Anonymous wrote:Hormones can be used in cows, so if you are concerned about it (as I am) read the labels on milk, beef, and other dairy products.
The main source of hormones (estrogen) in cows milk is not due to added hormones, such as rbst, but from changes in how cows have been bred and how they are milked. They have been bred to be produce higher milk yields, and that ends up correlating with much more estrogen in that cow's body. And cows used to be milked for part of the year and not milked during pregnancy. Now they are pretty much milked straight through, and a pregnant cow's milk has many times as much estrogen as a non pregnant cow.
I learned this from a book called The Fertility Diet.
As for hormones in other animal foods, I think the situation is likewise complicated. Chickens and cows raised for meat used to be raised on grasses (and lots of insects for chickens). Now they're fed corn and soybeans. Soy has estrogenic effects in humans. So the hormonal effects of modern foods are not as simple as "hormones added" vs "no added hormones."
Sorry, not taking the time to link to resources, but you can find them if you're interested.
To prevent early puberty, I would try to eat minimally processed home cooked foods as much as possible. Limit soy foods (including soybean oil), conventionally raised meats and milk. Eat foods that were common before the corporate food scientists took over.