Puberty at 8 or younger

[Guest guest]

We not only have to change lifestyle, but to look into the tools of

Ayurveda which are particulary good at removing deeper tissue (fat,

nerve, bone and reproductive) toxins of this nature in our population

which is clearly accumulating these in epidemic proportions.

In Peace and Service;

Ysha

 

The incidence of infertility similarly increasing and related. Note

implications of soy formula and plastic baby bottles also in Full

article at

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/10/06/puberty-at-8-girls\

-earlier-puberty-puts-them-at-higher-risk-for-cancer.aspx

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

It is becoming increasingly common for young children, even 5- and

6-year-olds, to go through precocious puberty (aka early sexual

development). The introduction of this report even states that studies

have found girls as young as 2 years old entering puberty!

 

This is clearly a multi-faceted problem, but I believe one of its main

causes stems from your environmental exposure to a whole slew of

endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

 

These man-made chemicals affect your hormones, which control

development and function in your body. There is mounting evidence that

they can cause harm in the development of fetuses and children, who

are particularly sensitive to the chemicals because they have not yet

developed the protective mechanisms present in adult bodies.

 

If you think you and your children are not exposed to endocrine

disrupters, think again. They're commonly found in many household

products and cosmetics, including:

 

* Bovine growth hormones commonly added to commercial dairy

* Soy foods, which are loaded with hormone-like substances

* Bisphenol A, commonly used in many plastics such as baby

bottles, food-storage containers, and the lining of soda cans

* Phthalates, also commonly used in plastics

* Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) -- better known as Teflon

 

I want to place special emphasis on soy. As many VitalVotes readers

have been pointing out, soy is present in virtually every processed

food, and Americans are eating it in unprecedented quantities in foods

like soymilk, soy burgers, and soy ice cream.

 

Meanwhile, some misinformed moms are still feeding their vulnerable

babies soy infant formula, which exposes their child to the equivalent

of five birth control pills' worth of estrogen every day. For this

same reason, it's also important for pregnant women to avoid eating

soy, as a high estrogenic environment in utero may increase their

child's subsequent breast cancer risk.

 

Other environmental chemicals like PCBs and DDE (a breakdown product

of the pesticide DDT) may also be associated with early sexual

development in girls. Both DDE and PCBs are known to mimic, or

interfere with, sex hormones.

 

What is even more troubling is that endocrine-disrupting environmental

chemicals can actually increase your child's risk of obesity, which in

turn may increase their likelihood of early puberty.

 

Early Puberty is Only the Tip of the Iceberg

 

Meanwhile, the same chemical exposures that are causing young kids to

enter puberty well before their time can also lead to increased

infertility and breast cancer rates down the road.

[Guest guest]

Hello,

 

" some misinformed moms are still feeding their vulnerable

babies soy infant formula, which exposes their child to the equivalent

of five birth control pills' worth of estrogen every day. "

 

This is indeed disturbing. This is an example of how modern techniques can

adversely affect quality of our lives. This happens because we think

ourselves above the nature and sometimes we act against the laws of nature.

This reminds me of the epidemic of mad cow disease (bovine spongiform

encephalopathy) that occurred in Great Britain a few years ago. British

inquiry concluded that the epidemic was caused by feeding cattle the remains

of other cattle in the form of meat and bone meal which caused the

infectious agent to spread. The concept of feeding meat (of the same

species) to a herbivorus animal is clearly against nature. 4.4 million cows

were killed to prevent the disease.

 

Dr. Thite

 

 

 

On 10/6/07, Ysha Oakes <AyurDoulas wrote:

>

> We not only have to change lifestyle, but to look into the tools of

> Ayurveda which are particulary good at removing deeper tissue (fat,

> nerve, bone and reproductive) toxins of this nature in our population

> which is clearly accumulating these in epidemic proportions.

> In Peace and Service;

> Ysha

>

> The incidence of infertility similarly increasing and related. Note

> implications of soy formula and plastic baby bottles also in Full

> article at

>

>

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/10/06/puberty-at-8-girls\

-earlier-puberty-puts-them-at-higher-risk-for-cancer.aspx

>

> Dr. Mercola's Comments:

> It is becoming increasingly common for young children, even 5- and

> 6-year-olds, to go through precocious puberty (aka early sexual

> development). The introduction of this report even states that studies

> have found girls as young as 2 years old entering puberty!

>

> This is clearly a multi-faceted problem, but I believe one of its main

> causes stems from your environmental exposure to a whole slew of

> endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

>

> These man-made chemicals affect your hormones, which control

> development and function in your body. There is mounting evidence that

> they can cause harm in the development of fetuses and children, who

> are particularly sensitive to the chemicals because they have not yet

> developed the protective mechanisms present in adult bodies.

>

> If you think you and your children are not exposed to endocrine

> disrupters, think again. They're commonly found in many household

> products and cosmetics, including:

>

> * Bovine growth hormones commonly added to commercial dairy

> * Soy foods, which are loaded with hormone-like substances

> * Bisphenol A, commonly used in many plastics such as baby

> bottles, food-storage containers, and the lining of soda cans

> * Phthalates, also commonly used in plastics

> * Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) -- better known as Teflon

>

> I want to place special emphasis on soy. As many VitalVotes readers

> have been pointing out, soy is present in virtually every processed

> food, and Americans are eating it in unprecedented quantities in foods

> like soymilk, soy burgers, and soy ice cream.

>

> Meanwhile, some misinformed moms are still feeding their vulnerable

> babies soy infant formula, which exposes their child to the equivalent

> of five birth control pills' worth of estrogen every day. For this

> same reason, it's also important for pregnant women to avoid eating

> soy, as a high estrogenic environment in utero may increase their

> child's subsequent breast cancer risk.

>

> Other environmental chemicals like PCBs and DDE (a breakdown product

> of the pesticide DDT) may also be associated with early sexual

> development in girls. Both DDE and PCBs are known to mimic, or

> interfere with, sex hormones.

>

> What is even more troubling is that endocrine-disrupting environmental

> chemicals can actually increase your child's risk of obesity, which in

> turn may increase their likelihood of early puberty.

>

> Early Puberty is Only the Tip of the Iceberg

>

> Meanwhile, the same chemical exposures that are causing young kids to

> enter puberty well before their time can also lead to increased

> infertility and breast cancer rates down the road.

>

>

>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

here is some input from someone on a doula group I am on about soy. So much to

know.

Vicky

 

There are three endogenous estrogens (within the body): estradiol,

estriol, and estrone.

Different kinds of estrogens have different affinities for estrogen

receptors on cells, rendering the steroid more or less powerful in the

body. Estradiol is the strongest form of estrogen. And estrone is the

weakest, with estriol somewhere in the middle.

 

When you talk about estrogens coming from outside the body, you are

referring to exogenous estrogen. These come in two forms:

Phytoestrogens - plant-based source (ex. genestein from soy)

Xenoestrogens - human-made chemicals (DDT, pesticides, insecticides,

components in some plastics, paraben in cosmetic products).

 

The important piece in this is that not all estrogens are created

equal. Phytoestrogens have a very weak estrogenic effect, whereas xeno

estrogens have a very strong effect. Birth control pills and soy are

totally different things, and one does not equal another. The pill is

created in a lab to be an effective analog to estradiol.

 

If you eat foods that are sprayed for pests, if you drink water out of

plastic bottles, if your baby drinks from certain plastics, if you use

shampoo with high amounts of active estrogen,...pretty much if you

live in a city, you are exposed to xenoestrogens regularly. And, these

have a much stronger effect on your body than any cube of tofu ever

will.

 

Adding to the confusion is that testosterone is converted to estrogen

in the body in adipose tissue (fat). The more fat you have, the more

estrogen you convert. This goes for both men and women. So, anyone

that is overweight is producing more estrogen than their body needs.

It may play a role in precocious puberty in girls (puberty that comes

on too soon). And it also presents developmental problems for male

children (gynecomastia - breast dev't in boys, or lowered sperm count,

etc.).

 

The Asian diet typically contains 20-80mg of genistein/day (genistein

is another name for the phytoestrogen in soy). The typical American

diet: 1-3mg/day. If it were true that soy had loads of negative health

outcomes associated with it, these outcomes would be seen very

obviously in Asia. And, they're not. It's usually the opposite.

 

Like most things you stick in your mouth, soy has pros and cons.

Phytoestrogens from soy may reduce cardiovascular disease, breast

cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, menopausal symptoms, and

osteoporosis. This is especially true if you are consuming soy in lieu

of high fat meats. But, avoiding highly processed soy is a very good

idea. Avoiding highly processed anything is a good idea.

