12\/31\/soy-and-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Soy and Children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Soy foods photo from PCRM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was teaching undergraduate nutrition, I asked\nstudents to plan a one-day menu for a 5-year old vegan. Note, that these were\nnon-vegetarian dietetics students. Here\u2019s what one of them submitted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breakfast        \n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

English muffin sandwich with scrambled tofu and veg sausage,\nsoymilk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lunch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soy yogurt with granola, soymilk, apple, baby carrots with\nsoy butter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dinner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stir-fry with edamame, tofu, and broccoli; brown rice;\nsoymilk; soy-based frozen dessert<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snack<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smoothie with soymilk and strawberries<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My comment? This menu seems over-focused on soy. Because of\nthe student\u2019s apparent misunderstanding that vegans need a lot of soy to get\nadequate protein, the menu lacks variety. If we were to replace every serving\nof soy with a hamburger, or with a banana, or with a glass of cow\u2019s milk, it\nwould still be a menu that lacks variety. There\u2019s just too much of one\nkind of food. I suggested some changes \u2013 replace the yogurt at lunch with\na hummus dip or a bean burrito; try hash-browns or fruit with breakfast instead\nof \u201csausage\u201d; add more vegetables to the stir-fry in place of some of the tofu\nand\/or edamame; have a fruit-based dessert likes a wedge of watermelon or apple\ncake instead of a soy-based dessert; make the smoothie with another fortified\nplant milk. All of these changes will add variety. It\u2019s not that there is something\ninherently wrong with soy \u2013 it\u2019s just too much of a good thing in a menu like\nthis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some parents and caregivers wonder if children should eat\nsoy at all and have questions about soy safety. The short answer \u2013 research\nsupports the idea that soy is safe for children and that it may offer short-term\nand long-term health benefits. In addition, soy foods can add variety if used\nin moderation. Of course, children with a soy allergy should avoid products\ncontaining soy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soy foods are an excellent source of protein and essential\namino acids; they are also low in saturated fat, free of cholesterol, and high\nin unsaturated fat. Soymilk is often fortified with calcium, vitamin D, and\nvitamin B12; some brands of tofu are good sources of calcium and may be\nfortified with vitamin B12; tofu-based veggie \u201cmeats\u201d may be fortified with\niron, zinc, and vitamin B12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women who ate moderate amounts of soy foods in childhood and\nadolescence, appear to have as much as a 60% lower risk of breast cancer later\nin life.1-4<\/sup> This is especially the case when soy foods were eaten in\nchildhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another advantage of soy is its versatility. For children\nwho want to fit in, veggie \u201cbologna\u201d sandwiches and tofu \u201chot dogs\u201d can make\ntheir lunchbox look like that of their classmates\u2019. Concerns about the safety\nof soy for children appear to be unfounded. There is really no scientific\nsupport for claims like soy having a feminizing effect or producing adverse\nhormonal effects in children in amounts typically eaten.5-8<\/sup> Based on\nintakes of traditional societies, a couple of servings of soy appears to be\nsafe during childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Korde LA, Wu\nAH, Fears T, et al. Childhood soy intake and breast cancer risk in Asian\nAmerican women. Cancer Epidemiol\nBiomarkers Prev.<\/em> 2009;18(4):1050\u20131059. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Shu XO, Jin F, Dai Q, et al. Soyfood intake during\nadolescence and subsequent risk of breast cancer among Chinese women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev<\/em>. 2001\nMay;10(5):483-488.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Wu AH, Yu MC, Tseng CC, et al. Dietary patterns and\nbreast cancer risk in Asian American women. Am\nJ Clin Nutr<\/em>. 2009 Apr;89(4):1145-1154.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Lee SA, Shu XO, Li H, et al. Adolescent and adult soy\nfood intake and breast cancer risk: results from the Shanghai Women’s Health\nStudy. Am J Clin Nutr<\/em>. 2009\nJun;89(6):1920-1926.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Messina M, Rogero MM, Fisberg M, Waitzberg D. Health\nimpact of childhood and adolescent soy consumption. Nutr Rev<\/em>.\n2017;75(7):500-515.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Wada K, Nakamura K, Masue T, et al. Soy intake and\nurinary sex hormone levels in preschool Japanese children. Am J Epidemiol<\/em>. 2011 May 1;173(9):998-1003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Maskarinec G, Morimoto Y, Novotny R, Nordt FJ, Stanczyk\nFZ, Franke AA. Urinary sex steroid excretion levels during a soy intervention\namong young girls: a pilot study. Nutr Cancer<\/em>. 2005;52(1):22-28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Zung A, Shachar S, Zadik Z, Kerem Z. Soy-derived isoflavones treatment in children with hypercholesterolemia: a pilot study. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab<\/em>. 2010;23(1-2):133-141.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reed Mangels, PhD, RD is a Nutrition Advisor for The Vegetarian Resource Group.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD When I was teaching undergraduate nutrition, I asked students to plan a one-day menu for a 5-year old vegan. Note, that these were non-vegetarian dietetics students. Here\u2019s what one of them submitted: Breakfast         English muffin sandwich with scrambled tofu and veg sausage, soymilk Lunch Soy yogurt with granola, soymilk, apple, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16706,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16704\/revisions\/16706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}