Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN
Source: http://www.healthtruthrevealed.com
February 29, 2008

Scientists Cite Adverse Effects on Cardiovascular, Thyroid and Immune Systems

WASHINGTON, DC: February 19, 2008. Internationally acclaimed heart expert Kilmer McCully, MD, father of the homocysteine theory of heart disease, joined other scientists and consumer advocates in asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to drop the heart disease health claim for soy protein in documents filed February 19.

The Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit nutrition education organization based in Washington, DC, submitted a petition to the agency in response to FDA's request for comments as the agency considers rescinding the heart health claim that has been used by manufacturers to market soy as “heart healthy” since October 1999. McCully was one of several researchers who prepared the document.

“We have filed this petition because there was never a sound basis for a soy health claim and the heavy marketing of soy as a 'miracle food' has put American men, women and children at risk.” says Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food and lead author of the 65-page petition filed this morning at the FDA offices in Rockville, Maryland. “The heart health claim gave soy a “healthy” image and quickly boosted sales from under one billion per year to more than $4 billion per year.”

The petition was filed by Sally Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation. In addition to Dr Kilmer S. McCully, winner of the 1998 Linus Pauling Award, author of more than 70 papers in peer reviewed journals and author of two popular books The Homocysteine Revolution and The Heart Revolution, signers included Mary G. Enig, PhD, a world renowned biochemist and nutritionist who exposed the dangers of trans fats in the late 1970s; and Galen D. Knight, PhD, a biochemist who has extensively researched the role of vitalethine in humoral immunity and cancer prevention.
The petition notes that the FDA is mandated by law to retract the soy/heart disease health claim for the following reasons:

o Soy protein isolate and other highly processed modern soy protein products are not safe and have no long history of use in the food supply

o The evidence on soy protein and heart disease is contradictory and inconsistent, and no “standard of scientific agreement” has been met.

o Studies published since 1999 undermine the credibility of -- and conclusions drawn -- from key studies evaluated by the FDA when it approved the health claim in 1999.

o Recent studies show that soy can contribute to or cause heart disease, including endothelial damage (especially in women), heart arrhythmias and cardiomyopathy, an increasingly prevalent condition that affects 1 in 500 Americans.

o The mechanism by which soy might lower cholesterol could cause endocrine disruption, diminished humoral immunity and cancer development.

The ten thousand-member Weston A. Price Foundation has been a leader in alerting the public to the health dangers of soy oil and soy protein. “Thousands of studies link soy protein to digestive distress, thyroid damage, reproductive problems, infertility, ADD/ADHD, dementia, even heart disease and cancer,” says Dr. Daniel. “Populations at special risk are infants on soy formula, vegetarians who consume soy protein as meat and dairy substitutes and adults self-medicating with soy foods because of their belief that soy can prevent heart disease and other health problems.”

In 2005, the Weston A. Price Foundation protested a soy-prevents cancer health claim filed by the Solae Company with the FDA. Solae subsequently withdrew their petition in the face of massive evidence that soy can cause, contribute to and accelerate the growth of cancer, particularly breast cancer.

The FDA announced that will review the evidence on soy protein and heart disease because of mounting doubts and concerns by scientists and government agencies about soy protein. In January 2006, the American Heart Association in its journal Circulation advised health practitioners that soy has little effect on cholesterol and is unlikely to prevent heart disease. In August 2005, the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality published a 245-page report stating that nearly all the research carried out on soy is “inconclusive,” that soy products appear to exert “a small benefit on LDL cholesterol and triglycerides” but that those effects are of “small clinical effect in individuals.”

Three foreign governments have issued warnings about soy. In 2005, the Israeli Health Ministry warned its citizens that babies should not receive soy formula, that children age 18 and under should consume soy foods or soy milk no more than once per day to a maximum of three times per week and that adults should exercise caution because of adverse effects on fertility and increased breast cancer risk.

In 2006, the French Food Agency (AFSSA) announced tough new regulations that will require manufacturers to improve the safety of soy infant formula and to put warning labels on packages of soy foods and soy milk.

In 2007, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment warned that babies should not be given soy infant formula “without clear, concrete medical reasons” and that adults should be wary of excess soy food and soy supplement consumption because they offer no proven health benefits and may pose health risks.

“Clearly soy is not the solution for people at risk for heart disease,” says Dr. Daniel. “In fact, possible benefits are far outweighed by proven risks to the thyroid, reproductive and immune systems. The time has come for the Food and Drug Administration to protect the public and withdraw the spurious 1999 heart disease health claim for soy protein.”

CONTACTS
Sally Fallon, President
The Weston A. Price Foundation
202-363-4394
safallon@aol.com

Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN
505-266-3252
wholenutritionist@earthlink.net

Kathleen M. Campbell, Campbell Public Relations, LLC
877-540-6022
kcampbell@thecompletesolution.com

Kaayla T. DANIEL, PhD, CCN, is THE WHOLE NUTRITIONIST®. She earned her PhD in Nutritional Sciences and Anti-Aging Therapies from the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, is board certified as a clinical nutritionist (CCN) by the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists in Dallas and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Weston A. Price Foundation. As a clinical nutritionist, she specializes in digestive disorders, women’s reproductive health issues, infertility, and recovery from vegetarian and soy¬based diets.

Dr. Daniel is the author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food (New Trends, 2005), which has been endorsed by leading health professionals, including Kilmer S. McCully MD, Doris J. Rapp MD, Jonathan V. Wright, MD, Russell Blaylock, MD, Larrian Gillespie, MD, Joseph Mercola, OD, Debra Lynn Dadd and Larry Dossey, MD, who called it “science writing at its best.”

Comfortable in front of radio, television and live audiences, Dr. Daniel has been “media trained” by Joel Roberts, formerly co¬host of KABC, Los Angeles' most highly rated talk radio program, who calls her a “class A entertainer” and a “naughty nutritionist” with the ability “to outrageously and humorously debunk nutritional myths.” Dr. Daniel has been extensively quoted in major newspapers and magazines, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, Toronto Globe & Mail, Glamour, Utne Reader and Alternative Medicine, and has appeared as a guest on NPR's People's Pharmacy, the Discovery Channel's Medical Hotseat and ABC's View from the Bay. Online her book has been featured prominently on www.mercola.com the world’s leading natural health and dietary website. She has also appeared as an expert witness before the California Public Safety Committee and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences.

Sally FALLON, MA, is President and Treasurer of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of the best-selling Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats with Mary G. Enig, PhD. Fallon is a leading advocate for traditional diets and nutrient-dense foods. An articulate communicator, Fallon has extensive radio and television experience. 
 
Sally Fallon (safallon@aol.com)
The Weston A. Price Foundation
PMB 106-380 4200 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, DC   20016
Phone : 202-363-4394