And most of the medical community has no clue why.

Dr. John McDougall

But, thankfully, a few enlightened physicians know exactly what is happening and why. What is it going to take to JOLT us into action when it comes to promoting health?

It’s one thing if we adults don’t care what happens to our bodies, but it’s borderline criminal when it comes to what we’re doing to our kids. Last week, I heard Dr. John McDougall quote some alarming statistics:

• 3% of African-American girls are beginning puberty at age 3.
• 50% of African-American girls have entered puberty by age 8.

And it’s not just the African-American girls, it’s also happening to boys, both black and white. According to an AAP study released last week, (See link below)

Boys in the United States are reaching puberty some 6 months to 2 years earlier than a few decades ago, reflecting the trend in girls, according to a new study by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published online before print on Saturday. The study authors suggest more research should now be done to find out why this is happening.

Lots of published evidence shows girls are reaching puberty earlier, and this is now generally accepted, but until now, there hasn’t been as much research on whether today’s boys are also showing a similar tendency.

My friend, Dr. Joel Fuhrman in his office in New Jersey

Find out why this is happening? I wrote my first blog on this topic in April of 2011 and reached out to two medical experts for information. Replying to my request, Dr. John McDougall said “Interesting – I have been writing about this since the early 80s. I know what the cause is.”

Also Dr. Joel Furhman weighed in on this topic…referring me to this quote from his book, Disease-Proof Your Child:

Early puberty is obviously not due to any one factor, but rather to the combined effect of the modern diet of processed foods, cheese, daily animal products and the lack of fresh produce….Early puberty is strongly associated with breast cancer and the occurrence of breast cancer is three times higher in women who started puberty before age twelve.

The Bottom Line. There may be other contributing factors, but enlightened experts like Dr. McDougall and Dr. Fuhrman agree that the primary reason for this early puberty is simply that:

We’re eating the wrong food!

This was the “blinding flash of the obvious” that I experienced in 2003. And this problem is still getting worse. Just like all of our other health issues. Since beginning this blog in February of 2011, this is my 22nd post about the children—the saddest part of this whole food and healthcare mess that we have created in the western world.

Here are a few of my blogs about early puberty and a few others about health issues for kids in general. Circulate these around, maybe they will help JOLT some loving parents to their senses. (My 633rd consecutive daily blog)

• Source article. Boys In US Reaching Puberty Earlier
• Earlier blog. Puberty Before Age 10 – A New ‘Normal’?
• Earlier blog. Extremely early puberty…Would you believe 6 years old?
• Earlier blog. Early puberty — a realtime update from a reader
• Not just early puberty. Teenage diabetes rate triples in less than ten years.
• How funny is a child with high cholesterol? Pretty funny on SNL.
• Deadliest oxymoron on Earth — Healthy Kids Menu
• Children — NOTHING is more important than what they eat!
• How would you rate yourself as a parent? | J. Morris Hicks, author

Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

• The movie that’s changing the lives of millions: Forks Over Knives DVD 
• Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
• An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
• Dr. McDougall’s new book, The Starch Solution, with lots of great recipes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

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Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation