Whats best for babies–breast milk, cows milk or soy formulas?
A study that’s tracking 380 healthy infants from age one month to six years may help parents make that choice. ARS-funded scientists at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center, Little Rock, Ark., are leading the investigation, which began in 2002. In particular, the researchers want to determine whether–as some critics have suggested–soy-based formulas inadvertently cause any adverse health effects. Previous investigations, in which nutrition center scientists and others used laboratory rats as a model, showed no apparent long-term negative effects from feeding regimens high in soy protein as compared with regimens high in cow’s milk protein. However, they did note that consuming soy protein changed certain enzymes, an effect that might alter how the infant or young child’s body processes medications. This is one of the factors that the researchers will monitor in the long-term investigation (March 2002 Journal of Nutrition, vol. 132, pp. 559S-565S). For more information, contact Th
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