The raison d'etre of this website is to provide you with hard scientific information which may help you make informed decisions in your quest for health (so far I have blogged concise summaries of over 1,500 scientific studies and have had three books published).

My research is mainly focused on the effects of cholesterol, saturated fat and statin drugs on health. If you know anyone who is worried about their cholesterol levels and heart disease, or has been told to take statin drugs you could send them a link to this website, and to my statin or cholesterol or heart disease books.

David Evans

Independent Health Researcher

Monday 11 February 2013

Iron absorption is markedly inhibited in soy infant formula

This study was published in the British Journal of Nutrition 1987 May;57(3):345-53
 
Study title and authors:
Factors influencing the absorption of iron from soya-bean protein products.
Derman DP, Ballot D, Bothwell TH, MacFarlane BJ, Baynes RD, MacPhail AP, Gillooly M, Bothwell JE, Bezwoda WR, Mayet F.
 

This study compared iron absorption rates from soya-bean-based and milk-based infant formulas. The study included 138 women aged 21 to 63. None of the women were pregnant or lactating and all were unpaid volunteers. Ethical and practical considerations precluded the study being done on infants themselves.

The study found:
(a) Iron absorption was significantly less from the soya-bean formula compared to the milk-formula.
(b) The addition of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) markedly increased iron absorption from the milk-formula (a ten-fold increase), whereas ascorbic acid had a less-marked effect on the absorption of iron from the soya-bean formula, with only a two- to threefold increase.

The study reveals that iron absorption is markedly inhibited in soy infant formula.