Puberty at 8? Are you sure Reliv is Good for you?

More and more we are finding that girls are going through puberty earlier and earlier and they have found that this can increase their chances for breast cancer and other health and social issues. Though the causes can be many, I did find it interesting that Soy and Soy products were one of the things listed. Since Reliv is so high in soy, this should be a concern if you have your children on the Kid's Now or any of the other Reliv Products. There are so many other options out there for vitamins, you don't need to give your children something that is so strongly Soy based.

Puberty at 8? Girls' Earlier Puberty Puts Them at Higher Risk for Cancer
POSTED BY - Dr. Mercola - October 06 2007



Girls in the United States are reaching puberty at very early ages, increasing their risk of breast cancer, social problems, and emotional problems.

While the biological signs of female puberty -- menstruation, breast development, and growth of pubic and underarm hair -- typically occurred around 13 years of age or older just decades ago, today girls as young as 8 are increasingly showing these signs.

African-American girls are particularly vulnerable to early puberty.

Aside from the social and emotional implications, early puberty exposes girls to more estrogen, which increases their risk of breast cancer because the disease thrives on estrogen.

According to biologist Sandra Steingraber, the author of the report titled "The Falling Age of Puberty in U.S. Girls: What We Know, What We Need to Know," "The data indicates that if you get your first period before age 12, your risk of breast cancer is 50 percent higher than if you get it at age 16."

"For every year we could delay a girl's first menstrual period,” she says, “we could prevent thousands of breast cancers."

Theories behind what is causing the early-puberty trend abound, but the actual causes are not known. Potential causes noted in the paper include:

• Rising childhood obesity rates and inactivity
  
• Formula-feeding of infants
  
• Excessive TV viewing and media use
  
• Family stress
  
• Exposure to environmental chemicals

Early puberty is likely an “ecological disorder,” according to Steingraber, that’s being caused by a number of environmental factors.

The Breast Cancer Fund, “The Falling Age of Puberty in U.S. Girls: What We Know, What We Need to Know”

Chicago Tribune September 16, 2007

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.

So if you have children, or are planning to, avoiding environmental contaminants and soy foods as much as possible (unless they are in the traditional, fermented form such as natto, miso, or tempeh), is a wise choice.

Here are some measures you can take to protect yourself and your children from common toxic substances that could cause them to go into puberty years before they were designed to:

• Store your food in glass containers whenever possible, as it is the most inert container you can use.
  
• Only use natural cleaning products in your home. Most health food stores will have these available or you can search online for them.
  
• Buy and eat, as much as possible, locally grown, organic foods that do not contain pesticides and added hormones.
  
• Avoid processed foods, which are loaded with soy and other unsavory ingredients.
  
• Switch 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.
  

Finally, I encourage everyone with children or grandchildren to review Theo Colburn’s Our Stolen Future, which is one of the BEST resources on this topic.

The Evidence Against Soy / Reliv

The Evidence Against Soy

Dow Chemical and DuPont, the same corporations that brought misery and death to millions around the world through Agent Orange, are now the driving forces behind the promotion of soy as a food for humans. They are financing anti-meat and anti-milk campaigns aimed largely at those concerned about animal welfare and the environment, trying to convince them that imitations such as "soymilk" are not only healthier than the real thing, but better for the earth too.

There is no evidence that consuming soy products can improve health, reduce environmental degradation or slow global warming. In fact, the evidence suggests quite the opposite.

The studies below regarding the effects of soy on health are eye-opening, particularly the review by the American Heart Association -- which no longer supports the health claims about soy endorsed by the U.S. government.

Overall risks and benefits of soy assessed

Latest review by American Heart Association

Soy inhibits iron absorption

Poor iron bioavailability

Poor calcium bioavailability

Calcium and zinc absorbed better from milk than from soy -- even without phytates

Soy provides no benefits with respect to heart disease risk

Soy causes bladder cancer

Soy isoflavones during pregnancy increase breast cancer risk in female offspring

High levels of cadmium in soy formula

Soy linked to peanut allergy and increased risk for asthma

Whole milk vs. soy beverage -- asthma risk

Persistent sexual arousal syndrome associated with increased soy intake

Genistein: Does it prevent or promote breast cancer?

