Soya-based infant formula damages kids' immune system
we might be weakening our children's immune system by feeding them soya-based infant formula. A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, usa, indicates that soya-based infant formulas are rich in genistein, a chemical that adversely affects children's immune system.
To prove their claim, the researchers injected genistein in mice and found that their thymus glands -- an organ in the lower neck that produces immune cells -- shrank by upto 80 per cent compared with that of normal mice. This caused a corresponding fall in the number of immune cells which the glands put into circulation. And when the researchers injected a foreign substance to challenge the animals' immune systems, they produced fewer antibodies against it. The researchers also found that soya-fed babies have levels of genistein in their blood 200 times as high as those given breast milk or cow's milk formula.
"The findings are actually quite dramatic and alarming," says Chris Kirk, who studies plant oestrogens at Birmingham University in Alabama, usa. Experts says the study raises serious concerns.
However, there are some experts who do not agree with the findings. Stephen Barnes, a soya expert at the Brimingham University, points out that eating soya is not the same as injecting the chemicals it contains. The body often deactivates chemicals that are eaten or converts them into another form. "Young children don't shoot themselves up with genistein," he says. But Cooke says that in another round of experiments, they fed the mice amounts of genistein equivalent to those given to babies in soya formula. Again, their thymus glands shrank.
No one yet knows if babies' immune systems are actually affected, but the study for certain evokes concerns. The researchers say that a wide-ranging study to look for any ill effects in babies is urgently required.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.