I caught this earlier in the day and had to reply. This man does not cite a SINGLE source...not even a moonbat source...for any of his "findings". Does he work for the AP, perhaps? Someone, somewhere, reads and believes this stuff. Please tell me this is a cruel joke or some sort of psychological experiment...

Not so fast. Forgetting the part about sexual orientation and its timing or onset, there is a legitimate scientific issue and interest here, one that hasn't been answered with sufficient long-term research and data. This is being addressed by the mainstream scientific community. I'm not going to give you a comprehensive summary here without seeing some $$$ first. Showering LMA with Christmas gifts would do nicely, also. Let me just say we are experimenting on ourselves and our offspring in ways never imagined. The Asian anecdotal evidence doesn't support American usage, dosage, and consumption levels--for adults, let alone babies. And there MAY be consequences to such actions. With soy, the common assumption is that in neonates, the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is more active than in older children and adults, which compensates for the estrogenic effects of the high intake of isoflavones. Do you want your little "bundle-of-joy" being the test case? See "Potential Health Impacts Of Excessive Flavonoid Intake," Skibola and Smith, http://ehscenter.berkeley.edu/publications/00_skibola_1.pdf

And..."The Endocrine and Reproductive System: Adverse Effects of Hormonally Active Substances?" Greim, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/113/4/S1/1070

For now, I would stick with milk from the intended source--its mother's breasts. For supplementation, I would go with organic cow's milk (no hormones used, and antibiotics used only as medically required and administered by a vet). Soy can be used sparingly, if necessary.

Actually, what I've heard is that one has to be careful with soy-based formula with female babies, lest one affect sexual development.

But the counter-argument is that premature exposure to cow's milk can incur allergic reactions, so soy is the safer bet.

To be truthful, I was mostly riffing on the gay thing, and fear-of-soy in general. With an infant, though, I'd figure out the most conservative course: one never wants to gamble with a child.

Darrell: Point taken. I'm not a nutritionist. But if there is valid research on the subject, all the more reason to cite it. Guess my anger at some recent shoddy research and journalism (Jimmy Carter and AP, to be precise) flared up as I was reading this...

"But the counter-argument is that premature exposure to cow's milk can incur allergic reactions, so soy is the safer bet."

So say stealth animal rights groups (like Center For Science in the Public Interest) that want to see the US milk and beef(particularly veal )industries go bye-bye. I love the smell of agenda-driven science in the morning. Since human babies have been consuming cow's milk for some 10,000+ years (9,000-8,000 BC), it's safe to say there is a fair amount of empirical data available. CSPI data only go back as far as the mid-1800s (see Marx--Karl).

I'll stick with my mix--Human mother's milk, organic cows milk, and soy. In that order. Pressure those soy people to remove all those (bioactive) components in baby formulas. Let those go into adult supplements, where they belong. And please use supercritical CO2 extraction or something like that, and forget about solvent-type extraction. It's not worth the few cents.

Darrell, you are making my miniature brain hurt.

The allergens thing is confusing. I'm thankful that my allergies are to Things Airborne, but is the rate of food allergy going up, or only the diagnosis thereof?

Sorry! The monkeys are getting ambitious. I did supply pain relievers, though. :-)

I think food allergies are being reported and diagnosed more, instead of simply avoiding the offending foods. Lawyers will be suing parents soon.

I took a "family portrait" of the pain relievers, but the memory limitations on this machine forbid me from posting images right now. I'll get that fixed soon, but in the meantime I'll send you the pic.

They are almost too cute to consume. Almost.

I did know you were practicing some of that sweet talk that you use to down satellites with (reference to that flattery in the previous comment)...

I'll send the pic back in a smaller size, if you wish. Include your arm and hand in another shot and I'll make it look like regular size (O.75 liter) bottles. Now wouldn't THAT make a nice gift! Maybe some day...

Let's see how our friends in the Northwest treat us . . .