What are the effects of the female sex hormones in cow’s milk on men, women, and children?
All foods of animal origin contain hormones, but most of our dietary exposure to hormones comes from dairy products. By quantity, it is mostly prolactin, corticosteroids, and progesterone, but there are also a bunch of estrogens, which concentrate even further when other dairy products are made. For instance, hormones are five times more concentrated in cream and cheese, and ten times more in butter.
About three-quarters of our exposure to ingested female sex steroids come from dairy, and the rest is split evenly between eggs and meat. Even organic meat contains natural hormones from animals that end up in animal products.
Some research has suggested that milk from pregnant cows contains large amounts of pregnancy hormones, raising concerns about potential public health implications and effects on hormone levels in humans who consume it.
Studies have shown that hormone levels in adults and children can significantly increase within hours of drinking milk, indicating potential health risks, particularly for postmenopausal women. The relationship between dietary hormone exposure and breast cancer is still being researched.
For more information on the effects of dairy hormones on cancer and male fertility, as well as the role of phytoestrogens in soy, please see related videos below.
