Recently, and I forget the thread, I noticed debate over cows milk being androgenic, and staunch debate over it effecting HRT- cows treated with RBHT, a growth hormone, are actually highly estrogenic, as this Harvard study points out:
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/12.07/11-dairy.htmlCow milk itself is not androgenic, and more so, does not effect the levels of MTF women on HRT who utilize anti-androgen's, as the androgen receptors would be blocked even *if* there was any level of androgenic photo-receptivity to the RBHT. The effects are mostly on people who don't have some form of receptor blocker in their system, and would be miniscule in the big picture of things. Milk, from dairy cows no treated with growth hormones, is a healthy delivery method of Vit. D, and will help not hinder HRT. Source of that: my endo. He stated this entire paragraph to me, when asked (as I have a D deficiency, and questioned him on milk and how it would effect my HRT. This was the answer as I have heard it was androgenic as well). I drink milk like it is going out of style. The only questionable forms of milk are non dairy; and more so, it is here say on anything but pre pubescent individuals.
See also:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22192179The studies are indeed mixed, but there is no credible study to reference cow milk as androgenic, when hormone levels are discovered, it is usually estrogenic at best. Most milk has no effect on human hormone levels, as they dont even effect rats or mice, according to the last referenced study: "These results demonstrated that none of the commercial milk types that we tested contained biologically significant estrogenic activity." Another study states that: "The quantity of active estrogens in dairy products is too low to demonstrate biological activity."....see:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/512140The studies implicating androgenic qualities of milk, are limited at best, and not thuroughly enough to define the context of effect, but considering dairy milk come from the whole level of estrogen in cows, the androgenic quaslities are quantintative, and the free androgen in said cows, would be even more miniscule then the estrogen, to say the least, if one understands what causes milk production. Acne coming from milk is derived from Iodine in the milk: "Additionally, iodine in milk has been reported to possibly exacerbate acne.[34]"
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/579326_3, and 34: Arbesman H. Dairy and acne - the iodine connection. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 53(6), 1102 (2005). Further more, the only possible risk would come from a cow high in progesterone, which in a "male functioning body without AA's, could *could* break down into androgens". It does not nessecitate that it ould, in fact, the progesterone *may* help those of us utilizing AA's, and only full on HRT. See:
http://www.alive.com/articles/view/17701/the_truth_about_milkIn the end, anything in relation to hormones from cows milk, and in relation to HRT is purely here say without any true anecdotal material to back it up. If anything, for a mtf, cows milk would simply be good to use, because of the calcium and vit D, which helps out our bodes as estrogen is reliant upon it in many instances....
Much love!
