Use of soy fiber in acute diarrhea in infants and toddlers

Soy fiber has been shown to reduce the duration of watery stools during acute diarrhea caused by bacterial and viral pathogens in underdeveloped countries. A randomized blinded clinical trial was conducted with middle-class American children to assess the efficacy of soy fiber-supplemented infant formula. Stool characteristics, intake, and weight were recorded. Infants > 6 months of age (n = 44) fed soy fiber-supplemented formula (Isomil DF) had a significantly shorter estimated median duration of diarrhea (9.7 hours vs. 23.1 hours) than those fed soy formula (Isomil). The use of fiber-supplemented soy formula may reduce the duration of diarrheal symptoms in U.S. infants more than 6 months of age with acute diarrhea.