BeanDiet

There was an interesting article this past Saturday in my local paper, the Sacramento Bee. It was about how girls are starting puberty younger than ever, at ages like 8 years old. The reason for earlier puberty in girls isn't altogether known, but factors that studies show play a role include obesity, a more sedentary lifestyle (TV watching), and formula feeding in babies. Another significant factor is believed to be exposure to toxic chemicals.

Recall that toxins have endocrine (hormone) mimicking properties, and this starts to make sense. If young girls are having more exposure to more toxins than ever before (and they are), than it reasons that their estrogen levels would be higher than ever before (and they are).

One thing the article didn't say: where exactly are these "increased toxins" coming from?

Can I just say, "Our food, duh"? The milk, dairy and meats we consume today contain more hormones, antibiotics and other toxic residues than any time in history. All of these chemicals mimick estrogen in our bodies. How could kids not develop younger?

What's especially disturbing is that these girls are far more likely to develop breast cancer later, since their estrogen levels are dangerously high for their age and size.

So if you are a woman, have a woman in your life, or have a daughter and you'd like to prevent breast cancer, eat fewer toxins in your food. That means eating lower on the food chain, where there is a lower concentration of toxic chemicals. That means less milk and dairy products, more soy (see past blog posts for debunking concerns about soy), fewer eggs (way fewer), and smaller portions (way smaller) of meats of all sorts. It also means more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes which have all the antioxidants that naturally fight cancer.