The short answer to this is yes, your milk is safe from hormones. But to confuse you, milk does contain naturally occurring ones. Before you turn this off and start freaking out, let me explain. Trust me, it is not as scary as it sounds.
Let’s start by answering, what is a hormone? In its most basic form, it’s a protein. Yes, a hormone is a protein. They are also essential to life and they are good, not bad. Without hormones we couldn’t live.
Hormones are in everything we eat. I said everything. They are in soy, cabbage, peanuts, pinto beans…. The list goes on. Hormones are specific to each different animal. When we ingest them our body only sees them as proteins and digests them as that. They do not have an affect on the human body because they are not active in the human body.
I have often been asked about hormones in milk causing early puberty in girls. From my explanation above, I can confidently say no. Eating dairy products and meat have no effect on when young girls reach puberty. Rather than rewrite this, I want to share this sentence from MilkMeansMore.org. “According to a study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ journal, earlier onset of puberty in girls was associated with body fatness during childhood (Lee, et al., Weight status in young girls and the onset of puberty. Pediatrics 2007; 119: 624-630.)”
Hormones are not something to be scared of. They are everything we eat and we need them to live. I hope this helps to make you feel better about eating dairy products. As a mom, I confidently drink milk myself and I feel good about giving milk to my one year old daughter. If you want to know more about the amounts of hormones in foods and how different foods compare, see the Best Food Facts article below. The articles below are the resources I used to double check my knowledge. There’s more information in them so please see them if you want to learn more or email me at messykennedy@gmail.com.
What about the hormones in milk? from Milk Means More
The Beef with Hormones – and 8 Other Foods You Might Find Them In from Best Food Facts
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