What happens with girls/women in countries where normal lifetime diet
contains lots of soy & little/no dairy (bovine) protein? Do they have
earlier onset of menarche ? I think (though may well be wrong - if so, hope
wiser ones will correct) that this is not usually the case - do women in
China or Japan, for example, start menstruating at an earlier age? I sort of
thought it was r/t general nutritional conditions & adequate food supply, as
well as genetic disposition.

Anecdotal only - my twins, for example: both vegetarians since birth, both
BF 14 months, soy foods intro'd before much dairy (except yogurt), both grew
up eating more tofu than avg. for Americans but also plenty of dairy stuff.
One started her periods at age 9, the other at almost 12. (I started at 10,
so "normal" for us to be early).

Re: soy formula - why do I suspect the hand of Dairy Councils around the
world in promoting this notion of "premature" menarche r/t soy formula?
Interesting, though.

Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY