Milk - Leading to early puberty?

TeagansMom609 wrote: I need some opinions on this.

Ok, when I was in 4th grade (9 yrs. old) I got my period. Of course no one else my age had it yet and I think my mother was kind of curious as to why I got it so early, so she asked my ped and he asked her if I drank alot of milk. Weird question, but he said he asked because supposedly there is alot of added horomones in cows milk such as estrogen.

I always said that if I ever had a baby I wouldnt give them cows milk, just soy. Well obviously I didnt take it that seriously because I do give her whole milk. I guess I got over the whole thing. But now my mothers boss and his wife who are both Dr.'s dont give their two girls cows milk for the same reasons. (added horomones) So im wondering if this is something to be concerned about? Something thats true but just isn't talked about much? Has anyone else heard of this?

iluvmysweetiepies replied: I've heard of that but haven't taken it took seriously. I guess if you researched it on google you would find more information. We get organic milk usually (does that have less added hormones ?). Interesting question.

GavinsMommy replied: I had Gavin on soy milk and I was solely drinking soy milk also....but soy milk is bad. I read some really DISTURBING information on soy milk...here's a link...

And I do believe that cow's milk is NOT meant for PEOPLE at all, but we drink it....I'm guilty too....but I think it's better than soy without a doubt now.

"Concerns About Giving Soy to Infants

The most serious problem with soy may be its use in infant formulas. "The amount of phytoestrogens that are in a day's worth of soy infant formula equals 5 birth control pills," says Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., president of the Maryland Nutritionists Association. She and other nutrition experts believe that infant exposure to high amounts of phytoestrogens is associated with early puberty in girls and retarded physical maturation in boys. [5]

A study reported in the British medical journal Lancet found that the "daily exposure of infants to isoflavones in soy infant-formulas is 6-11 fold higher on a bodyweight basis than the dose that has hormonal effects in adults consuming soy foods." (A dose, equivalent to two glasses of soy milk per day, that was enough to change menstrual patterns in women. [6]) In the blood of infants tested, concentrations of isoflavones were 13000-22000 times higher than natural estrogen concentrations in early life. [7] "

There is lots more information... http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/#

GavinsMommy replied: i also wanted you to know that if you click the link, there is an article somewhere that says soy consumption is linked w/ hyposapdias (defect of the penis) in baby boys. i consumed a lot of soy while pregnant and GUESS WHAT! he has hypospadias! it's not a big deal...just means his urethra is a little crooked and he will have it fixed, but my SIL was a vegetarian for a while and ate lots of Boca burgers and soy milk and her son had it as well...it is not genetic...

your best bet is organic cow's milk or rice milk (nothing wrong w/ rice milk) or you could just eliminate milk period...but rice milk would work just fine...

TeagansMom609 replied:
Hmmm, good idea. I never thought of rice milk. Is rice milk alot more expensive then cows milk? I know the organic milk probably is.

iluvmysweetiepies replied: Yes, organic milk is expensive!

texasp3 replied:
We have a combination of soy milk and organic milk in the house. I do my best NEVER to buy conventional dairy products because of the added hormones, steroids, antibiotics, ETC. that are used in cattle. Lately I've even managed to switch to organic ground beef as well - it's starting to be more available and a bit more affordable.

Lauren - very interesting, and disturbing information about soy for infants! That's new to me.

Rice milk is yummy and so is almond milk. Both are more pricey but what I've found is that since we started being more concious about dairy products and their replacements, we simply don't drink and eat as much of it period. I know families who go through gallons of milk a week... we go through maaaybe 1/2 a gallon of soy milk and that's only because Michael eats it on his cereal every morning. So, it balances out.

GavinsMommy replied:
yep, it's more expensive...

but you know....it's worth it to our health. there's a major reason why things are more expensive in stores. it's a marketing strategy. take ramen noodles for example. if they were high priced they would most likely appeal to us more because we would think...hmm, well they're expensive, so they must be good. in order to get a product more noticed, many companies focus on high prices so the products appeal to the more wealthy...thus appealing to the less wealthy.

the more people that drink rice milk, the less expensive it will be...it's worth it though...

ediep replied: wow! I never thought of that!!!

