Free Subscription - The World's Most Popular Natural Health Newsletter
 
 
POSTED BY
Dr. Mercola
February 07 2008
81096 Views
ARTICLE TOOLS
Email a Friend
Print Article
Save this Article
Bookmark & Share

Online Shopping Click Here!
Share your stories here!
 « Previous Article     Next Article  »   
Puberty at the Age of 8

girls, children, youngU.S. girls are reaching puberty at younger ages than ever before. In the 1990s, breast development -- the first sign of puberty in girls -- at age 8 was considered an abnormal event that should be investigated by an endocrinologist.

However, by 1999, following a 1997 study that found almost half of African Americans and 15 percent of whites had begun breast development by age 8, the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society suggested changing what is viewed as “normal.”

They suggested changing puberty at age 8 from abnormal to normal, and lowering the abnormal puberty age to 7 for white girls and 6 for African American girls.

But while some experts believe the shift is nothing to worry about, others, including parents, are alarmed.

Early puberty, which exposes girls to estrogen for more of their lives, is linked to breast cancer and other health risks, but scientists are at a loss of how to study the potential causes for early puberty, which include:
  • Hormones in food
  • Pesticides in produce
  • Phthalates in plastics and cosmetics
  • Obesity, which exposes girls to more estrogen
  • Stress from living in a fatherless household
  • Sexually suggestive TV shows
Conducting a study to test these factors is next to impossible because there are so many estrogen-like chemicals in the environment that there are no control populations to balance out the study.

And while scientists grapple with how to figure out what’s causing girls to develop at younger and younger ages, parents are forced to have adult conversations with their children much sooner than expected.

Dr. MercolaDr. Mercola's Comments:
Instead of acknowledging that girls reaching puberty at increasingly younger ages is a sign that something is wrong, some “experts” would rather just change the definition of what’s considered normal!

Well, that sure is one approach to the problem. If you don’t like the facts just change the definition and your facts instantly change.

In reality, something is wrong, very wrong, when 5-, 6- and 8-year-old girls are starting puberty. Some studies have even found girls as young as 2 who are starting sexual development.

Not only do these children have to deal with an unfairly increased risk of breast cancer down the road, but they lose precious years of their childhood because their bodies have matured faster than their minds.

The signs of precocious puberty (aka early sexual development) include:

For girls before age 8:
  • Breasts
  • Armpit or pubic hair
  • First menstruation
For boys before age 9:
  • Enlarged testicles and penis
  • Armpit or pubic hair
  • Facial hair
This is clearly a multi-faceted problem. As increasing numbers of children struggle to keep to a healthy weight, obesity and overweight could very well be playing a role.

Overweight children have increased amounts 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.

Then again, your children may be exposed to hormone-mimicking chemicals before they are even born.

"Thanks to their mothers' exposure, even babies in the womb have measurable doses of the hormone-mimicking chemicals," said Theo Colborn, author of Our Stolen Future, which is one of the BEST resources on this topic.

Environmental Chemicals Can Mimic Your Hormones

Endocrine-disrupting 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.

Where are these man-made chemicals found?
  • 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
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.

Some misinformed moms are even 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. 

Remember that your children can be exposed to these chemicals directly, or they can be exposed while they’re still in the womb. So if you’re a woman who is planning to have children, it’s crucial that you limit your exposure to these chemicals as much as possible by:
  • Storing your food in glass containers whenever possible, as it is the most inert container you can use.
  • Only using natural cleaning products in your home. Most health food stores will have these available or you can search online for them.
  • Avoiding processed foods, which are loaded with soy and other unsavory ingredients.
  • Switching to natural brands of toiletries, including shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirants, and cosmetics. Use the same sources as above for these, either your local health food store or you can search online.
 « Previous Article     Next Article  »   
Did you find this article interesting?  Interesting Not Useful
Community Comments ( 81 )
 Comment on this Article
  
  
New to Natural
 [ Joined on 11/07 ] [ Posted on January 24, 2008 ]
15 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
Does anyone remember the article Dr. Mercola posted about "American scientists second guessing fluoride?"  (I believe it was January 4th)

After 3 years of scrutinizing hundreds of studies, a National Research Council (NRC) committee "concluded that fluoride can subtly alter endocrine function, especially in the thyroid -- the gland that produces hormones regulating growth and metabolism," reports Fagin.

