Can soy formula make kids gay? A minister named Jim Rutz thinks so. In a WorldNet Daily article called, “Soy is making kids ‘gay'”, Rutz claims: “Soy is feminizing, and commonly leads to a decrease in the size of the penis, sexual confusion and homosexuality.” Soy formula is the blame, says Rutz, for the “rise in homosexuality.” And here I thought it was a shortage of tennis rackets and pillows needing a beating.
I researched this a bit and found some concern about mice but no adverse effects in humans. So if preventing nelly mice is your thing, go easy on the Soy Chow. For further information about the subject, read this and this and this. The summary of the latter article from the Journal of the American Medical Association says:
Long-term Effects of Soy-Based Formula on Health
Dietary phytoestrogens, including soy isoflavones, have been shown to influence hormone-dependent states. To determine whether exposure to soy-based infant formula is associated with long-term effects on health, especially reproductive health, Strom and colleagues evaluated adults aged 20 to 34 years who had participated in controlled feeding studies during infancy. Women who had been fed soy formula as infants reported slightly longer duration of menstrual bleeding and greater discomfort with menstruation. For more than 30 other general and reproductive health outcomes, however, no statistically significant differences were observed between the group of adults who had been fed soy-based formula as infants and those who had been fed cow milk formula.
You know though, I have been eating a bunch of soy protein in my Kashi cereal lately. Colors do look a little brighter, and I don’t say “dude” as much as I used to and I even think Cher sounds better (not looks better, that would require another type of substance). Perhaps, I should have a more open mind…