Dr. Michael Greger, Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States, recently sent information to various animal activist lists about the effect of meat and dairy on sexual precocity. According to Dr. Greger, “ There is a growing body of evidence linking both meat and dairy to premature puberty.”
Dr. Greger summarizes that “during the 60s and 70s, genetic manipulations of dairy cows enabled them to lactate throughout almost their entire pregnancies. This led to commercial cow’s milk containing large amounts of estrogens and progesterone. During the same period there’s been a dramatic increase in estrogen-dependent malignant diseases, such as ovarian, uterine, breast, testicular and prostate cancers. The particular concern has been with prepubescent children, because they have such low baseline levels. Researchers in one study had children ages 7 through 9 try to chug a quart of cow’s milk in under 10 minutes. Within one hour of drinking the milk, the level of certain sex steroid hormones in their little bodies more than tripled. And half the kids couldn’t even finish the whole quart!
The researchers conclude that height, growth, and sexual maturation in children could be affected by the normal intake of cow’s milk. They think that “the intake of pregnant cow’s milk is one of the major causes of early sexual maturation in prepubertal children.” They end the article with: “The relationship between estrogens in pregnant cow’s milk and sexual maturation in children must be acknowledged as an important theme.”
Dr. Greger provided a link to his DVD series where you can find this landmark study. The study was also published this year in an international pediatrics journal. It is important to research just how much estrogen children are exposed to when they drink milk, given that about 80% of commercial milk comes from pregnant cows.
For more information contact:
Michael Greger, M.D.
Director, Public Health and Animal Agriculture
Humane Society of the United States | Humane Society International | Humane Society Institute for Science & Policy
2100 L St., N.W. | Washington, DC 20037 | t (202) 676-2361 | f (202) 676-2372
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