In This Issue:
There’s a soy food for every age and stage of life. In fact, adding soy to a child’s diet may benefit them long term. In this issue, we cover the early introduction of allergens like soy and serving suggestions for the first years of life, as well as soy’s effects on pregnancy for the mother and her child.
CAN WE PREVENT FOOD ALLERGIES BEFORE THEY START? THE EMERGING SCIENCE OF EARLY INTRODUCTION
By Christopher M. Warren, PhD
Convergent data from a variety of sources clearly indicate that food allergy (FA) prevalence has markedly increased over recent decades. IgE-mediated food allergy is now estimated to directly affect roughly 8% of U.S. children and 11% of U.S. adults, rendering it of major public health importance. Of U.S. children and adults with FA, nearly half are estimated to have current allergies to multiple foods. Both genetic and environmental factors are implicated in the development of food allergies. Research indicates moderate associations between family history of FA (and other allergic diseases like atopic dermatitis and asthma) and increased risk of pediatric FA. However, most children with FA do not have a parent with a FA, which highlights the importance of early life environmental exposures—the most important of which is arguably the infant diet.
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SOY CONSUMPTION DURING CHILDHOOD AND PREGNANCY
By Mark Messina, PhD, MS
Soy is commonly consumed in Asian countries during pregnancy and childhood as it is during other stages of life. However, a comprehensive technical review published in 2021 highlighted the need to better understand the effects of soy, and especially soybean isoflavones, in children and pregnant women as only limited research involving these 2 groups has been conducted. Research involving children is particularly important because young people may be especially sensitive to the influence of diet and because dietary habits established when young may track into adulthood. This sensitivity may also apply to pregnancy, with respect to both the mother and developing fetus. To help fill the research void, the Soy Nutrition Institute Global recently funded two 12-week intervention studies, one involving healthy children and the other involving children with fatty liver disease which will begin later in 2023.
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PRACTICAL TIPS FOR INTRODUCING SOY IN THE FIRST YEAR
By Jill Castle, MS, RDN
In the first year of life, babies move from drinking breastmilk or infant formula as their only source of nutrition to eating a variety of foods from the family diet. There are a lot of important food transitions happening at this time. In this article learn soy foods are appropriate for the growing infant.
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