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Milk causing early puberty?

Forums Health Milk causing early puberty?

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    • I have no idea whether that is the case or not, although it does sound plausible but I do think that we should be very careful about what we eat and what has happened to the food before it gets to us. I am currently struggling with meat from corn-fed animals, as I am allergic to corn and trying to work out the history of most meat is a nightmare.
      I wish that organic farming was much more popular/cost effective, so that it would become more widespread.

    • I don’t think it’s just because of this. Look at the amount of women on the pill- surely that’s got to have an effect, then there’s soya which can mimic hormones (if you believe some research) and other chemicals we are consuming/have around us. It can’t be good for us in any way, shape or form. Sadly we have very little control over it.

    • avatar-image

      jess

      @jess

      Participant

      I was under the impression that cows have to produce a calf every year to keep giving milk. So in order to ensure as long as possible a lactation period they have always been pregnant throughout? It was certainly the case when my grandfather who was a small farmer was keeping milking cows in the 1950s. Other factors, mainly the widespread use of hormones in cattle in the US are much more likely to affect humans. The study was conducted in the States I think where they do not have our restrictions on the use of hormones. I admit I have been out of touch with the nuts of bolts of dairy farming for a bit, would anybody with up-to-date knowledge please give their opinion?

    • https://www.livescience.com/22513-milk-consumption-puberty.html

      Maybe not….

      More research is needed. I have long wondered if there is a link between formula and early puberty but it does not seem the case, through the effect on childhood obesity is there and that in itself can affect puberty…. Anyway more research is needed.

    • @soccergal your right, looking on pubmed at all the most recent studies it does seem more research needed.
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3581542/

      Interestingly (or worryingly) there are loads of studies looking at dairy and T2D.

    • Why milk? I’m not having a go at veganism but their main motto is “cow is a root of all climate change” and cynical me thinks everyone is trying to jump on band wagon with researches.
      I am not disputing the fact that milk contains certain level of hormones but as mentioned above, what about other factors? What about soya? Where it come from, how it was grown – outside of EU, there are no restrictions of using chemicals and god knows what else.

      Besides, human race slowly “evolves”, living comfortable life. If to look back from 40-50s up to now, being 165cm tall was model height, while when born in 70-80s it was a short ass already. Nutritional illnesses, physical appearance – its all slowly changing. Majority of young generation is good looking, good body proportion, good teeth, much taller than their parents…. yeah, I know it sounds like cattle market. All this is probably contributing to early puberty as well.

    • Couldn’t open the link but is it based on American systems? They farm dairy very differently to the UK (and europe) and use hormones to produce milk rather than the cow having a calf. Their way is illegal here so no hormones in British (and European) dairy products.

      Our milk is sampled daily, if there is anything in there that shouldn’t be it all goes down the drain.

    • Couldn’t open the link but is it based on American systems? They farm dairy very differently to the UK (and europe) and use hormones to produce milk rather than the cow having a calf. Their way is illegal here so no hormones in British (and European) dairy products.

      Our milk is sampled daily, if there is anything in there that shouldn’t be it all goes down the drain.

      Yes an American who runs the website as a Charity, albeit staffed with a large number of well paid staff, and through the website promotes his books.

      Not convinced OP but do agree with the old adages (although not often good at living by them!) – we are what we eat and everything in moderation.

    • When I went to that website, I saw a full-page advert for “The How Not to Die
      Cookbook”… I dismissed the ad and started poking around…

      It looks like a typical American “health” website. At the risk of over-generalizing, websites of this kind tend to be single-issue, agenda-pushing vehicles for somebody who wants to get rich from TV appearances and book publishing. The man behind that website, Michael Greger, seems to be an ardent promoter of veganism.

      I’m neither a critic nor a promoter of veganism, but I have no patience for the kind of sales pitch that tries to win me over by bombarding me with one message, drowning out any other, with the aim of preventing me from making comparisons and arriving at a balanced opinion.

      I’d much rather read a book on the subject of milk and dairy products in general if it was written by Gary Taubes. But he’s not written that book, yet; I hope he will do so one day. Taubes is not without his critics, but his writing seems much more balanced and presents references to enough source material that you can check up on the research (if you have time for that).

      As for milk being responsible for early onset of puberty, I don’t believe it’s the sole or even main cause.

