One question that has popped up a few times in my email ‘in box’ relates
to the issue of hormones in whey protein supplements. Are there hormones in
your whey? It’s not a simple “yes” or “no” answer I am sorry to say, but the
short answer is, people have nothing to fear.
Being an animal based product derived from milk, whey, like any animal based product, could potentially contain some naturally occurring hormone(s). The issue is, which hormone and in what amounts? Modern testing abilities being as sensitive as they are today, being able to search for things in parts per million (ppm), parts per billion (ppb) or even parts per trillion (ppt) in some cases, some hormone of some kind can be found in virtually anything we humans ingest, especially if it is derived from an animal source (though plants also often contain some naturally occurring hormones or hormone-like compounds).
So what’s the scoop on whey? The major concern seems to revolve around:
I will attempt to address those
in particular to clear up any fears or confusion over the matter.
Are there any steroids in your whey?
Steroid hormones being highly lipophilic (soluble in fat) will be found in the
lipid (fat) portion of whey, or any milk based product for that matter. Any high
grade whey isolate (WPI) is essentially fat free (read my article “The Whey it
is” to understand the differences in the types and quality of whey proteins in
back issues of Muscular Development or at my web site at:
http://www.brinkzone.com/wheyitis.html).
For example, CFM? isolate contains less than one tenth of one gram of actual dairy fat per 20 gram (20,000 milligrams) serving, which is approximately one standard scoop found in most products. The additional fat listed on the can of most whey isolate products generally comes from the addition of small amounts of lecithin, which is not an animal based lipid, and or the flavoring system being employed. An ion exchange whey - though not an optimal whey protein in my opinion as explained in “The Whey it is - will contain even less fat.
So, the reality is sex hormone
levels in the lipid portion of milk fat and or fat in whey is so low as to be
either non -testable or virtually non testable. Add to that fact that whey
isolates are virtually fat free, and it’s easy to see this is a non-issue.
Are there any growth hormones in your whey?
As for growth hormone(s) such as bovine somatotropin (BST) and IGF-1, etc.,
that’s a bit more complicated. Growth factor hormones (e.g., BST, IGF-1, etc.)
are protein based hormones (versus steroid based hormones discussed in the
previous section) and thus, can be found in the protein fraction of animal based
products, such as muscle, milk, etc. However, we will keep the discussion of
these hormones specific to whey as that’s what this article is about right?
Milk, and thus whey protein, does contain minute amount of BST.
BST is simply the bovine (cow) form of growth hormone cows produce naturally. In humans, it’s called Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which is produced in the pituitary gland and is also a popular anti aging drug many people are using to fight the effects of aging.
However, and this is the essential point, BST is not found in higher levels then would be found if the animals were not treated with BST. That is, whether they treat the animals with BST or not, they find the BST levels in milk to be found in minute amounts and in the normal “background” levels. What are the levels of BST found in milk? It ranges from approximately zero – ten parts per billion (PPB) and typical level found in milk is 3ppb. That translates into approximately 1 mcg (one millionth of a gram) per liter. That ladies and gents is what we call a truly miniscule amount.
To add to the above, protein based hormones such as BST-naturally occurring or otherwise - are quite delicate and digestion of these proteins means they are destroyed when ingested. To sum up, I consider the risk from BST to be again, a non-issue. Don’t forget, the issue has been looked at extensively by the scientific community.
For example:
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) looking at this issue stated "The composition and nutritional values of milk from bST-supplemented cows is essentially the same as milk from untreated cows... (M)eat and milk from rbST-treated cows are as safe as that from untreated cows." (NIH Technology Assessment Conference Statement on Bovine somatotropin. JAMA. 1991:265:1423-1425).
Yes folks, no matter what hysterical issues some people have tried to raise with BST, the data and the facts simply does not support the hysteria. It’s a non-issue to human health. However, and it should be noted, that may not be the case for the cows themselves, just as large amounts of HGH can be problematic for humans, and that issue is currently being evaluated.
They may stop giving cows BST due to the health issues it presents to cows, but not due to any health issues to humans. So read my lips here gang, it won’t matter if the milk is taken from “organic” non BST treated cows or not, the BST levels appear to remain the same and are (a) found in miniscule amounts and (b) in all probability are destroyed during digestion. Yes, there can differences in the amounts of some compounds (pesticide for example) between some organic foods (e.g., fruits and vegetables) and non-organic foods, but BST simply is not one of them.
As for Insulin-like growth factor one (IGF-1) that’s more interesting and relevant, though it still appears to be a non issue to human health. Different whey product will have varying levels of IGF-1 depending on many variables such as: whether it’s a concentrate (WPC) or an Isolate (WPI), how it’s produced, and even what time of the year the milk is taken from the cows, and so on. So, I can’t give the levels for every form and type of whey (see aforementioned article above “The Whey it is” to understand different types of whey).