So, please correct me if I'm wrong, but if fluoride is altering your thyroid , which controls your metabolism (linked to obesity, linked to early puberty) and your endocrine system (responsible for hormones released during puberty), isn't Fluoride a likely cause ? 
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
dora L
 		[ Joined on 01/08 ]  [ Posted on January 26, 2008]
5 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola
I absolutely think so. I had fluoride poisoning from teeth cements, one thing that happened was onset of menopause symptoms. I am 38 but hormone levels read fine. I think I am going to get alright, but I do not wish anyone to suffer this way. Especially also your mental state is changed.
Mercola
  
KenWa
 		[ Joined on 02/08 ]  [ Posted on February 7, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Yes, and Jennifer Luke's research on fluoride and the pineal gland shows that fluoride affects the production of melatonin thereby affecting estrogen production and development.

Mercola
  
emsue
 		[ Joined on 10/07 ]  [ Posted on February 27, 2008]
       
   
Novice User
  Mercola

This topic has been a very hot topic at our home.  We found one pubic hair on my 9 year old daughter and I didn't make a big deal about it to her, but holy cow did we make some huge changes in our house and the first thing to go was the regular toothpaste! We also purchased a water distiller and we're getting out more to move our bodies - even on the freezing cold days of winter!  We didn't eat out much before, but now we don't do it at all.  She also gave up sweets for Lent and that has made a change physical change with her as well.  At school the tuition covers lunch and I think she's been eating more junk then she is letting on.  We have requested that the school make changes but they won't.  We pack her lunch on "Poor Food Choice Days" and that has made a small difference...it makes me feel better.  Her concentration level has also improved and she's taking more vit's too.  She is not fat or over weight per our physician she just has some belly fat and she always has had this.  She does not have breast development either and her doctor said that one pubic hair doesn't always mean puberty has started.  Has anyone heard of this kind of situation or do you think she may be developing too?  If anyone has any ideas on how to help please let me know.  OH, we also only purchase and serve organic meat and veggies now too.  I also need some ideas on how to keep the kids moving in the winter - we don't have snow here it's just cold.

  
  
Masonsmama
 [ Joined on 07/07 ] [ Posted on January 26, 2008 ]
14 Points        
   
 
Novice User
All I know is that it is difficult enough to deal with the changing hormones off puberty at 12, 13 or 14.... but 8? Does any one else think we may be self-destructing as a species? Maybe this is what really happened to the dinosaurs,
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
AZhiker
 		[ Joined on 01/07 ]  [ Posted on February 7, 2008]
8 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Sally Fallon of the Westin A Price foundation says "We used to be a nation of orphanages, now we are a nation of fertility clinics". I think it is pretty safe to say our lack of nutrition is bringing our species to a slow, if not end. Dr Potters cats showed that within the 3rd or 4th generation of poor nutrition, they could no longer reproduce.

Mercola
  
Ferlie
 		[ Joined on 12/06 ]  [ Posted on February 10, 2008]
       
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola

Dr. Pottenger's study was a very interesting one- but it's highly likely that it wasn't "just" malnutrition caused by cooked food that made the cats so sick and unable to reproduce but specifically a lack of taurine.  I found this interesting idea here:  www.beyondveg.com/index.shtml  Sorry I can't remember the exact article but I bet you'll enjoy poking around trying to find it!  

  
  