      When I lived in the US, I heard a few friends and acquaintances claim that hormones in milk (left over from hormone treatments given to dairy cows) were causing girls to become pubescent at an unnaturally early age and were responsible for so many American teenage girls and very young women having bigger breasts than was the case twenty or thirty years ago. I seem to remember reading something similar about Brazilian girls, and it being attributed to eating papaya seeds.

      I’m not convinced, anyway. Onset of puberty is retarded by malnutrition, and for centuries a large part of the population of Europe suffered episodes of malnutrition when crops failed. Food rationing in the UK continued in a limited form until July 1954.

      With the increase in consumption of food in general, and in fat- and calory-rich foods in particular (meat, cheese, eggs and milk), it is normal for the onset of puberty to happen at a younger age.

      With the change in fashion, maybe women’s breasts are simply more visible than they were twenty or thirty years ago. There is certainly more breast augmentation surgery today than back then, and I’ve read reports of girls of sixteen being offered it for a birthday present by their parents.

      I seem to have drifted off topic… What was the question, again?

    • avatar-image

      faye

      @faye

      Participant

      Yes an American who runs the website as a Charity, albeit staffed with a large number of well paid staff, and through the website promotes his books.

      Not convinced OP but do agree with the old adages (although not often good at living by them!) – we are what we eat and everything in moderation.


      @connie
      I agree. Lots of money behind the whole vegan thing at the moment. I know some people who work part time for some of the American ‘charities’ on more the 20k a year. I don’t know where its coming from mind!

      Also parabens in cosmetic products mimic hormones. Again more research is needed, but these are found in body creams, face creams, shampoo, bubblebaths and are easily absorbed into your system as recent study showed in men who used a shaving cream ( I think) containing parabens then there urine sampled later in the same day contained parabens.
      We are exposed to so many chemicals every day from cleaning products, in out food, fire retardent furniture its probably down to a huge range of things!

      • This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by avatar-image faye .
    • avatar-image

      cat

      @cat

      Participant

      I have no idea whether that is the case or not, although it does sound plausible but I do think that we should be very careful about what we eat and what has happened to the food before it gets to us. I am currently struggling with meat from corn-fed animals, as I am allergic to corn and trying to work out the history of most meat is a nightmare.
      I wish that organic farming was much more popular/cost effective, so that it would become more widespread.


      @donna
      You can buy pasture fed animals, Pasture for Life, a fairly recent thing where animals are reared on grass alone. I suggested this to my son, but ours do get a bit of wheat in the fattening yard, because most of them are continental crosses. The Herefords, and native breeds will fatten on grass alone. I think that these are all organically reared too.

      As for the milk thing – well I would personally prefer to drink milk from a cow than any of the “manufactured” soya and nut milks. I know it is fairly easy to make almond milk at home, but soya in particular would really worry me. It is very high in some hormones. A report in The Economist several years ago said that tigers in one zoo did not produce cubs, so they reviewed the diet to find that they were consuming some soya products. These were removed from the diet and the tigers started to breed.

      There are practices in farming in the USA regarding hormones, etc. that are not allowed in the EU, including the UK. The USA would say that they are perfectly safe but ………

      When staying in America I found that even the bread had been sweetened – yuk.

    • avatar-image

      Fi

      @fi

      Participant

      Id be much more suspicious that it is due to childhood obesity. I had an earlier period then many of my friends because I was a heavy child despite my parents efforts. One of my friends who was always slim to underweight was the slowest to have a period(late teens)

      For example I keep horses and in order to get a heifer calf ready for breeding seasons we need them to hit certain weight gains at different ages. if they don’t hit those weights their heats are often delayed.if they do hit targets they are often ready to be bred quite young. Weight seems to be massively influential to them.

      Humans are still biologically… just another animal.

      My hypothesis is that being heavier consistently throughout childhood and as a result their bodies are reaching biologically adult weights sooner leading to early periods etc.

      Drinking milk id imagine is incidental.would be interesting to check it against other nations where childhood obesity is an issue but dairy is uncommon if possible.

      In the eu hormone use is much more tightly regulated then in the us or Australia and each drugs has the withdrawal worked out and thats strictly enforced. We dont have a lot of antibiotic and hormone contamination at all as its a very strictly regulated industry.

      Correlation does not always match causation.

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