WOuld organic cows milk be free of hormones? it may be less expensive than rice milk....just an idea

gr33n3y3z replied: If you cant afford organic milk buy 1% or skim because all the hormoans are stored in the milk fat
We buy all angus beef and organic pork and chicken bc they pump the animals full of hormoans
I buy also organic eggs they taste much better also.

DansMom replied: Organic cows milk will resolve the hormone problem---and it's pretty well established that this is what is causing early puberty in girls. Who knows what it's doing to boys? The only downside with rice milk is that it has no fat or protein, although it is fortified with calcium at least, but that's why doctors tend to recommend soy. The point of giving kids milk is the protein, fat and calcium, so you'll want to make up for the protein and fat with other foods if you go with rice milk. Daniel has rice milk only now (we're avoiding cows milk and soy milk due to his allergies and digestive problems). Therefore, he gets organic meat and legumes for the protein and I pretty much drench all of his savories in olive oil for the fats. He's still only 25 pounds at over 2 years old. And I spend most of my paycheck on groceries---seriously. Organic meat is costly, but there is also a hormone issue (and an antibiotic issue) with regular meat that I want to avoid.

Again, does anyone remember when eating was easy?

TANNER'S MOM replied: What happened to the simple time when Baby's stayed on breast milk until they they went to cows milk ,that Daddy milked in the pasture...and Momma Boiled to get it clean.

People think that life was bad and times were hard..but most of those people raised heathly kids and lived to be in there 90's despite the snuff they spit. But thye worked hard and got there exercise..

I think I alot can be said for a homegrown simple life..

Mel

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Ok, here's MY opinion.

Our family gets our meat from a company which markets organic meats. Yes, it is a little more expensive up front - but it balances out, it really does. At least for us. I'm the anal person who keeps ALL the receipts.....for like 5 years.... so when I first heard about hormones and puberty, I looked into it a little more seriously.

2 years ago, we spent approximately 2100$ on meat (about 175$ a month), eating it average 3 - 4 times a week. The organic frozen meat order we purchased lasted us from January 2004 until now....and there is still about 3 months worth. We paid 259$ for 10 months - so 2590$, for approximately 17 months worth of meat - organic. THe meat is GUARANTEED for 18 months, against freezer burn, and of course against plain ole going bad. We choose what we want - roasts, steaks, ground beef, ground pork, chicken thigns or breasts, wieners, sausages etc....

It was worth it for US. Of course, it's only if you have the $$. 259$ is a lot when you're used to paying 175$.... but we saved in the ong run - and it's priceless to know that my kiuds are eating "natural" foods.

I'm not a health freak - but I do buy organic fruits and vegetables - we have the budget to, so we do. Sure we don't go to movies, or restaurants etc.... because our priorities are elsewhere - but don't get me wrong, we eat Kraft Dinner and supermarket baloney too, kwim?

As for milk - we buy regular milk - but we LIMIT now to 1/2 cup a day to drink. We use soy mik in cereal. We've increased their dairy intake with cheeses (different varieties, even cottage or cream cheese) and yogurt. We also buy calcium fortified orange juice.

Anyhoo...all that to say that while we try to be as "natural" as we can, we're not very sttict on it - it's not like we'll bring our meat with us if we go to a friends' house for dinner.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I drank tons of milk when I was a kid... my mom had to tell me to stop or I'd drink the whole gallon in one day. And I didn't get AF until I was 14. We did drink only 1% though and then later switched to skim so maybe that helped?
I have heard that the hormones they feed the cows can do stuff like that though but I don't know... I always thought it was more in the actual meat than in the milk.

PascosGirl replied: My family and I were big milk drinkers when I was growing up. We only drank skim milk though. My sister and I did not hit puberty until we were 13. My brother was 14 when he started. No one in my family has a weight problem. So, I don't know if that is true or not. Sometimes the studies that are done, are done with such a select group, you really can't tell. I still think milk is good for you.

atlantamomof2 replied: We drank skim milk growing up and me and my 3 sisters all started our periods between the ages of 13-14.

Maggie has about 1/2 cup of whole milk in her cereal 3-4 times a week and doesn't drink it ever as a beverage. You guys have me a little panicked with all of this info!