Dear all:

There were many studies in the 1960s and 1970s on protein powders because the thinking at the time was that protein was the major missing nutrient among malnourished mothers and babies.  None of these supplementation studies showed any improvements and one study had the opposite results.  Babies whose mothers received the high protein supplement were born at a lower birth weight.  This then led to a swing in the opposite direction whereby everyone thought you just had to supply enough calories, which led to a lot of dumping of inadequately nutrient dense surplus foods in developing areas of the world.  Micronutrients are essential as is a minimal amount of protein.

The problem with the soy protein drinks is that soy in the high concentrations and heavily processed form of those drinks can cause thyroid problems.  My sister is a prime example having undergone thyroid surgery because her otherwise relatively reasonable low key family practice doctor decided to sell the stuff.  I told her to not drink it, but she didn't listen.  My sister already had a damaged thyroid from radiation therapy for Hodgkins.  This tipped the balance and caused a goiter. My sister is now very careful about her diet and avoids all goitrogenic foods -- including soy.  

Since soy can affect the thyroid adversely, since thyroid is important for breast milk production, since adverse effects are being exhibited I do NOT agree that this is a good nutritional product, it actually has been demonstrated to be a harmful product in the cases you reported and I would be extremely worried about mothers drinking this much soy.

Best regards, Susan E Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC

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