Jan Hamilton, Ph.D.,

Registered Dietitian,

Certified Nutrition Specialist

Recently the topic of hormones has been brought into our lives more than ever in history.  We are aware that hormones are in food, air, and water.  Many new forms of hormones are available for the young.  Hormone replacement therapy is now recommended for midlife and beyond.  Hormones are now identified to impact body weight, obesity, diabetes, cancer risks and other conditions.  Labeling of foods "organic,' "no hormones used in these products" is a marketing ploy not used in the 1960's when the birth control pill was introduced.  So, the question becomes, do hormones we ingest in the food, air and water impact our lives.  If so, how can we know the status.

A physician named John Lee, M.D. wrote a book on  "What Your Doctor May Not Have Told You About Hormones."  This opened the door for discussions of hormones in foods across the counter products, air we breathe and water we drink.  His question was "If hormones come from pregnant mare urine, can they also appear in recycled water supplies used in most cities?  We knew that the American beef market was impacted when Europeans found too many hormones in meat.  From that, we learned that hormones could be measured in the food supply.  We also learned that animals were given hormones to produce more milk, eggs and meat.  We learned that cows given hormones gained weight faster on less food.  Women given early forms of birth control pills became obese.  There were debates about natural, synthetic, organic and the words came to be carefully defined on food labels as demanded by consumers.

So with all the confusion in the marketplace, how do we know whether we absorb hormones in the foods we eat?  Do additives in foods cause increased likelihood of body weight gain?  Another doctor developed tests to measure multiple hormonal so that we can now know the status of these levels in blood and urine.  Will increased levels of hormones contribute to cancer?  Research has shown in the Women's Health Initiative that the answer is yes.  So as an educational effort, healthcare professionals are now measuring levels, along with body weight, percent body fat, cravings for various foods to see if the new obesity epidemic has a hormonal component.  Hippocrates said "You are what you eat."  Now you can know the rest of the story....

 

Contact Us

Post Office Box 8458
Aspen, Colorado  81612
970-925-5588

970-309-1675

email: janbhamilton@aol.com

The information contained within this website is not intended to take the place of medical advice from your personal physician.  Readers are advised to consult their own physician or qualified health care professional regarding the treatment of their condition(s).  Jan Hamilton, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your own research, and in partnership with your primary care physician.  Our facility is not responsible for any possible consequence from any choice you make in treatment, action, or application of herbs, vitamins, minerals, or other supplementation.  All content of this website is copyright Jan Hamilton, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., unless otherwise indicated.