Endometrial Cancer risk increased 1.6X if drink standard skim milk

The Effects of Hormones in Dairy Milk on Cancer Dr. Michael Greger

Has video, transcript and references

  • “Modern genetically improved dairy cows, such as the Holstein”—your standard black and white cow—can get reimpregnated after giving birth, and lactate throughout almost her entire next pregnancy, which means that “commercial cow’s milk” these days contains “large amounts of” pregnancy hormones, like “estrogens and progesterone.”

  • ..."the estrogen levels in milk during the first eight months of a pregnant cow’s nine-month gestation: hormone levels shoot up more than 20-fold."

  • ... easily 10 to 20 times less estrogen hormones than what you’d find in a birth control pill."

  • ..."Harvard researchers followed tens of thousands of women—and their dairy consumption—for decades, and found a significantly higher risk of endometrial cancer among postmenopausal women who consumed more dairy."

The references are hyperlinked at the original site

  • Malekinejad H, Rezabakhsh A. Hormones in Dairy Foods and Their Impact on Public Health - A Narrative Review Article. Iran J Public Health. 2015;44(6):742-58.

  • Hartmann S, Lacorn M, Steinhart H. Natural occurrence of steroid hormones in food. Food Chem. 1998;62(1):7-20.

  • Pieper L, Doherr MG, Heuwieser W. Consumers' attitudes about milk quality and fertilization methods in dairy cows in Germany. J Dairy Sci. 2016;99(4):3162-3170.

  • Maruyama K, Oshima T, Ohyama K. Exposure to exogenous estrogen through intake of commercial milk produced from pregnant cows. Pediatr Int. 2010;52(1):33-8.

  • Ganmaa D, Cui X, Feskanich D, Hankinson SE, Willett WC. Milk, dairy intake and risk of endometrial cancer: a 26-year follow-up. Int J Cancer. 2012;130(11):2664-71.

    • 1.58 increased risk if drink 3 servings per day of all milk

    • most likely worse if happen to get milk from pregnant cows

    • Wonder if cows giving organic milk are genetically improved

    • 📄 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki

  • Nachman KE, Smith TJ. Hormone Use in Food Animal Production: Assessing Potential Dietary Exposures and Breast Cancer Risk. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2015;2(1):1-14.

  • Hötzel MJ. Letter to the editor: Engaging (but not “educating”) the public in technology developments may contribute to a socially sustainable dairy industry. J Dairy Sci. 2016;99(9):6853-6854.

  • Heap RB, Hamon M. Oestrone sulphate in milk as an indicator of a viable conceptus in cows. Br Vet J. 1979;135(4):355-63.


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