What's Really Causing Early Puberty in Females?

The question of what's causing early puberty in females has been a hot topic on television and popular internet sites this past week. The healthy age of menarche (a females first period) is 14. However, the age of menarche and breast development is dropping significantly, in some cases almost by 50%. So, what is causing early menarche? The media is portraying that it has to do with food additives and increasing rates of obesity in youngsters. There is validity in these two causes, yet there is a primary reason behind food additives and obesity that they aren't telling you.

The primary cause of early menarche is due to the increasing use of anti-biotics, steroids and hormones that are fed to our animals, particularly cow's and chicken's. Conventional farming allows the use of anti-biotics, steroids and hormones to treat the animals if they have infection and to fatten animals up more rapidly. Our two primary meat sources, beef and chicken, are packed into crowded living spaces, movement is restricted, they are fed food that is extremely hard and sometimes impossible for them to digest. Seldom, if ever, do they see sunlight and they are so crammed into their living space that they eat, sleep and live in each other's feces. With such awful living conditions, infection is very common, health is extremely poor and as a result the quality of their meat, eggs and milk suffers as well. Cow's are over-milked and in turn experience soreness, inflammation, and infections in their milk ducts; anti-biotics are supplemented to combat such cruel and unusual punishment. Hormones and steroids are fed to chickens and cattle to make the cuts of meat larger so to appeal to our western slogan "bigger is better".

In fact, bigger is not better as we are mirroring the affects of modern technology in our children. When we encourage factory farming and use steroids and hormones in our food sources, we ingest those substances and they become active in us. Our reproductive systems are made up of hormones and when we add synthetic hormones on top of what is naturally occurring within, our bodies get confused and harmed and start producing hormones at an increased and irregular rate. Such hormones are mimicked in us and cause early menarche and the rapid development of the reproductive organs. Menarche before age 14 is considered early and unfortunately increases one's risk for cancer's of the reproductive organs including breast, uterine and cervical.

Another cause of early menarche and reproductive cancers is due to the excessive use of plastic. When we heat up our foods in plastic or store them in plastic containers, chemicals in the plastic leak out into our foods. This causes substances known as pseudoestrogens which mimic the naturally occurring estrogen within our bodies. Our common use of bottled water poses a major concern in this area. Bottled water is very poorly regulated and typically is the same or even worse than tap water (depending on where you live). I've mentioned in previous articles about where to purchase a water filter that is much superior to bottled or tap water, is better for the environment and is free of pseudoestrogens.

By eating a diet abundant in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, we can significantly reduce our child's risk for early menarche. One of the best ways to reduce this risk is to decrease dairy products in the diet, particularly, milk, yogurt, cheese and cream. You can make healthier choices by buying organic milk, (preferably goat's milk), organic cheeses (preferably goat's or sheep cheese) and organic yogurt (preferably goat's). Goat's and sheep's milk constitutionally have a different, more digestible form of protein that is much healthier for our bodies. Adults should look into purchasing and eating raw goat's/sheep's cheeses and milks as these are far superior to other forms. Also, by limiting you and you're child's intake of dairy, you will create a healthier landscape and decrease risk of diseases. Also, look to buy organic, free-range, grass-fed eggs and meats to improve you and your child's health.