Bovine growth hormone

[GotGarlic]

I didn't want to hijack the thread about having/wanting children or not, so I'm starting this new thread here. The original comment was this:

My daughter is also 10, and is in a training bra... or so I am told cause she is still my little girl and I am in complete denial... but she isn't going around stuffing it, and she is not wearing it for kicks it is something she needs.
I have heard they believe there is a link to BHG in milk and girls developing early, they also have found data suggesting overweight girls will develop more quickly than girls that are at or below their recommended weight.

I responded with this:

It's not true: FAQ

Question

Is bovine growth hormone (bGH) a health concern in meat or dairy foods?

Answer

Bovine growth hormone (bGH or sometimes rBST) is not used in livestock raised for beef. Dairy cattle are not usually slaughtered for meat for human consumption. These two points make meat and beef products unlikely food sources of bGH for humans.

The bGH used in dairy cattle to enhance milk production is a growth hormone for cows but not for humans. The bGH is not recognized as a growth hormone by human cells. Also, the bGH is a protein that is broken down into smaller fragments (peptides and amino acids) during digestion. So people who drink milk from bGH treated cows should break down bGH when they digest the milk.

While short-term studies have not indicated other effects of bGH (allergies or other effects), more long-term studies on possible effects of bGH are needed. We have written a fact sheet that addresses consumer concerns about the use of growth promoters and hormones in livestock and dairy cattle. Please see Fact Sheet 37 "Consumer Concerns about Hormones in Food".

And Maverick responded with this:

Did you also notice the very last paragraph?

"more long-term studies on possible effects of bGH are needed"

I am not sure I would call that conclusive either when even they admit more studies are needed. And yes, I have always felt it wise to trace funding sources prior to making a decision on how reliable I will consider the study to be.

Maybe you missed this part:

The bGH used in dairy cattle to enhance milk production is a growth hormone for cows but not for humans. The bGH is not recognized as a growth hormone by human cells. Also, the bGH is a protein that is broken down into smaller fragments (peptides and amino acids) during digestion. So people who drink milk from bGH treated cows should break down bGH when they digest the milk.

(Emphasis mine.)

And this part:

The levels of naturally produced hormones vary from animal to animal, and a range in these levels is known to be normal. Because it is not possible to differentiate between the hormones produced naturally by the animal and those used to treat the animal, it is difficult to determine exactly how much of the hormone used for treatment remains in the meat or the milk.

(Emphasis mine.)

Lots and lots of issues need more research; that doesn't mean we ignore the conclusions we have today, or the facts, as emphasized above, that support those conclusions.

 

[Alix]

Hey GotGarlic, forgive me if I'm not as sharp as usual. I'm still trying to get my brain cells firing. Just for my own clarification, is this thread supposed to be more about the growth hormone or little girls maturing early? I'm thinking the growth hormone right?

Sorry! Sometimes when I read technical stuff early I get muddled. Basically you are supporting that the growth hormone doesn't affect maturation in humbns right?

 

[GotGarlic]

Hey GotGarlic, forgive me if I'm not as sharp as usual. I'm still trying to get my brain cells firing. Just for my own clarification, is this thread supposed to be more about the growth hormone or little girls maturing early? I'm thinking the growth hormone right?

Sorry! Sometimes when I read technical stuff early I get muddled. Basically you are supporting that the growth hormone doesn't affect maturation in humbns right?

Hi, Alix. Yes, that's right. Mav commented that he "heard they believe there is a link to BHG in milk and girls developing early." I quoted from a Cornell University page that 1) bovine growth hormone doesn't do anything in people and 2) it is not possible to differentiate between the hormones produced naturally by the animal and those used to treat the animal. Also, BGH is broken down during digestion into "smaller fragments (peptides and amino acids)" which are basic building blocks for cells. So it really doesn't seem possible to me that BGH is biologically active in humans.

 

[Alix]

Gotcha. I just needed some clarity as my brain went into overload without enough caffeine to power it. LOL.

I started a thread about Early Puberty as it seemed to interest folks. (Not much action over there yet though.)

 

[Maverick2272]

Didn't even know you had this one going, I was over in Alix's thread and commented there.