Hormones In Your Food? Absolutely

Hormones In Your Food? Absolutely

Two things people often talk about when it comes to some foods: antibiotics and hormones. 

I have previously addressed the antibiotics in foods. Animals are treated with antibiotics when they have an infection, but they are not included in the food supply until they are clear of any antibiotic residues. Read more about that in my earlier post: 

Now when it comes to hormones, there is a LOT of misinformation. 

I’ve heard people state as fact (even though it is not) that kids are going through puberty at an earlier age now (compared to past generations) because of the “hormones in milk.” Never mind that hormones have always been in milk. Always.

People will say that chickens are “pumped full of hormones,” so they are bigger now than in past generations. They aren’t.

While on the other hand, I often get how to eat to “balance hormones.”

What are hormones? 

While most people think they know what hormones are and can name some – I don’t think people get the whole picture. 

Hormones are chemical messengers released in the blood to act on an organ in another part of the body. 

Here is an example: Insulin is a hormone that tells the cells to open and receive glucose. These cells receiving glucose are in the liver, muscles, and more. The glucose in the blood is ushered into the cells for immediate or later use. Glucagon is another hormone triggered when blood glucose is low and tells the cells in the liver to open and release glucose into the bloodstream. 

The human body makes more than 50 hormones. So when someone tells me that they want help with managing or balancing their hormones, I need to know which ones (and most are not directly affected by the diet day to day). 

Human Hormones

Humans have receptors for human hormones. The closest relative is a pig. Therefore, people with type 1 diabetes used porcine insulin for years before scientists created a synthetic form of human insulin. In most cases, hormones need to be injected into the muscle to work. 

Insulin is an injection (or administered via a pump), a steroid such as testosterone is an injection, and human growth hormone is an injection. Women going through fertility treatment do “shots” of hormones. 

But if we eat a portion of food or drink milk (cow, soy, or even almond), the naturally occurring hormones in that food or beverage are denatured in the stomach because of the acid rendering it useless as a hormone. 

Hormones in Food

Milk has hormones – no matter the kind of milk.  

Human breast milk has all kinds of hormones and the nutrients the growing baby needs.

Cow’s milk has hormones. It is the milk of a lactating mammal; therefore, it will have hormones. But people who drink milk will denature the hormones that are in the milk which makes it ineffective in any capacity. AND humans don’t have receptors for hormones from cows. 

Soymilk also has hormones. Because this is widely known, some people are afraid of drinking it – they are worried they will have an estrogen-like response in the body. Not likely. The rare case of gynecomastia that has gained widespread attention with little details included was a case in which a man drank three QUARTS of soymilk a day. This fact is not widely known, and I argue that the issue here was drinking three quarts of anything – not the soymilk. 

Most people do not realize that ALL foods have hormones – even plants. We just are not affected by them like people tend to think. 

Milk has hormones; eggs have hormones, and chickens, turkeys, and pigs have hormones. And the labels will make you think otherwise. 

Milk has hormones naturally – as already stated. So does soymilk and all the varieties of nut milk. 

Eggs have hormones in them naturally – but by LAW, they cannot have any added hormones (or the hens cannot have added hormones). Therefore, eggs that state “no added hormones” on the package must also have the disclaimer: “Hormones are not used in the production of shell eggs.” 

Chickens have hormones, but they cannot have any added hormones by LAW. Chicken that states “no added hormones*” by law must also have the disclaimer, “*Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in poultry.” 

A similar statement is also required for pork and turkey products that claim, “no added hormones.” 

Cows for beef are allowed to have added steroid hormones to help with growth and development.

This delivery method is usually an implant under their skin in small amounts. 

There are no approved implantable steroid hormones for dairy cows, poultry, or pigs per the FDA. People who claim that chickens are “pumped full of hormones” need to tell me where they get those hormones. We need to contact the authorities. 

And the beef cattle, while getting some of these steroid hormones do not get such a large amount that the product has much of a difference in hormone levels as compared to the animals who do not get it. 

Bottom line: you can argue that you don’t want food with any hormones. But good luck finding any food or a sustainable diet without hormones.

You can choose a diet with foods with no added hormones, but you are likely already following one.