Are soy products ok babies?

I've been feeding my girls tofu every couple days as an extra source of protein. They really like it. However, the other day I stumbled onto some articles that talk about soy being bad for you - especially all the plant estrogen in it. Below are links to a couple articles. I don't feel comfortable feeding it to my girls anymore after reading these. What do you all think?

http://www.utne.com/2007-07-01/TheDarkSideofSoy.aspx
http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/darkside.html

 

I read all this tinfoil hat stuff about soy formula, but guess what? I ended up having Bea on soy formula anyway. I think too much of anything is bad, but what about all the Asian cultures that eat soy regularly? They seem to be healthier in general than us Westerners.

 

I think the idea that soy is causing hormone problems in humans has been debunked many times over. I didn't read the articles that you linked but there has never been any evidence that it causes early puberty for girls or breast development in boys. Tofu is a great source of lean protein for you and your kids. Personally, I think it's fine and we eat it all the time. I don't have any articles to link right now but I'll look around and post the links when I have a little more time (kids are screaming).

 

We eat soy products regularly. No problems here.

 

Both my girls were on soy formula and they also eat soy products regularly and they are very healthy.

 

Here are some intresting quotes from the UTNE article;

QUOTE
But Asian diets include small amounts--about nine grams a day--of primarily fermented soy products, such as miso, natto, and tempeh, and some tofu. Fermenting soy creates health-promoting probiotics, the good bacteria our bodies need to maintain digestive and overall wellness. By contrast, in the United States, processed soy food snacks or shakes can contain over 20 grams of nonfermented soy protein in one serving.


QUOTE
'As with any food, it can have benefits in one system and detriments in another. [An individual who is sensitive to it] may have an adverse response to soy. And not all soy is alike,' he adds, referring to processing methods and quality.


QUOTE
'Primary sources of food are a good thing. Once there was a bean, but then it got cooked and squeezed and the pulp was separated out, and it was heated and processed for better shelf life and mouth feel. Soy milk is second or third level in terms of processing.'


QUOTE
Daniel and Bauman agree on the benefits of variety. 'My experience as a clinical nutritionist is that people who have a varied diet tend not to get into trouble,' says Daniel.


I think that shows what most people find to be common sense--eat the least processed food possible, eat a wide variety of foods.

The person in what article who mentioned having health problems linked to soy was eating a very large amount of very processed products.
I think Tofu a couple of times a week is probably good for your children. Packing them full of every available soy product on the shelves is obviously not good for them. We eat some soy a couple of times a week and I plan to continue doing so.