On Wed, 24 Nov 1999, Don Wiss wrote:

> One big difference is in Asia they ferment their soy before eating it. We
> don't do that here.

Fermentation may reduce levels of toxins, but I'm not aware of
any reason to suppose that it reduces levels of phytoestrogens.

Moreover, although the web site points out that typical soy
consumption in Japan is on the order of only 4-6 grams/day, I
doubt that it is much higher among average American girls.
Although there may be more tofu-eating vegetarians now than
before, I cannot believe that *average* soy consumption is
sufficient to cause the precocious puberty effect here, unless
very small amounts are sufficient to cause it.  If so, then we
would expect that the age of puberty among Asian girls has
traditionally been low.

> one finds: "Leading phytoestrogen researcher Dr Claude Hughes claims that a
> high intake of soy during pregnancy may affect the developing fetus, and
> the timing of puberty later in the child's life."

It's interesting, but this animal study showed a change in the
onset of *male* puberty in lab rats.

If there is indeed a link between body weight and puberty in
girls, then I think I favor the simpler explanation that girls
are reaching 100 lbs. (45 kg) sooner than they used to, thanks to
an increase in calories and carbs, causing accelerated
insulin-mediated anabolism.

Todd Moody
[log in to unmask]