I was surfing around the web and found this info and it got me thinking:
How many ADD sufferers were fed soy milk as an infant? I was, because I was allergic to milk
I found it interesting and would sure love to hear other thoughts on the subject.
The page looks as if it is a soymilk producer who agreed to put a warning on their labels concerning their infant formulas. But further states that there is no problem of course with adults consuming soy products. ( Good thing too, I like my smoothies!)
I snipped a bit of the article below:
Approximately one month ago (May, 2001), we were contacted by a neuroscientist, Dr. David Goodman, who is a collaborator with the Violence Research Foundation ("VRF") of San Clemente, California. VRF has funded researchers investigating manganese found in soymilk and soy-based infant formulas since 1990. They contend that high concentrations of manganese in baby infant formula can lead to brain damage in infants and altered behavior in adolescents. According to Everett "Red" Hodges, VRF's founder, the impetus for investigating this area came from reports that infants feed large amounts of manganese were susceptible to hyperactivity, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) appearing during adolescence. They have come to believe that manganese is a neurotoxin to the infant brain and that ingestion of baby formula products provides manganese far in excess of biological need. Manganese has been found in excess amounts in adolescent hair samples. The source of this excess manganese has been attributed to soy-based formula consumption during early infancy.
We were willing to listen to Dr. Goodman despite having earlier in the year dismantled new attempts to link soy to brain atrophy. In addition, his position significantly departed from previous anti-nutritional arguments about soy protein that are so easily disprovable. In addition, we felt compelled to hear him out because if his argument was remotely true, there could exist substantial liability on the part of our industry for inducing an epidemiological tragedy that would possibly explain the large increase in ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) cases among children and the upsurge in adolescent violence.
Actually, I got from it that it is the high amount of manganese that is bad for the infant brain. That it is a nuerotoxin that could have possibly added to the development of ADD if an infant was fed soy based formulas containing this nutrient at high levels.
I found it interesting since I was fed soy formula myself and was wondering if it could have contributed to my problems. I know that the disorder goes deeper than that, but could it be true that soy could have made the disorder worse?
The article continues to explain that it is not a problem for adults - manganese is a nutrient that the human body needs and uses but, according to the article, it is way too much for an infant under 6 months old to handle. This is the warning that the company put on their labels:
WARNING: Soymilk may be detrimental to infants under 6 months of age. It contains manganese at levels important to human nutrition but over 50 times the level found in mother's breast milk. For more information, see soybean.com/h120.htm.
Hope this clarifies!! I love soy based products also and think they have great nutritional value. But just like anything else, too much of a good thing isnt always better.
Sherry