Soy consumption associated with the formation of malignancies and several anomalies of the reproductive systems

This paper was published in the Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism 2010 Sep;23(9):855-61.

Study title and authors:

Soy as an endocrine disruptor: cause for caution?

Bar-El DS, Reifen R.

School of Nutritional Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21175082

Bar-El notes that endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) alter the function of the endocrine system and consequently cause adverse health effects. Phytoestrogens, natural plant compounds abundantly found in soy and soy products, are considered to be endocrine disrupting compounds.

In a review of the literature Bar-El found:
(a) The evidence for the alleged beneficial effects of phytoestrogens are indirect and inconsistent.
(b) Lifetime exposure to estrogenic substances, especially during critical periods of development, has been associated with formation of malignancies and several anomalies of the reproductive systems.
(c) Phytoestrogen consumption in infants, through soy-based formulas, is of particular concern.

Bar-El concludes that the possible adverse effects of phytoestrogens should not be taken lightly.