According to a new study, girls who eat the most meat products during childhood may have an earlier occurrence of puberty, increasing their risks of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis. Researchers followed 3,298 girls in Bristol, England, and gathered their dietary intakes when they were 3, 7, and 10 years old. Forty-nine percent of girls who ate more than 12 portions of meat per week started their periods by age 12, compared with 35 percent of girls who ate fewer than four portions of meat per week.

Another recent study compared food consumption habits in the United States in 1909 and 2007 and showed that meat intake rose from 123 pounds to more than 200 pounds per person per year while cheese intake increased nine fold.

Rogers IS, Northstone K, Dunger DB, Coooper AR, Ness AR, Emmett PM. Diet throughout childhood and age at menarche in a contemporary cohort of British girls. Public Health Nutr. Published ahead of print June 8, 2010.

Barnard ND. Trends in food availability, 1909-2007. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;91(suppl):1S-7S.

McDougall says Don’t Take Vitamins: “Health problems from excesses cannot be corrected with treatments useful for deficiencies. Have you ever known a person who has lost 100 pounds by taking supplements or cured their arthritis, hypertension, colitis, or type-2 diabetes through vitamin and mineral therapies? I bet you haven’t and neither have I.”

He also says you can breathe better by changing your diet: “An unhealthy diet will increase a person’s susceptibility to known causes of lung disease, such as allergens, tobacco smoke, infectious agents, and air pollution. One of the best examples of the importance of diet and lung health is demonstrated by the low incidence of lung cancer among Japanese cigarette smokers. The risk of lung cancer in the United States is at least 10 times higher than in Japanese living in Japan despite the higher percentage of smokers among the Japanese.”

And, of course, recipes. This time we get BBQ Pulled Jackfruit, Creamy-style Coleslaw, Dilled Coleslaw, Tofu Sour Cream, Quick Coleslaw, Golden Sautéed Onions, Inside-Out Lasagna, Tofu Ricotta, Beans & Greens Salad, and Spinach, Fennel and Mango Salad.