Hormones, anabolics, drugs, antibiotics… “additives” that the consumer may find on his plate but for which he will not read any acronym on the label.
The use of growth-promoting hormones, anabolic substances and antibiotics added to the rations of farm animals has become a routine practice, independent of the state of health of the animals and has the aim of ensuring continuity in the production of meat, milk, egg.
Hormones in nature are substances produced in an organism by internal glands and are necessary for the regulation of important functions: sexual hormones regulate reproduction and sexual functions, thyroid hormones act on metabolism, somatotrope regulate growth, and so on … This happens in humans and animals, so meat and milk contain small quantities which, once ingested, can also have an effect on our health.
Plants also produce hormones (the so-called phytohormones) which are found, for example, in soya, wheat germ, cabbage, peas and potatoes. These are mostly phyto-estrogens which naturally stimulate the growth of animals (clover for ruminants) while in human nutrition they play a role that can be interesting as they “mimic” human hormones; for this reason those from soya and red clover are used to counteract the discomfort of menopause and are contained in some food supplements.
The problem of possible harmful effects from hormones ingested with food arises in particular when consuming products derived from animals, especially beef and milk, to which hormones have been administered for therapeutic purposes or to stimulate growth. Anabolic hormones, of the type used in sports doping, produce an increase in muscle volume in animals; Somatotropin in dairy cows increases milk production. The problem also exists for poultry meat given the longer metabolisation times compared to the short life of a farmed chicken (45-65 days). Anabolics (male and female sex hormones: estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, trenbolone, zeranol) are drugs that stimulate protein metabolism, thus inducing an increase in muscle mass. The most used substances are male sexual hormones and their derivatives, responsible among other things for the increase in height that occurs with puberty.
At muscle level, the content of nitrogen, glycogen and phosphorus with high energy potential increases. They increase the retention of calcium, potassium, sodium and chlorine. Hormonal anabolics are used in animal husbandry for the intensive growth of “dairy” calves. These compounds are administered to young cattle orally, intramuscularly or subcutaneously, and lead to an increase in final weight of 10 – 20 percent; in this way they shorten the breeding times by a few weeks. This accentuates the normal weight loss of the veal steak during cooking..
On the one hand, there are breeding techniques that require constant times and performances. On the other hand, there is the market demand: consumer preferences are oriented towards meats with increasingly lower levels of fat and cholesterol. Scientific research has identified a series of substances with common characteristics such as the ability to promote the deposition of proteins in carcasses, prevent the accumulation of lipids and increase the speed of body growth. The first substance used massively since the 1940s, in response to the need to increase the growth of castrated animals, was diethylstilbestrol (Des), a synthetic hormone with characteristics similar to those of estrogens of animal origin. The positive effects were evident especially in ruminants and, in particular, in castrated males.
Numerous synthetic and natural hormones were later added to Des. All hormones are characterized by a common mechanism of action; the overall result of this action is an increase in growth speed and a greater energy requirement which explains the decrease found in fat deposition. Steroid hormones exert a direct action on muscle mass; the use of anabolic steroids in zootechnical practice poses, however, a series of problems mainly linked to the presence in the meat of residues of the hormones used, in particular the synthetic ones which are metabolized by the liver to a much lesser extent than natural steroids.
The problem of possible harmful effects from hormones ingested with food arises in particular when consuming products derived from animals, especially beef and milk, to which hormones have been administered for therapeutic purposes or to stimulate growth.
Even the latter, however, at high doses, as often happens in the clandestine use (in these cases the administration of hormones serves to mask a state of illness) or in any case uncontrolled use of anabolics, seem to be able to favor the development of some specific tumor pathologies and induce morphological and functional changes particularly in age groups in which the endogenous production of hormones is weaker, such as puberty and old age.
In the United States, the administration of hormones to cattle is permitted and regulated, on the grounds that the breeding system has vast pastures and low-priced cereals and legume seeds (soybeans). Therefore meat has a lower cost than European meat and this would constitute a sufficient element to avoid the risk that the use of hormones induces disaffection in consumers; it should not be forgotten that these in the USA have a relationship of high trust with the control body (Food and Drug Administration). This report, in the specific case, would be based on the guarantee that the FDA offers regarding the observance of quantitative limits of the hormones contained in beef and milk; It’s a shame that guarantees are also offered based on sufficient scientific knowledge about the effects of small doses on the consumer.
