More Meat Consumption Leads to Earlier Puberty for Girls posted 6/15/10
http://www.pcrm.org/news/archive100615.html Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

According to a new study, girls who eat the most meat products during childhood may have an earlier occurrence of puberty, increasing their risks of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis.
...Another recent study compared food consumption habits in the United States in 1909 and 2007 and showed that meat intake rose from 123 pounds to more than 200 pounds per person per year while cheese intake increased nine fold.

Girls now begin puberty aged 9 June 13, 2010
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article7148975.ece

...Hitting puberty early can mean longer exposure to oestrogen, which is a factor in breast cancer. There is also a greater risk of heart disease.
...There has been a steady lowering in the onset of puberty. In the 19th century, it was at about 15 for girls and 17 for boys.
...“All the things we experience as teenagers are difficult enough to cope with, but when it happens at 10 or 11 it is much worse,” he said.
...These children are also at a much higher risk of being sexually abused because it is hard for some adults to understand and behave appropriately towards them.”
...“The worst part was men coming on to me as though I was an adult when actually I was 11.”


What’s Causing Precocious Puberty? http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/10/girls-now-begin-puberty-at-age-9.aspx

The Times suggests that obesity may be a factor, which is true. Overweight children have elevated levels of insulin, an increased ability to convert hormones into estrogen, and an increased ability to store environmental toxins, all of which could contribute to early puberty.
However, obesity should not be viewed as a cause in and of itself. Although obesity is directly linked to diet, what The Times completely fails to mention in this article is that the primary reason why diet may be a driving factor behind this phenomenon is the excessive use of hormones and other estrogen-mimicking chemicals in livestock and dairy production.
The US FDA currently allows six different kinds of steroid hormones to be used in food production.
1.Estradiol -- natural female sex hormone
2.Progesterone -- natural female sex hormone
3.Testosterone – natural male sex hormone
4.Zeranol – synthetic growth promoter
5.Trenbolone acetate– synthetic growth promoter
6.Melengestrol acetate– synthetic growth promoter
Federal regulations allow these to be used to ‘beef up’ cattle and sheep, but not poultry or pigs.
In addition to the willful addition of these types of growth hormones, most conventional meats are also heavily contaminated with other chemicals, such as pesticides (due to the grain- and corn-based feed being contaminated).
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article7148975.ece
http://www.pcrm.org/news/archive100615.html Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine