Soya Alert!

Soya alert

A health warning was sounded over the
dangers of eating soya after two senior American
government scientists revealed that chemicals in the
product could increase the risk of breast cancer in
women, brain damage in men and abnormalities in
infants.

The disclosure, which sent shockwaves through the
multi-billion dollar food industry, came after the
scientists decided to break ranks with colleagues in the
US Food and Drug Administration and oppose its decision
last year to approve a health claim that soya reduced the
risk of heart disease. They wrote an internal protest
letter warning of 28 studies revealing toxic effects of soya.

In an interview with The Observer, one of the
scientists, Daniel Doerge, an expert on soya, said: 'We
have very real worries that this health claim will be
used by the industry as an endorsement of much wider
health benefits to soya beyond the heart. Research has
shown a clear link between soya and the potential for
adverse effects in humans.'

BSE and other health scares related to meat have led to
rocketing sales of soya-related products in Britain. But
it is not just vegetarian foods such as tofu that use soya.
It is a key ingredient in products from meat sausages
and fish fingers to salad creams and breakfast cereals.

The concerns of Doerge and fellow FDA researcher
Daniel Sheehan focus on chemicals in soya known as
isoflavones which have effects similar to the female
hormone oestrogen.

While these chemicals may help to prevent a range of
conditions including high cholesterol, they also lead to
health problems in animals including altering sexual
development of foetuses and causing thyroid disorders.
Although soy is thought to protect against breast cancer,
some studies show that chemicals in soya may increase
the chances of breast cancer which uses oestrogen-type
hormones for growth.

Their letter to the FDA seen by The Observer states:
'There is abundant evidence that some of the isoflavones
found in soy demonstrate toxicity in oestrogen sensitive
tissues and in the thyroid. Additionally, the adverse
effects in humans occur in several tissues.

'During pregnancy in humans, isoflavones per se could
be a risk factor for abnormal brain and reproductive
tract development.'

This will frighten mothers who increasingly use soya
milk for babies. Doerge said: 'They are exposing their
children to chemicals which we know have adverse
effects in animals. It's like doing a large uncontrolled
and unmonitored experiment on infants.'

The soya industry insists that most research shows the
health benefits of soya outweigh risks and that adverse
effects seen in animals do not apply to humans.

Richard Barnes, European director of the US Soy Bean
Association, said: 'Millions of people around the world
have been eating soya for years and have shown no signs
of abnormalities or disorders.'

Useful links:

www.ifrn.bbsrc.ac.uk/public/FoodInfoSheets/soya.html
Institute of Food Research information sheet on soya