AAP recommendations on cow milk, soy, and early infant feeding

• Published in: Pediatrics (Evanston) Vol. 96; no. 3; pp. 515 - 517
• Main Author: SCOTT, F. W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elk Grove Village, IL American Academy of Pediatrics 01-09-1995
• Subjects: Animals; Babies; Biological and medical sciences; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - etiology; Diabetes. Impaired glucose tolerance; Dietary Proteins - adverse effects; Endocrine pancreas. Apud cells (diseases); Endocrinopathies; Etiopathogenesis. Screening. Investigations. Target tissue resistance; Food and nutrition; Health aspects; Humans; Infant; Infant Food - adverse effects; Infants; Insulin; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred NOD; Milk; Milk - adverse effects; Milk proteins; Milk Proteins - adverse effects; Pediatrics; Plant Proteins - adverse effects; Proteins; Rats; Rats, Inbred BB; Type 1 diabetes; Endocrinopathy; Human; Immunopathology; Milk protein; Risk factor; Soybean milk; Insulin dependent diabetes; Autoimmune disease; Cow milk; Infant
• ISSN: 0031-4005; 1098-4275

More research is needed on the effect of feeding cow-milk protein or soy protein to infants and the development of diabetes before making recommendations about feeding practices. Both cow-milk protein and soy formulas appear to be factors in initiating destruction of the insulin-producing cells in susceptible children. However, most studies to date have been limited to the first six months of life, but some evidence suggests that foods consumed later also associate with increased incidence of diabetes. The age at which exposure is benign is not currently known, making it difficult to design clinical trials. Rat and mouse studies of cow milk and soy protein have produced variable results depending on how the food was processed. In addition, the exact component responsible for the diabetes-inducing effect is also unknown.