Imagine Life Free of Digestive Health Concerns*

Find Out More

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If you were to carefully review the thousands of studies published on soy, I strongly believe you too would reach the conclusion that any possible benefits of consuming soy are FAR outweighed by the well documented risks. Now, I’m not against all forms of soy. Properly fermented products like natto and tempeh have been consumed for centuries and do not wreak havoc in your body like unfermented soy products do. For example, the enzyme nattokinase—derived from natto--is a safer, more powerful option than aspirin to dissolve blood clots, and has been used safely for more than two decades. Unfortunately, many Americans still believe that unfermented and processed soy products like soy milk, soy cheese, soy burgers and soy ice cream are good for them. 85 Percent of Consumers Believe the Lies About Soy The rise of soy as a health food is in large part due to highly successful marketing to otherwise health conscious Americans who set the trend. According to the survey Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition 2008 (by the United Soybean Board), 85 percent of consumers now perceive soy products as healthy. The survey also found that consumers: rank soybean oil among the top three healthy oils, with 70 percent recognizing soy oil as a healthy oil, and depend on soybean oil, commonly sold as vegetable oil, as one of their two most frequent cooking oils This is a tragic case of shrewd marketing of misinformation and outright lies taking root among the masses, which will likely take some time to undo. Ever since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a health claim for soy foods in 1999 (which said diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease), soy sales have skyrocketed. In the years between 2000 and 2007, food manufacturers in the U.S. introduced over 2,700 new foods with soy as an ingredient, including 161 new products introduced in 2007 alone. This has resulted in a booming multi-billion dollar business. From 1992 to 2007, soy food sales increased from a paltry $300 million to nearly $4 billion, according to the Soyfoods Association of North America. However, the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit nutrition education foundation, submitted a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January of this year, asking them to retract its heart-health claim from soy in light of the inconsistent and contradictory evidence showing benefits, and its many proven health risks. What’s So Wrong With Soy? Unlike the Asian culture, where people eat small amounts of whole soybean products, western food processors separate the soybean into two golden commodities--protein and oil. And there is nothing natural or safe about these products. Says Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story, “Today's high-tech processing methods not only fail to remove the anti-nutrients and toxins that are naturally present in soybeans but leave toxic and carcinogenic residues created by the high temperatures, high pressure, alkali and acid baths and petroleum solvents." Dr. Daniel also points out the findings of numerous studies reviewed by her and other colleagues -- that soy does not reliably lower cholesterol, and in fact raises homocysteine levels in many people, which has been found to increase your risk of stroke, birth defects, and yes: heart disease. Other common health problems linked to a high-soy diet include: Thyroid problems, including weight gain, lethargy, malaise, fatigue, hair loss, and loss of libido Premature puberty and other developmental problems in babies, children and adolescents Cancer Brain damage Reproductive disorders Kidney stones Weakened immune system Severe, potentially fatal food allergies Most soy, perhaps about 80 percent or more, is also genetically modified, which adds its own batch of health concerns. Despite these findings, many people still want to believe the hype, thinking that these studies must somehow be wrong. But the content of soy itself should be a clue. For example, non-fermented soy products contain: Phytoestrogens (isoflavones) genistein and daidzein, which mimic and sometimes block the hormone estrogen Phytates, which block your body's uptake of minerals Enzyme Inhibitors, which hinder protein digestion Hemaggluttin, which causes red blood cells to clump together and inhibits oxygen take-up and growth High amounts of omega-6 fat, which is pro-inflammatory You’re Consuming Soy Whether You’re Buying “Soy Products” or Not Even if you know better than to gulp down large amounts of soy milk, slabs of tofu, and other soy snacks, you