The Early Puberty Crisis

Girls are starting to hit puberty early; according to a recent study published in the Pediatrics journal, in the United States the typical age is between 10 & 11. My own daughter started puberty when she was 8, which is considerably earlier than normal.

Most people don’t think anything of it; the next generation has been statistically taller than we are too, big deal! I used to think that too. Many others think it’s just the evolutional process.

But medical studies have linked the early onset of puberty to short stature and breast cancer. I personally wonder if it could mess up a woman’s “biological clock” so to speak as well, after all, if you start puberty earlier doesn’t it make sense that you would begin menopause earlier?

Apparently, 300 years ago girls didn’t begin puberty until their mid to late teens. Doctors state that this was largely due to malnutrition. Therefore, the reason our children today are starting to develop so early is because of a vast abundance of food. This just sounds to me like an uneducated guess!

What makes a little more sense to me is what some other doctors are suggesting: that this early onset of puberty crisis is due to environmental exposures to all of the chemicals that are used in packaging and in processed foods.

Interestingly enough, no one thought to mention all of the extra HORMONES that are being used in foods that we unknowingly feed to our children. What about the studies performed on rBGH that have linked consumption of products from cows injected with rBGH to early puberty? Seems like they are being conveniently overlooked!

I think the best advice the doctors in the study gave was to go organic; buy beef and milk without added growth hormones, and stay away from processed foods that contain dangerous ingredients.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38600414/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/