 

There are also many downsides to giving a baby milk-based products.

This includes allergies, gas and other GI tract problems, religious

preferences, ethical issues, etc.

 

The milk and meat industry has very strong reasons for not wanting

alternatives like soy present in large amounts in our diet. So, there

is a lot of misleading information out there. (If you are interested

in the politics of food, there's an awesome book by Marion Nestle

called Food Politics. She has been researching the food industry for

decades and has a PhD in Molecular Biology and a Master in Public

Health in Nutrition. Aka, she's awesome. http://www.foodpolitics.com/

)

 

My overall point is that this issue is much more complex than meets

the eye.

 

Here's a pretty good non-scientific article that gives an unbias

perspective on the whole formula bit:

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51615

 

Jennifer Wright, MPH

Maternal and Child Health

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Vicky;

 

Yes, it is good to learn these things, it seems valuable to be able to

make many kinds of discernments depending upon the situation. But the

estrogen levels of babies on soy formulas are still through the roof,

totally wrong. And ayurvedically, most soy including soy milk (and

tofu, beans and protein powder) is cold/astringent, drying, difficult

to digest and vata incresing. There are ways to begin to create

balance, as with anything, anything can be used as medicine or create

problems. I don't know what it would be to prevent the elevated

estrogen levels for babies.

 

The use of soy as your article points out, in the far east is very

much less quantity. If you search for an article by Sally Fallon

called " The Ploy of Soy " on the internet, although I haven't found the

full text anymore, it discusses how the above forms of soy (mostly

tofu!) were available only in the last few hundred years, and in Japan

it is found in research that if used vegetarian wise, it strips

minerals whereas taken in meat of fish broth is their way to use it,

then ok. Interesting! The 5 most treasured grain/legumes in Chinese

tradition include soy, but because of its value for animal fodder.

And use of it in ancient times was the fermented tempeh and soy sauce

type things. I've spoken with a natural foods store manager who wants

to take it off the shelves due to the tremendous bad news, but can't

because the demand and the marketing is so strongly for it.

 

A more reasonable approach in the meantime for adults is to serve with

ample spices, warmth, oiliness, etc. Yogi Bhajan recommended to always

boil tofu for at least an hour before eating!

 

A woman who is distributor for a company marketing a sprouted soy

protein powder gave me a lengthy talking to about research and

differences, on the other hand, for implicating it as wrong food for

estrogenic breast cancer with her sis. The small or phytoestrogen

acts differently, doing it's work at the receptor site or whatever it

does, then moving on. the Xenoestrogens plop themselves on site and

sit heavily, giving non stop instructions to do the estrogen tissue

building thing. I still don't buy the value for babies though; the

levels are just too extreme it can't be right, is my thinking.

 

Warm Regards;

Ysha

 

>about soy. So much to know.

> Vicky

[Guest guest]

From what I understand, because American's aren't accustomed to

eating this much soy, it's not always digested and assimilated very

well. So just because a group of people do something, doesn't always

mean that it's healthy for everyone to do the same.

 

Patti

--

Patti Garland

Ayurvedic Chef and LifeStyle Coach

Bliss Kitchen

http://www.BlissKitchen.com

(760) 902-7020

 

 

 

On Oct 8, 2007, at 9:39 AM, <VMYORK

<VMYORK wrote:

 

The Asian diet typically contains 20-80mg of genistein/day (genistein

is another name for the phytoestrogen in soy). The typical American

diet: 1-3mg/day. If it were true that soy had loads of negative health

outcomes associated with it, these outcomes would be seen very

obviously in Asia. And, they're not. It's usually the opposite.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Especially since most people are drinking homogenized milk which

could almost technically not be called milk because it's been altered

so radically. And consequently, this is why so many people have

trouble digesting this stuff called milk.

 

Patti

--

Patti Garland

Ayurvedic Chef and LifeStyle Coach

Bliss Kitchen

http://www.BlissKitchen.com

(760) 902-7020

 

 

 

On Oct 8, 2007, at 9:39 AM, <VMYORK

<VMYORK wrote:

 

There are also many downsides to giving a baby milk-based products.

This includes allergies, gas and other GI tract problems, religious

preferences, ethical issues, etc.