Plainsmuse
 [ Joined on 01/08 ] [ Posted on January 23, 2008 ]
13 Points        
   
 
Novice User
  What interests me most about the comments thus far, is that most site diet, environment, chemicals, and the corresponding changes resulting from their consumption.  Obvious details, such as the over stimulation of growth brought on by phytoestrogens and growth hormones, but what of the over-consumption of milk products from different species?  I mean, what is it about the human body that continues to need the milk of another species, that makes a 75 to 125lb calf into a 750 to 1000lb slaughter steer in less than two years?  Could it be that because we have bought into the marketing of milk as a source of calcium, that combined with the overuse of growth stimulants and antibiotics, lead to the altering of prepubescent years? 
  What of the fact that so many people are lactose intolerant, leading to inflammation and growth in the individual?
  What of the fact that pasteurization kills any natural probiotics and enzymes that were in the milk, resulting in taxing the body to digest the substance?  Factor in also, that homogenization likely creates a smaller, though admittedly more shelf-stable, marketable product, yet studies are linking homogenized milk to arteriosclerosis and heart disease.  It changes the fat by straining it through tiny pores, creating Xanthine oxidase, molecules which are hundreds of times smaller, that isn't absorbed by the intestines, but gets into the bloodstream. 
  Modern dairies substitute  high-protein, soy-based  feeds, (and quite likely soon distillers grains from GMO from the production of ethanol) rather than the fresh green grass that used to supply all the calcium in the first place.  The Monsanto bovine growth hormone will cause an increase in an insulin-like growth factor, called IGF-1.  Both are transmitted via the milk to the consumers, as BGH decreases cows body fat, thus aren't stored, but passed on via milk. 
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Plainsmuse
 		[ Joined on 01/08 ]  [ Posted on January 23, 2008]
9 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola
 Indeed, milk cows today have abnormally large pituitary glands, producing three times more milk than what used to be on our farms.  How does the consumption of this animals milk effect the developing children that drink it?   Never mind the fact that they strip milk of its natural vitamin D complex in butterfat and replace it with a synthetic, known to be toxic to liver, vitamin D.
  Getting to the conclusion of this matter, I refer to the book by Dr. Frank Oski, "Don't Drink Your Milk!"  He rightly discerns that the milk of mammals is species-specific.  Breast milk is for humans, whereas cow's milk should be for calves.  A human baby double in weight in 180 days on human breast milk, whereas a calf doubles in 45 days.  The cow's protein content is nearly triple that of a humans, and difficult to digest. 
  Yes, I like milk and it's products.  I don't like it combined with the non-fat dried milk that is added to Skim, 1% or 2%, as this is an oxidized, rancid chlolesterol, that is linked to heart disease. (Side note: non-fat dried milk has a high nitrite content.)  If I did want milk, I'd prefer it raw, but I'm sure if you are a reader here, you know how difficult it is to obtain.  Do I avoid it?  Yes.  Fermented milk products like kefir, cottage cheese and yogurt, produce important bacteria that assist in their digestion.  Butterfat is shown to have powerful anti-carcinogenic properties.   Sheep and goat milk products do offer a way to wean ourselves from those desires that arise. 
  All these demonstrate possible connections, and in combination could likely lead to the earlier age of pubescence.  Of course, as a final note, it is this persons opinion that we as a species aren't on any evolutionary path, but rather the contrary, and you are seeing proof-positive of the sliding scale of devolution.  
Mercola
  
Matt79
 		[ Joined on 08/06 ]  [ Posted on January 24, 2008]
25 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Lets clear a few things up.
First of all, it is not a cow's milk that gets a baby cow into a steer, it is their soy, chicken manure, cement dust feed that does it.  Feedlot cattle are weened incredibly early.  Its not the milk that makes them fat. 
Secondly, lactose intolerance is was created by pasteurizing milk.  There is little to no lactose in raw milk. 
Finally, I agree that fermented dairy is very health beneficial, but raw milk fro a healthy grass fed cow has its own beneficial bacteria. 
But you are spot on with the problems of commercial dairy milk.
Mercola
  
Patty D
 		[ Joined on 06/07 ]  [ Posted on January 24, 2008]
8 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Matt, there's plenty of lactose in raw milk.  The reason most people can tolerate raw milk is because it still contains lactase, the enzyme needed to digest lactose.  Pasteurization destroys this enzyme.  I think you made a good point though about the feed they are given.
Mercola
  
BOBINPANAMA
 		[ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on February 7, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

The reason girls have puberty early is lack of nutrition. The body wants to make a baby while it still can. I read long ago that the reason America girs had puberty earlier than Asian girls was we got more nutrition. But the opposite is true.

Bob

Mercola
  
Mark Fletcher
 		[ Joined on 04/07 ]  [ Posted on February 7, 2008]
3 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Raw milk can be allowed to sour before it is drunk, which removes most of the lactose (you can't do that with pasteurized milk).

Mercola
  
chopperthedog
 		[ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on February 13, 2008]
       
   
Novice User
  Mercola

I'd agree that milk logically is intended for the species it came from, but keep in mind, people have been drinking milk for thousands of years!  

I don't think it damaged our ancestors to any great extent. Shouldn't we reasonably narrow our search for the cause of early puberty to the factors that existed shortly before and during the discovery of the early puberty phenomena?

That being said, I wonder how much man has changed the genome of our bovine friends over the course of history?  

  
  
proatc
 [ Joined on 12/06 ] [ Posted on January 23, 2008 ]
13 Points