Roughly 17% of dairy cows are dosed with something called recombinant bovine growth hormone, or rBGH, sold under the trade name Prosilac. This is done so each cow will produce 7-8 more pounds of milk daily — about a gallon. Clearly this is good for the dairy farmer! But is it good for the cow? What about the human who consumes that milk?
Archive for the ‘hormones’ Category
“Huh, Maybe Bisphenol A Isn’t Good For You”
On January - 18 - 20101 COMMENT
That’s a rough summary of what the FDA said on Friday. Maybe you recall what we said about the stuff almost exactly 2 years ago. Back in 2008, the FDA declared it “safe.” Now they aren’t so sure.
The Big Boys Step Up: New Guidelines on Growth Hormone Deficiency
On December - 7 - 2009Comments Off on The Big Boys Step Up: New Guidelines on Growth Hormone Deficiency
Last week the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists released their revised guidelines for treatment of growth hormone deficiency. This revised document greatly updates the organization’s position on the use of Human Growth Hormone (hGH) and provides guidance for uses outside the traditional scope of rare metabolic diseases.
We’ve written about hGH before, and the recognition of hGH deficiency in patients that are outside the realm of strange endocrine tumors is a big step forward. Sadly, these guys aren’t the most compelling or bounciest writers. From time to time we have to cover the very dry scientific literature, this is one of those times. Let’s take a look at what the endocrinologists had to say.
Read the rest of this entry »Don’t Believe the Hype. HCG Still Doesn’t Work.
On November - 4 - 2009Comments Off on Don’t Believe the Hype. HCG Still Doesn’t Work.
In 1988, 29 year-old classically trained pianist and trombonist William Jonathan Drayton, Jr., cemented his place in musical mythology by recording with his uniquely American group, Public Enemy, the immortal words Don’t Believe The Hype. Drayton who took the stage name Flavor Flav has since become known as hip-hop’s greatest hype man, so he ought to know.
The hype goes on. We’ve written about it here and here and here. The LA times has come out against the hype here.
People just want to believe, though. Something keeps them buying disproven diet solutions. Read the rest of this entry »
Testosterone Rising
On November - 2 - 2009Comments Off on Testosterone Rising
One of the fastest growing anti-aging product categories for men is testosterone replacement. Just like women’s levels of key sex hormones decline with age, some men have reduced levels of testosterone as they age. There is some controversy about whether “andropause” is a real phenomenon, but testosterone replacement clearly has benefits for men with a deficiency. Treating reduced testosterone levels is becoming a big money business.