HORMONES
No. The
process of pasteurisation, which milk is subjected to, destroys about 90% of
rbST before we drink it. When cow’s milk is used to make baby formula, any rbST
or IGF-I it may contain is completely denatured (changed irreversibly).
The combination of digestion of rbST and IGF-I and heat treatments such as pasteurisation and boiling, renders cow’s milk and infant formulas made from cow’s milk safe from hormonal effects.
Recombinant
bovine somatotropin (rbST), sometimes called recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), is a synthetic version of the naturally
occurring protein that helps cows produce milk. It is species-specific andtherefore only works in cows.
All animals, including humans, produce hormones naturally in their pituitary glands. This protein is necessary for normal growth, development, and maintaining good health.
Dairy cows produce milk naturally after having given birth to a calf. Some farmers choose to use a supplemental bovine growth hormone to help cows produce more milk. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed that milk from cows given bovine growth hormone is safe for consumption.
IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) is also a peptide hormone, like growth hormone. However, the two hormones are not the same. IGF-1 is produced by the liver in response to the pituitary gland’s production of growth hormone. The concentrations of IGF-1 in cow’s milk (which is similar to the concentration of IGF-1 in mother’s milk) is much lower than the concentrations of IGF-1 in the digestive fluids in our gastrointestinal tracts. The amount of IGF-1 in cow’s milk is simply too small to have any effect.