A large percentage of parents who give their babies soy-based
formula do not base their choice on any medical or health
reasons, while pediatric nutrition and gastrointestinal
experts have unilaterally determined they are not giving
their children the best food available.
Professor Avinoam Shofar, a ranking neurologist at Schneider
Children's Hospital, says the use of non-dairy substitutes
for mother's milk far exceeds the number of cases in which it
is medically justified, saying parents have a mistaken
tendency to avoid milk. After mother's milk, substitutes
based on cow's milk are the next best for babies. Substitutes
based on soy protein are only intended for cases of
sensitivity or lactose intolerance.
From 2 percent to 8 percent of babies in Israel are fed non-
dairy substitutes. (Remedia claims that non-dairy products
comprise a full 15 percent of the formula market.) According
to estimates by leading health authorities, among chareidim
the use of non-dairy substitutes is much greater whether
because of kashrus (which was true in the past when kashrus
standards for mehadrin formula were low) or because of
interest in natural and alternative medicine.
"To give credence to unfounded rumors is ignorance,
groundless concerns and a faulty practice," says Dr. Yosef
Paver, director of the children's gastrointestinal unit at
Shaarei Tzedek Hospital. "In my estimation the chareidi
sector does have a tendency to avoid giving milk to their
children and to seek vegetable-based alternatives, and this
is a mistake. Substitutes made from cow's milk are definitely
preferable over soy and they has a series of advantages.
Although children who eat soy substitutes won't die from it
(accept in the Remedia scandal) still there is no reason to
give babies food of lesser nutritional value just because of
erroneous opinions and myths!"
Yet many parents testify from experience that when they
stopped giving the infant a milk-based substitute his
diarrhea went away or he stopped suffering from frequent ear
infections.
"Many parents are afraid to give [their children] milk due to
claims it causes ear infections, phlegm, etc. The truth is
one-half to one percent of babies do have a sensitivity to
cow's milk that causes problems in the respiratory tract, but
the vast majority are not sensitive. This can be easily
checked by giving non-dairy substitute for two weeks and if
the situation does not improve after two weeks (during the
first two weeks there is always a psychological improvement)
one can return to cow's milk. The same applies regarding ear
infections."
Non-dairy substitutes are not always the recommended
solution. Dr. Paver estimates that among children who are
allergic to cow's milk, 30 percent to 50 percent are also
allergic to soy protein!
"Food allergy, particularly to cow's milk and also a high
percentage of soy protein, can be manifested in different
ways, from well-known digestive problems such as diarrhea to
anaphylactic shock. I have come across more than a few cases
in which parents arrived with a baby suffering from symptoms
such as recurrent vomiting, paleness, shortness of breath and
even loss of consciousness after eating non-dairy
substitutes. In 90 percent of cases the allergy will pass by
the age of one year, but it is important to try the food only
under medical supervision. With allergies as a rule there are
various different possibilities. I encountered a case of a
baby who was allergic to the iron in the formulas. He was
allergic to every kind of mother's milk substitute and only
regular cow's milk [sold in stores] was good for him."