are still consuming soy if you’re eating processed food, in the form of soybean oil and lecithin. So depending on your dietary habits, your (unfermented) soy consumption could really add up. In fact, Dr. Joseph Hibbeln at the National Institutes of Health told CNN.com he estimates that soybeans, usually in the form of oil, account for 10 percent of the average person’s total calories in the United States! When you consider that 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food goes toward processed food, this amount of “accidental” soy intake is not surprising. As a side note, I’d like to make a quick statement here to address some of my readers’ concerns about my reduced CoQ 10 supplement, ubiquinol, which also contain soy bean oil. Unfortunately, the reduced CoQ 10 (ubiquinol) – which is the optimal form of CoQ 10 that your body needs, especially if you’re over 25 – is only produced by a multi-billion dollar Japanese pharmaceutical company that holds ALL the world patents on it. Hence, there’s no way to replace the soy, even though that would have been my preference. However, as in all things, moderation is key. If I thought there were ANY significant health risks from consuming this small amount of soy oil, then I would not personally take two a day – which I do. I do however avoid all processed forms of soy products, and severely limit my intake of other unfermented soy, which is easy to do by simply avoiding processed and “fast” foods. Which Soy Foods Should be Avoided … and How do You Avoid Them? Because soy is so pervasive in the U.S. food supply, avoiding it is not an easy task. The best way to completely avoid soy in the food supply is to buy whole foods and prepare them yourself. This may also be your only option if you’ve developed a soy allergy and need to eliminate soy from your diet entirely. If you still prefer to buy readymade and packaged products, for whatever reason, Dr. Daniel offers a free Special Report, "Where the Soys Are," on her Web site. It lists the many "aliases" that soy might be hiding under in ingredient lists -- words like "boullion," "natural flavor" and "textured plant protein." Which Soy Foods DO Have Health Benefits? The few types of soy that ARE healthy are all fermented varieties. After a long fermentation process, the phytic acid and antinutrient levels of the soybeans are reduced, and their beneficial properties -- such as the creation of natural probiotics -- become available to your digestive system. The fermentation process also greatly reduces the levels of dangerous isoflavones, which are similar to estrogen in their chemical structure, and can interfere with the action of your own estrogen production. So if you want to eat soy that is actually good for you, following are all healthy options: Natto, fermented soybeans with a sticky texture and strong, cheese-like flavor. It's loaded with nattokinase, a very powerful blood thinner. Natto is actually a food I eat regularly, as it is the highest source of vitamin K2 on the planet and has a very powerful beneficial bacteria, bacillus subtilis. It can usually be found in any Asian grocery store. Tempeh, a fermented soybean cake with a firm texture and nutty, mushroom-like flavor. Miso, a fermented soybean paste with a salty, buttery texture (commonly used in miso soup). Soy sauce: traditionally, soy sauce is made by fermenting soybeans, salt and enzymes, however be wary because many varieties on the market are made artificially using a chemical process.

Related Articles:

Soy: Too Good to be True

Soy: Is it Healthy or is it Harmful?

Why Soy Can Damage Your Health

Reliv is Bad for Your Health

Since I started this blog more than a year ago, many have posted comments attacking me for saying that Reliv is bad for you. I want to remind everyone reading this blog that my purpose is to post negative stories about Reliv. If you don't agree or want to post your positive stories, please post them somewhere else. I will not post them!

Wheither I am right or wrong is for each person to decide for themselves. The purpose of my blog is to give people a chance to see both sides of the story.

I will admit that Reliv has helped some people but I also firmly believe that it has done nothing or hurt even more people. The dangers of Soy are well researched and there is a lot of proof. If you are looking to make money, MLM is not the place! With Reliv and almost all of the other MLM companies more than 99% of people fail! Why go into debt to help make those at the top richer!

And please, if you are a woman and taking Reliv, I would encourage you to look into Thermography. For more info please visit, www.breastthermography.com for more info.