You may have noticed the many food commercials and food labels on meat stating, “no hormones or hormone-free meat.” But did you know that all plants and animals, including humans, produce hormones?
Hormones are those items that regulate growth and cell development. The Food and Drug Administration regulates steroid hormone drugs for use in beef cattle. These drugs increase the animals’ growth rate and the efficiency by which the animal converts the feed they eat into meat.
It is interesting to note that FDA states, “no steroid hormone implants are approved for growth purposes in dairy cows, veal calves, pigs or poultry.” FDA also states,” People are not at risk from eating foods from animals treated with these drugs because the amount of additional drug treatment is very small compared with the number of natural hormones that are normally found in the meat of untreated animals.”
Let’s compare the number of hormones found in the meat of untreated beef and treated beef cattle.
Hormone activity is measured in nanograms. A nanogram is 1 billionth of a gram. Non treated beef cattle have 1.3 nanograms of hormone activity in their meat. Treated beef cattle have 1.9 nanograms of hormone activity in their meat. The difference is a bit more than one-half of a nanogram. Putting that into perspective, males produce 54,000 nanograms of estrogen on a daily basis; females produce 480,000 nanograms and pregnant women produce 20,000,000 nanograms of estrogen on a daily basis.
Plants have hormones, too. Just like animals, these hormones regulate plant growth and development, just as they regulate animal growth and development. These hormones are called phytoestrogens. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and soy all contain phytoestrogen.
In fact, soybean oil tops the list with 270,000 nanograms of phytoestrogen per serving! According to Tara Felix, Extension Beef Specialist with Penn State University “A serving of tofu, because it is manufactured from soybeans, contains over a million times more estrogenic activity than a serving of beef. And, your body does not care whether that estrogen [hormone] comes from a plant or an animal.”
Being an informed consumer is most important. Whether you choose to spend the extra dollars on beef that is labeled “hormone-free” or” not treated with hormones” is up to you, but be aware that any beef you choose is safe and nutritious for your family. Ask questions and learn more about the food you eat.
Meanwhile here is a great recipe using lean beef. Enjoy!
Beef Pot Roast
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
2 tablespoons water
2 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast (boneless)
2 cups water (hot)
1 beef bouillon (cube)
1 Tablespoon orange juice
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Wash hands with soap and running water for 20 seconds. In a small bowl, put the bouillon cube in 2 cups hot water. Stir it until the bouillon cube dissolves. This will make 2 cups of beef broth. In a medium bowl, stir together the broth, orange juice, allspice, and pepper. Peel and chop the onion, to make 1/2 cup chopped onion. Put 2 tablespoons water in the skillet. Heat on medium. Put the onion in the skillet. Simmer it until tender. Add the roast to the skillet. Brown it on all sides. Pour the broth mix over the meat in the skillet. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
