LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

menarche

Should Our Children Be Eating Soy?

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The is no doubt that the earlier a girl experiences menarche, the scarier it is.  This greatly increases the risks of estrogen related cancers like endometrial and breast cancers.

Early menarche also means that the hormonal disturbances that caused the early onset of menses are NOT due to “Mother Nature-planned” physiological changes.  In other words, hormonal disturbances are only the beginning of the problem.  Overall, anything we can do to slow the onset of menarche the better.

In this particular study, researchers found that in girls, the higher her levels of isoflavones were (found principally in soy) the later they reached menarche.  Seems strange, doesn’t it?  The “they” who say soy is evil would have us believe that it is loaded with hormones that interfere with normal development, but in this study (and many others…) we actually see soy intake intake protecting normal development.

As usual, I have to include the typical disclaimer when talking about soy–not the processed, GMO laded textured vegetable protein that makes up the bulk of veggie burgers that you can buy in the grocery store.  Rather, organic or GMO-free soy in all its forms–tofu, edamame, miso, natto, etc…

Childhood Obesity and Breast Cancer Links

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overweightl woman meditation on beach
Kokhanchikov / Dollar Photo Club

I have said that a girl developing breasts at 8 and starting her menstrual cycle by age 9 is a very scary recipe for breast cancer.

And yet this is exactly what we are seeing.  The number of Elementary school girls who can be classified as overweight or obesity has risen continually in the past decade or so.  While these numbers seem to be leveling off, it will remain a concern for many years to come.

I have written continually about how situations that occur in childhood will affect that child decades later as an adult.  Obesity cuts across so many of future health conditions in so many ways, with conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer having roots in childhood health conditions.

In this particular study, researchers looked at how the bodies of obese adolescent girls break down estrogen.  In general, estrogens can get broken down into one of 3 pathways—the 16 and 4 pathways, which are known to damage DNA and cause cancer, and the 2 pathway, which is generally considered protective and lowers the risk of cancer.

In this small study, researchers looked at 12 lean and 23 obese pre-pubertal girls (Tanner Stage I breast and pubic hair) and compared body weight to estrogen breakdown products.  Here’s what they found:

  • Estradiol concentrations were 6.9 times higher in obese versus lean girls (3.45 pg/ml vs 0.5).
  • Concentrations of 16α-OH-E1 were 14.34 times higher in the obese girls (7.17 vs 0.5).
  • The protective 2-MeO-E2 levels were lower in the obese group.

In other words, even at a very young age, these girls were priming their risk for breast cancer.  Obviously, maintaining an ideal body weight is a top priority.  It is also very important for society to understand that being overweight as a child is not a temporary thing or something to brush aside as aesthetic but not health-damaging.

In the meantime, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, radishes, Brussel sprouts…) are known to help our bodies break down estrogens in a protective, non-cancerous way.

Another very important factor that is hardly ever addressed is our exposure to environmental estrogens.  Plastics, Styrofoam, phthlates and flame retardants can all have estrogen-like activity in the human body. Identifying and eliminating (or at least reducing) these chemicals in yours and you children’s lives needs to be a consistent habit.

Lastly, constipation can actually increase the estrogen levels in the body.  The body eliminates estrogens through a process called conjugation that occurs in the liver.  The conjugated estrogen is then put into bile and is supposed to be eliminated in the feces.  But, if you’re constipated, that estrogen never makes it out—rather it is broken down by bacteria in the gut and thrown back into the bloodstream, free to wreak havoc on estrogen sensitive tissues like the breast and endometrial lining.

Of course, living an anti-cancer lifestyle in general will also help protect the estrogen levels from obesity from damaging the breast tissue, but this is all just going to be a band-aid until the weight is better managed.

Diet, Body Size Influence Age of Menarche, Adolescent Growth – (10-16-00)

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Diet, Body Size Influence Age of Menarche, Adolescent Growth

More evidence continues to accumulate relating lifestyle and diet as children to diseases later in life. Considering the poor state of our children’s diet and increase in processed and fast food, can we still continue to delude ourselves into believing that our lifespans will actually increase over the next few decades?

Am J Epidemiol 2000;152:446-52 Diet and body size in early childhood influence the age at which girls achieve menarche as well as their growth during adolescence. “Menarche occurred earlier in girls who were taller and who consumed more (age- and calorie-adjusted) animal protein and less vegetable protein as early as ages 3 to 5 years,” the investigators report. The girls experienced their peak height growth at a mean age of 11.12 years, and the mean peak growth velocity was 7.99 cm/year, Dr. Berkey’s team determined. Peak velocity was noted at a younger age among girls who consumed higher levels of fat than average between ages 1 and 2 years, ate more animal protein than average between ages 6 and 8 years, or were taller than average before they were 6 years of age. The risk of some adult diseases is thought to be influenced by adolescent growth and development factors, the researchers note, “and this paper suggests that several adolescent factors might be modifiable by dietary changes in young children.”

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF EARLY AGE AT MENARCHE?

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Girls starting puberty too soon is dangerous. I’ve always had serious concerns about a woman’s body developing breast & beginning menarche NOT because it was time, but because the environment was forcing the process. Risk of breast cancer goes through the roof.

As confirmation of this, study today found increased risk of H…TN, heart disease, death in women who started menarche before 12. As or children continue to get bigger, this is only going to escalate. Key is to start healthy lifestyles even BEFORE pregnancy!

Read entire article here

YOUR YOUNG DAUGHTERS NEED THIS

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In a normal situation, a young woman / girl’s body will begin to menstruate when her body understands that it is time. However, in a society that is loaded with hormone mimicking and disrupting chemicals, all too commonly menarche starts too early.  This is a very scary thing.

The early a female starts her cycles, the greater her risk for breast cancer in the future. Worse, when early menarche is forced because of estrogen-like chemicals in the environment, this is a solid recipe for breast cancer. Obesity also plays a strong role in the early onset of menarche.

Thus, being aware of and doing the best to avoid the environmental toxins (flame retardants, BPA in plastic water bottles and can liners, PCBs in electrical components and plastics, pesticides, fertilizers, etc…) is of the utmost importance. This means that we need to look around our homes and look for old cushions (dog beds!!), flame retardant mattresses, bug sprays, carpet fresheners and any other EPA registered chemicals and get them out. Period.

It means making sure our children are maintaining an ideal body weight, or at least stop procrastinating the changes to get your family there. Tomorrow is too late.

This particular study looks at early menarche from yet another angle. In this study done in Cambodia, those girls who were deficient in vitamin D had twice the chance of starting menarche early. And keep in mind that, in many studies on vitamin D, we look at deficiency, NOT optimal levels.  So what would happen if we looked at those with optimal levels instead of sufficient?

So, as a very simple tool, we should be giving our children vitamin D supplementation. But this is not in lieu of the other changes mentioned. These are our children. Their health is in your hands. Don’t screw it up.