What does "no added hormones" on a meat package mean?

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Roadrunner
Roadrunner Member Posts: 35
edited June 2014 in Recipe Swap for Healthy Living

I'm ER+ and my onc advised me to avoid eating meat from animals that had hormones in their feed. Rather than buy all my meat at a very expensive market that promises that all their meat comes from animals not fed antibiotics or hormones, I've started buying from some small local stores selling meat labelled  "natural" with "no antibiotics" and "no added hormones." Initially I thought that this was a great, more reasonably priced alternative, but now I'm wondering if  "no added hormones" just means no hormones are added to the finished product instead of "animals not fed hormones." Maybe a marketing strategy? The stores aren't processing/packaging the meat themselves -- it all comes from outside sources with names of wonderful, healthy-sounding farms and ranches far away.....

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  • Jenniferz
    Jenniferz Member Posts: 541
    edited February 2009

    It's my understanding that the animals' feed didn't have hormones. 

    Jennifer

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  • lisasayers
    lisasayers Member Posts: 850
    edited February 2009

    Jenniferz is right, it means they are not fed hormones in order to get them bigger and ready for slaughter faster!

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  • Jorf
    Jorf Member Posts: 498
    edited February 2009

    I don't eat meat but have friends that do ( Cool). Most of them buy their meat from the farm and daily go by the pasture from which they eat, talk to the farmers and know exactly what goes into those cows, etc. I imagine that in cities it's harder to find but not impossible.

    My motto is, "do I want this item to be me, to make me into what I am?" I do eat eggs and cheese and yogurt and I'm pretty particular about doing my best to know from where those items come and how those animals are fed and raised. Same thing with my veggies and fruits.

    Am I perfect? NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I most certainly eat things I shouldn't. All I'm saying is that I try to be aware of what goes into what goes into me.

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  • Iza
    Iza Member Posts: 117
    edited February 2009

    In my experience, the "best" meat you can eat does not come from a store (and particularly not from a store that bought it from a distant farm with a healthy-sounding name) but rather from a small farm directly, or from a farmers' market. Look for "grass-fed" meat, that kind is the healthiest and the one with no hormones at all.

    As for poultry, the same applies. Find a farm that raises pastured chickens (that is, chickens that spend most of the year outdoors, on a field, eating bugs and whatever they please. This is what chickens are supposed to eat anyway.) You can also find this kind of chicken in farmers' markets.

    You do not need to actually travel to the farm each time you need meat. Many farms will deliver or arrange for you to pick up your stuff at convenient delivery points.

    An excellent source of information is eatwild.com

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  • desdemona222b
    desdemona222b Member Posts: 776
    edited February 2009

    Roadrunner -

    I was just wondering the same thing the other day as I looked at a pack of chicken breasts with the label "No Additional Hormones***."  I didn't take the time to find the key that explains the asterisks, but I have a bad feeling about it.  

    Interesting that your doc told you not to eat meat that has hormones - I guess they use estrogen on chickens? 

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  • havehope
    havehope Member Posts: 503
    edited March 2009

    Besides meat you need to avoid all dairy products as well. Unless they are organic or labeled as  hormone free all dairy products have rBGH, recombinant bovine growth hormone or artificial growth hormone. It is administered to the cow by injection and used to increase milk production.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2009

    I was wondering the same thing about the "no added hormones" on non organic chicken.

    I was advised by a naturpopathic doctor to only buy organic chicken and dairy products, even ice cream.  She also told me to avoid soy.  I already was buying grass fed beef and organic milk, but not ice cream.  I should just stop eating ice cream but that is another post!

    Susan

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  • havehope
    havehope Member Posts: 503
    edited March 2009

    aprilgirl1

    You can eat organic ice cream.

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