In Europe and in Italy the use of any type of hormone is prohibited for various reasons. First of all, the intensive animal production system, also due to the insufficiency of grazing land, determines a higher cost of meat and therefore a lower consumption compared to the US, so the risk of a reduction in consumption attributable to uncertainties about food safety (as happened following the “mad cow” phenomenon). Added to this, there is the awareness of a production control system that has too many flaws, especially as regards the quantitative aspect which is still far from ensuring the statistical significance of the number of controls. In this situation, the “precautionary principle” assumes relevance, also supported by scientific knowledge considered by many to be insufficient regarding possible carcinogenic effects produced by prolonged consumption of foods containing hormones and their residues even at low doses: from all this, the ban on use of hormones in animal production in Italy, with the obvious need to particularly control imported meat. Do we want to trust?
In Italy, the so-called Zootechnical Registry has been established: each animal reared must be accompanied by three documents which guarantee the so-called traceability, i.e. the reconstruction of the life path of each animal which is intended for the production of milk or meat or which is a player.
The first document is the identification slip, a zootechnical passport, which contains all the animal’s reporting data (date and place of birth, breed, sex); The signatures of each breeder who kept the animal are placed on the back. The second document is the ear tag, the earring, which shows the animal’s identification number. Finally, the “pink model” or certified model which reports all the animal’s movements and the name of the transporter. Furthermore, breeders have the obligation to keep the loading and unloading register at the companies or in the parking stables, which shows the passage of all the animals.
Supervision of animals is based first and foremost on administrative control which must highlight the origin of the animal and its entire life path. Then there are health checks on farms and slaughterhouses (control of infectious diseases) and checks on production aspects, which concern the use and possible abuse of veterinary drugs. In particular, we are trying to understand whether the meat has been “inflated” with anabolics and whether the farmers have respected the suspension time from the administration of a drug to slaughter. This last type of control occurs mainly on a random basis on a generally rather low percentage (5-6%).
Since 1995, in addition to the checks carried out by the local health authorities, the Ministry of Health has prepared the National Residue Plan which tests the presence of hormones, drugs, antibiotics and environmental pollutants in animals, meat, milk, eggs and honey (naturally only for environmental pollutants).
The National Residues Plan currently controls the presence of the following substances:
- natural steroid hormones (in animals and meat): estradiol, progesterone, testosterone,
- beta-antagonists (in animals and meat),
- stilbenics (in animals and meat): Des, dienestrol, esestrol,
- antibiotics and chemotherapy (in animals and meat),
- other anabolic hormones (in animals and meat): boldenone, zeranol, trenbolone, nandrolone,
- antibiotics, chemotherapy, environmental pollutants (in milk, eggs and honey).
A little background…
…an episode that happened in Bologna at the end of the 70s. A lady who was particularly fond of cats showed up at the Hygiene Office of the Municipality of Bologna to say that suddenly some of the cats she cared for and fed had gained enormous weight. From the investigation conducted, it emerged that the lady had used homogenized baby food meat which, as it was expired, was given to her free of charge and which she used to feed the cats.
The phenomenon of “bloating” in felines, evidently due to strong water retention, was linked to this type of diet, so sampling and analysis of the baby food on the market was carried out. The analyzes revealed the presence of significant quantities of estrogens, probably resulting from their administration to the animals from which the meat was derived.
From this, all things considered, trivial episode, the knowledge of a particularly critical fact for the health of children began, so much so that subsequently the production of homogenised meat was qualified by giving precise guarantees, proven by analyses, based on the use of meat certainly coming from animals not treated with estrogen.
…ever heard of “early thelarche”? In a 2000 investigation conducted by the Turin prosecutor’s office it emerged that some baby food was prepared with meat from cattle treated with estrogens and anabolics. Following the intake of these baby food, some children had shown breast development in males and females, almost as if it were the start of puberty (precocious thelarche). These episodes, certainly alarming, are fortunately not irreversible: the return to a “homemade” diet determines the regression of the phenomenon.
…United States. The Washington Post newspaper reported the following news on March 17, 2000. A 66-year-old lady, but it seems not to be an isolated case, admitted for a heart bypass in a Detroit hospital suddenly developed a respiratory crisis with a lung infection. The doctors administered the necessary antibiotics, but without any effect. New preparations were then used to which, however, the microorganisms that supported the infection showed singular resistance. The woman died shortly after.
The massive use of antibiotics causes a dangerous imbalance in the intestinal microflora in the short term, and in the long term the appearance of resistance on the part of microorganisms. This also occurs if antibiotics are introduced into the body through food, through meat, milk and products of animal origin.
The most common mistake of official medicine is to consider each organism as if it were isolated from everything around it. Instead, we are immersed in a great WHOLE with which our cells communicate and exchange information continuously and every moment. It’s called LIFE.
