Wahida Karmally, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, which represents U.S. nutritionists, says the advice to women who have breast cancer is to use soy in moderation. If you occasionally have tofu with a meal, that s fine. Lillie Shockney, director of education and outreach at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University s Breast Center, says patients are understandably confused. We tell patients that there are two schools. One says soy is fine.
Some researchers say the caution over soy is overblown.
The worry about soy-based infant formula, Setchell says, also is overstated. About 18 million U.S. children have grown up on soy formula since the 1960s and the scientific literature says there are perhaps 12 cases of abnormalities in infants possibly traceable to soy formula. Advocates of the health benefits of soy based their view on research from the early 1980s. Much of the current debate over soy safety began two years ago when two FDA scientists raised red flags at a time when the agency was considering whether to allow the health claim by food manufacturers. Daniel Sheehan and Daniel Doerge, both senior toxicologists at the FDA, strongly opposed the soy health claim and wrote a memorandum outlining their concerns.