Basic Nutrition
Use of soybean in pediatric nutrition
Elvira Verduci, Giulia Nuzzi Giulia Vizzari, Diego G. Peroni
1Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, Italy 2 Department of Paediatrics, Vittore Buzzi Children’s Hospital University of Milan, Italy 3Section of Paediatrics, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Soybean is a species of legume used in childhood diet for over 2000 years in the East. Soy protein formulas have been available for almost a century. Nowadays, the increase in cow’s milk allergy and vegetarian dietary preferences are driving consumers towards cow’s milk alternatives. In this paper, we reviewed the nutritional composition of soy-based infant formulae and discussed their possible use in pediatric age. We tried to evaluate the possible use of soybean and derivatives in pediatric age, including the nutritional composition of soy formulas and the clinical indications for their use.