Although the autopsy is inconclusive and tests on the food are not yet complete, a porridge made of EdenSoy Extra soy milk and cornmeal may be responsible for the deaths of two infant brothers living in Brooklyn.

When their mother attempted to wake them, shortly after noon, she found they were unconscious and took them to the hospital. Both were pronounced dead on arrival.

Brooklyn

Initial thoughts were that the twins had been overcome by a gas leak, but tests showed no leak.

Because medical examiners also found no evidence of choking as a result of consuming the food, or any signs of foul play, the police instead began focusing on what the infants had eaten. The police cleaned out two nearby supermarkets of EdenSoy milk and cornmeal for testing.

New York Times October 21, 2005 Registration RequiredNYNewsDay.com October 22, 2005

Dr. Mercola's Comment: If you ever wondered why I'm so concerned about the health dangers tied to the rampant use of soy products -- especially in processed foods -- this kind of incident is exactly the reason. In my view there just simply isn't any justification to ever use soy formula or worse, soy milk, in infants.

This isn't the first time soy milk has been investigated for its toxic side effects. Separate incidents in California and Arkansas prompted the FDA to issue a 1990 warning against using soy milk as a formula substitute. Most brands have followed the tougher FDA labeling guidelines, except EdenSoy, says Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food.

In fact, the deaths of three infants prompted the Israeli Health Ministry to issue a health advisory earlier this year, recommending babies not be fed soy formula -- except as a last resort -- and severely limiting a child's intake of soy products.

Without question the best food you can give your infant is breast milk and this should be your primary choice if at all possible, as it is the healthiest source of milk you can give to your infant. I believe very strongly all soy formula should be avoided andis not fit for human consumption.

If breastfeeding is not an option,the best article I ever read on the topicis one published in a recent edition of the Weston Price ogranization. I am on their board and was able to obtain reprint rightsfor their article onhealthy alternatives to breast milk and commercial formula from Sally Fallon to run it in our newsletter. I would strongly encourage you to review thismulti-part series in this issueif you are unable to breastfeed.

When making the alterntaive to breast milk described in the article, ideally, it would be best to use raw milk as the base (other ingredients to add are described in the article). The best way toget it is tofind a local dairy farmer in your areathrough your local health food store orthe Real Milk Web site. Raw milk is a safer and farhealthier alternative to pasteurized milk.