WINNEMUCCA - When you purchased your Thanksgiving turkey, did your purchase one that was "hormone free?"
Did the advertisement read something like this, "Our turkeys are raised without the use of hormones." Did you know that all turkeys (including Butterball, etc.) and chickens are raised without the use of supplemental hormones? It is prohibited.
However, to say a turkey was raised without hormones is somewhat of a contradiction since the turkey produces its own hormones. Even plants produce hormones, but that doesn't mean plants are dangerous either, just that it is part of living things.
What are hormones? Hormones are chemicals that are produced naturally in the bodies of all plants, animals, including humans. They are chemical messages released into the blood by hormone-producing organs that travel to and affect different parts of the body. Hormones may be produced in small amounts, but they control important body functions such as growth, development and reproduction.
What are the different hormones used now by the meat and dairy industries?
There are six different kinds of steroid hormones that are currently approved by FDA for use in food production in the US: estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol, trenbolone acetate, and melengestrol acetate. Estradiol and progesterone are natural female sex hormones; testosterone is the natural male sex hormone; zeranol, trenbolone acetate and melengesterol acetate are synthetic growth promoters (hormone-like chemicals that can make animals grow faster).
Currently, federal regulations allow these hormones to be used on growing cattle and sheep, but not on poultry (chickens, turkeys, ducks) or hogs (pigs). The above hormones are not as useful in increasing weight gain of poultry or hogs.
Do federal agencies monitor for the presence of these hormones in food? Estradiol, progesterone and testosterone are sex hormones that are made naturally by animals. No regulatory monitoring of these hormones is possible, since it is not possible to separate or tell the difference between the hormones used for treatment from those made by the animal's own body.
However, it is possible to detect residues of zeranol and trembolone acetate in the animal's meat. FDA has set the tolerance levels for these hormones. A tolerance is the maximum amount of a particular residue that may be permitted in or on food. The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) monitors meat from cattle for zeranol residues.
Do hormones remain in the milk or meat of treated animals? 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.
Studies indicate that if correct treatment and slaughter procedures are followed, the levels of these hormones may be slightly higher in the treated animal's meat or milk, but are still within the normal range of natural variation known to occur in untreated animals.
Scientists are currently trying to develop better methods to measure steroid hormone residues left in edible meat from a treated animal.
People often criticize the beef industry because of hormone implant use as if something sinister is involved. Nature has a wealth of incredible foods rich in natural estrogens also known as phytoestrogens. Found in plant products, these natural estrogens act as our naturally produced estrogen.
Research has shown that there are three classes of natural estrogens: lignans, coumestans and isoflavonoids. Taking these foods in greater quantities will help counter low estrogen levels. These food sources include beans, other legumes like cowpeas and split peas, soy, wheat, rye, fruits like pears and apricots and even vegetables like spinach and cabbage.
If you compare the beef we eat to the plant products we eat it is surprising to most how the hormone levels compare.
For example, one ounce of cabbage has 1,061 times more estrogen than one ounce of beef from an implanted steer. If you compare the estrogenic activity of other common foods you find that defatted soy flour has 755 million ng/500grams, tofu has 113.5 million ng/500grams, beef from an implanted steer has only seven (7) ng/500 grams, and beef from a non-implanted steer has only five (5) ng/500 grams.
Have these plants been altered in some way to cause these high levels? The answer again is no. It is simply a natural part of life. Does it mean that cabbage and other plants are unsafe? Absolutely not!
So, the next time you are at a restaurant and the waiter tells you they serve hormone-free food. You will know that there is no such thing as "hormone-free food."
We have the safest food system in the world, and technology has helped provide a wholesome food supply that is more economical than any other country. This system also makes good nutrition more affordable to the poor, a luxury many countries only wish for. It seems we should worry less and be more thankful for the abundance we are privileged to have.
Sources: Consumer Concerns About Hormones in Food, Fact Sheet #37, June 2000, Cornell University.
"Was your holiday dinner hormone free?" Phil Blevins - Washington County, Va., extension agent.
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