Soy Lecithin and Corn oil Influence Behavior

There is a rather interesting article published in the Journal of Animal Science that investigates the behavior of horses fed soy lecithin and corn oil. The researchers discovered that the horses fed soy lecithin and corn were "less spontaneous" and showed slower reactivity toward exercise. Strangely enough, both soy lecithin and corn oil is found in regular food eaten by people throughout the country. Is it possible to theorize a connection between this animal study and relate it to the human population? It is difficult to bring a comparative observation between a person and a horse, but there is other research suggesting that soy lecithin may disrupt sensorimotor development and brain cell maturation. Even though, this study was performed on rats it hints to a possible mechanism being altered by some thing in the soy lecithin.

Corn oil in the food chain is most likely contributing to systemic inflammation, which is possibly affecting behavior in relation to its high level of linoleic acid. Unfortunately, there is soy and corn products in infant formula. Research reported in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrates that infants were able to obtain higher intakes of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as result of being breast fed compared to infants fed formula. DHA was found to improve retinal physiology and neural function. However, most infant formulas on the market have DHA but still contain soy and corn derivatives, which could counter the benefits of DHA.