Is RBGH Bad For You?
Also Known As: recombinant bovine growth hormone
Short answer
The evidence we have says that rBGH, or recombinant bovine growth hormone, isn't bad for you to consume. It's certainly bad for the cows, however, and it promotes bacterial resistance to antibiotics, which is bad for everyone.
'N' stands for neutral. Things placed into this category are (a) neither good nor bad for you, or (b) lack the necessary evidence to reach any conclusions.
View Full Grading System
Category 'A'
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Side effects are rare. Things rated an 'A+' are typically necessary for survival (for example, water).
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. A few harmful qualities may be associated, but only under certain circumstances such as an allergic reaction.
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Harmful qualities may be associated, but aren't usually serious.
It is important to note that even the best things in life can become bad in immoderate amounts. So, although something may be rated an 'A+', overconsumption/overdoing can bring unwanted effects.
Category 'B'
Very beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B+' may have a few harmful qualities to pay attention to.
Overall beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B' may have some harmful qualities to pay attention to.
More beneficial to your health than not. However, harmful qualities are most likely associated and shouldn't be overlooked.
The main difference between category 'A' and category 'B' is the harmful qualities typically present in 'B' items. Serious side effects are usually uncommon, but are still possible and should be taken note of.
Category 'C'
Both beneficial and harmful qualities associated. Things rated a 'C+' are typically a bit more on the beneficial side. Still, moderation is important.
A fairly even ratio of beneficial and harmful qualities. Moderation is important. Very general topics that can lean towards both sides of the spectrum will be placed here as well. Rice, for example, can be good or bad depending on the type.
More harmful than beneficial. Side effects are common, especially when consumed/done excessively. Moderation is very important.
Category 'C' usually denotes to both good and bad qualities. When it comes to this category, it is important to keep this word in mind: moderation.
Category 'D'
Harmful to your health. Although benefits may be associated, the bad most likely outweighs the good. Moderation is very important.
Harmful to your health. A few benefits may be associated, but the bad outweighs the good. Moderation is extremely important.
Harmful to your health. Very few, if any, benefits are present. Things in this category should be avoided as much as possible.
Category 'D' is typically for things that are more harmful than beneficial. While consuming/doing something unhealthy once in a blue moon shouldn't hurt, we definitely recommend eliminating 'D' items as a regular part of your routine/diet.
Category 'F'
Category 'F' is for things that fail to bring anything beneficial to the table, and are very harmful to your health. We recommend completely avoiding anything in this category. Long-term side effects of 'F' items are usually very serious.
Category 'N'
'N' stands for neutral. Things placed into this category are generally (a) neither good nor bad for you, or (b) lack the necessary evidence to reach any conclusions.
Long answer
rBGH is a synthetic copy of a hormone that's naturally produced by cows. When rBGH is injected into their udders, they produce more milk. Because of this, the dairy industry uses rBGH to produce more milk.
On the chemical level, rBGH probably isn’t bad for you. The growth hormone receptors in our bodies are incompatible with rBGH, and there's little chance that rBGH could reach those receptors intact in the first place. Most of the rBGH in milk is destroyed through the process of pasteurization. There's nothing right now that shows rBGH which made it through pasteurization can survive digestion intact. Nor is there evidence that the digestion process breaks rBGH down into chemical fragments that could bond with our cells and have a harmful effect.
Very young babies have guts that can sometimes absorb proteins intact. Mother's milk, however, does not contain rBGH, and most infant formulas are pasteurized at intense temperatures that would break rBGH proteins apart.
The milk of cows that are given rBGH also has higher concentrations of a protein called insulin growth factor one, or IGF-1. Normal levels of IGF-1 help certain cells in the body to grow. Too much IGF-1 has been linked by some studies to higher rates of different kinds of cancer, although the nature of the connection is still unclear.
Luckily, the IGF-1 in rBGH milk is probably not a threat to people. It's not denatured by pasteurization, but the stomach and intestine break IGF down before it can interact with our cells. Whatever small amounts of IGF-1 survive that process are a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of IGF-1 that's produced by the human body every day. Like rBGH, those small amounts might pose a threat to infants, but 90% of the IGF in formula is deactivated by the manufacturing process.
While rBGH isn't much of a threat to people, it's terrible for cows. It causes mastitis, which is a painful infection of the udder. The udder becomes inflamed and blood and pus leak into the cow's milk. rBGH treatments make cows more likely to give birth to deformed calves. It also damages their feet, leading to lameness. These negative side effects are why rBGH is forbidden in Israel, Japan, and the European Union.
To counteract the bacterial infections caused by rBGH, dairy farmers administer large doses of antibiotics. This is a serious problem - overuse of antibiotics leads to more bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Because only so many kinds of antibiotics are currently known, increased resistance makes bacteria more difficult to treat with antibiotics and increases the number of superbugs - bacteria that are completely resistant to treatment with the antibiotics we currently know about.
Effects in cows:
- Mastitis
- Lameness
- Deformed birth
Other concerns:
- rBGH and IGF-1 could be absorbed by the guts of infants
- Promotes antibiotic resistance
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Written by Sean McNulty
Published on: 09-11-2016
Last updated: 12-10-2016
Thank you for your feedback!
Written by Sean McNulty
Published on: 09-11-2016
Last updated: 12-10-2016
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