As an example (cause I have the numbers handy on my desk and it’s the form of whey I personally use!), CFM? isolates have approximately 35 micrograms (mcg) of IGF per 100g of powder (recall standard scoop is 20g). Remember, we are not talking gram amounts here but micrograms, which is one millionth of a gram! 35 micrograms could not even be seen by the human eye. Could there be any negative physiological effects to consuming this amount of IGF-1?
Add to the reality how unstable
and sensitive to digestion protein based hormones are, it’s highly unlikely.
Being a well-known anabolic/anti catabolic hormone, I bet most bodybuilders
wished the levels of IGF-1 in whey where much higher!
{Side note: there is a whey product known as Bioactive Whey Fraction (BAWF)
protein that has bumped up levels of IGF-1 and other growth factors that should
be on the market shortly. Read “The Whey it is” for more info on that if
interested.}
Recall that IGF-1 was made a bit of a boogieman hormone when a link (correlation)
was found between IGF-1 levels and prostate cancer. However, that association
was not found in later studies and any cause and effect relationship between the
two is fuzzy at best, and even contradictory according to some studies.
For example, some doctors find that PSA levels (used as a predictor of prostate cancer) often drops when giving older men growth hormone (which increase IGF-1 levels) which is not what one would expect to find if IGF-1 was a cause of prostate cancer nor is IGF-1 levels correlated to PSA levels.
Of course being a growth factor, able stimulate cell division and cell differentiation, it has been theorized that like other growth factors (e.g., GH, epidermal, transforming, platelet derived, fibroblast, nerve, and ciliary neurotrophic growth factors and others) IGF-1 could stimulate the growth of some cancers.
This is far from proven however and far far more complicated then it appears on the surface. For example, IGF-1 levels, as well as GH, are intimately connected the immune system, and have a wide range of essential effects on the body, such as keeping bodyfat levels low and muscle mass levels up, bone formation, and 1000 other effects. So, painting IGF-1 as a bad guy hormone is both unscientific and simply incorrect.
Would a person with a hormone dependent liver cancer want to inject (versus eat) large amounts of IGF-1 or GH? Probably not, but even that is unclear at this time. Let’s not forget the incidence of prostate cancer increases with age in men but blood levels of IGF-1 and GH decline significantly with age. The etiology of prostate cancer is a highly complex, and not fully understood interaction between diet, genetics, an inflammatory process, and hormones such as testosterone, DHT, estradiol, and other physiological variables and hormones both known and yet unknown.
The bottom line here is, microgram amounts of IGF-1 found in whey poses minimal (because no thing on earth we eat poses zero risk!) to a non-existent risk, and may even help us in some ways. For example, IGF-1 has been shown to improve some gastrointestinal diseases and pathology, reduces muscle loss during certain disease states and other beneficial effects.
It’s also essential to remember from the many articles that have been published on whey (written predominantly by yours truly) that whey has been studied extensively for it’s effects on cancer specifically, and across the board has been found to prevent various forms of cancer in animals (with human data strongly suggesting the same effects in people), improve immunity, and other positive effects, such as possibly improve performance and treat over training syndrome (OTS) in athletes.
Thus, it’s clear any increased
risks from ingesting miniscule amounts of IGF-1 found in whey–if there are any
at all–are offset by the many positive health effects of this well studied
protein.
Are there any anti biotics in whey?
Finally, we can address the possibility of any contamination from the anti-biotics
given to the cows that may find it’s way into the milk and then the whey.
Several studies have found that in a small number of cases anti-biotic residues
could be detected in commercial milk. This has caused some people to use organic
non-treated milk. Having done extensive consulting work in the whey industry, I
can tell you all major manufacturers of whey protein powders test constantly for
anti biotic residues, as the milk industry in general does.
The major whey manufacturers I have worked with test every single batch of incoming milk for anti-biotic residues and reject any batch that finds any amount, no matter how small. Only milk that gets an ND (non detectable) stamp of approval after testing is used to produce the whey.
Thus, there are no anti biotic
residues in your whey supplements. I can’t personally vouch for all whey
manufacturers as I have not done consulting work for all whey manufacturers, but
the handful I have worked with had an extreme level of quality control over the
issue, and I have no reason to suspect other companies are not just as anal
about it.
Conclusion
I hope the above clears up any fears or confusion regarding questions people may
have had regarding whey. Considering how much research is out there on whey and
its many positive effects on such a wide range of things, such as immunity,
possibly preventing some cancers, improving performance, etc., I know whey will
remain a staple part of my diet for many years to come. It’s off to blend up
some whey for me!
About the Author - William D. Brink
Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and
consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry
and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with
a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement,
dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets
Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine,
Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International,
Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no "BS" industry insider who's not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.
He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs and now runs seminars for tactical law enforcement (SWAT).
He is the author, of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed. which reveals exactly how to get lean , ripped and healthy completely naturally. Both e-books come with access to his private forums and numerous tools to aid you in either endevour.
Find out more at Bodybuilding Revealed or Fat Loss Revealed.