Progesterone in Dairy Fat

So in case you didn't know, milk naturally contains hormones, and the most prevalent hormone in milk is progesterone. This makes sense because progesterone is the pro-gestation hormone and levels spike during pregnancy. Milk coming from a pregnant cow, contains elevated amounts of progesterone and most of this progesterone is concentrated in the fat-fraction, with skim-milk being the lowest and butter being the highest. What are the implications of this progesterone in dairy-fat? I would love to hear opinions on this.

https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC4524299/

Edited by misterE, 24 April 2018 - 08:34 PM.

I guess it depends on whether you're going to fill brown, beige, or white adipose tissue with it. If you're working out with an adequate diet, butter is probably better than vegan as the progesterone would reinforce brown fat production and keep you thin, especially if you're in the 45% who gain more weight from fatty foods, otherwise you'll need hormone replacement or medical supplements to maintain your brown fat and a healthy metabolism as you try your best not to age.

Does butter have more progesterone than soy? 

Interesting. I wasn't aware progesterone increased brown adipose-tissue. I'm wonder what kind of hormonal effect this progesterone has. Studies show that administering progesterone and drinking milk with progesterone inhibits LH and testosterone synthesis, I wonder if the exogenous progesterone is being converted into androgens and other hormones, which then acts upon the negative-feedback loop to decrease testosterone production.  

 

 

Does butter have more progesterone than soy? 

From my research butter has more progesterone than any other food. Soybeans contain phytoestrogens, which compete with endogenous estrogens like estrone and estradiol. Also I have an inclination that phytosterols like beta-sitosterol and others may be converted into progesterone, but I haven't see any direct evidence of this.

Edited by misterE, 01 May 2018 - 08:55 PM.

Interesting. Some take Colostrum powder as they think it can benefit immunity, gut issues and enhance exercise effects. Two of the types on the market are 6 hour full fat products which are left intact:,and second is where they remove the fat, process with Lecithin, and MCT and sell it without dairy fat. I wonder if the de-fatted brands might be safer hormone wise. Would Prolactin hurt exercise results/performance in a male athlete? I prefer full fat, as it whips into drinks with a stick blender as if it was cream. The modified products stay granular to some extent.

"The highest concentration of PRL were found in the milk of cows and women during the first days after parturition (6). Concentration of PRL in composite milk of Holstein × Sim-mental cows in day 2 (colostrum) and week 4 (mature milk) of lactation were found as 120 ± 16 and 15.4 ± 1 μg/L, respectively (17). In cows, there is no significant difference in PRL content of the milk between different milking. In contrast, season dose have a strong influence on PRL concentration, as the highest concentrations of PRL were found during July and the lowest levels obtained during November (6)." PRL is Prolactin

 "IGF-1 is a 70 amino acid-linked polypeptide produced mainly by mammary gland and liver (24), but in general by all tissues and can act as an endocrine as well as paracrine and or autocrine fashion (25). This hormone is exist at higher concentrations in colostrums (103 ± 21ng/mL) than in blood, however, after parturition milk IGF-1 drops below blood levels (17, 26). The physiologic concentration of cows’ milk IGF-1 has been determined using immunoassay method (3). The authors reported that the physiologic levels of milk IGF-1 in cows are ranged from 4 ± 1 ng/ml. The broad area between minimum and maximum concentrations of IGF-1 in caws, milk could be due to differences in body weight, milk composition, diet, management practices, and other environmental factors. Since treatment of lactating cows with bovine somatotropin showed significant increase of milk IGF-1 concentration (27). No significant relationship between IGF-1 level in milk and milk production was reported. However, concentration of milk IGF-1 dramatically dropped during the lactation period as 6.3 ng/ml was detected on days 6–15 and 1.6 ng/ml was measured on days 210. As milk IGF-1 is not destroyed by milk processing especially pasteurization, thus it will be present in shelf milk, too (3).

Benefits of IGF-1: Benefits Dangers?

"The physiological role of IGF-1 on glucose metabolism and growth was demonstrated early in the 1980s (29). IGF-1 like as insulin play a central role in cellular glucose metabolism, amino acid uptake, glycogen synthesis, lipogenesis, and mitogenesis (30). Physiological effects of IGF-1 mediated via binding of IGF-1 to the type-1 IGF receptor, which is a heterotetramer with α-and two β-subunits linked by disulfide bonds. IGF-1 receptor is a member of the tyrosine kinase family, which following binding to agonist compounds (IGF-1), causes autophosphorylation of tyrosine residues in the carboxyl end of the intracellular domain and eventually leads to a cellular response (31). At the same time, the anabolic signals by IGF-1 (or insulin) can promote tumour development by anti-apoptosis effect and also by stimulating cell proliferation (30). During the last years according to the epidemiological evidence accuracy of the hypothesis is promoting, which indicates the risk of the colon, pancreas, endometrium, breast and prostate tumours are associated to the high level of IGF-1, insulin, or both"

Well, I think the effects of progesterone can increase brown fat, but it depends on the circumstances. It's not a monotherapy for increasing brown fat, but if you have some things that increase brown fat and you take progesterone, it stands to reason that progesterone will enhance the benefits.

 Would Prolactin hurt exercise results/performance in a male athlete?

I remember reading that lactic-acid formation after exercise can increase prolactin. Lactic-acid and prolactin are closely related. 

In terms of IGF-1 increasing after milk consumption, I do think that is caused by the protein (casein) and the insulinogenic effects of milk. But research on the effects (beneficial or harmful) of exogenous progesterone from dairy products is basically unknown...

progesterone is a neurosteroid and it affects a lot of neurotransmitters especially GABA and its associated with better memory and cognitive function and yet its interesting you guys only concentrate on the brown adipose issue

It may not produce brown fat on it's own, but the increases in memory and cognitive function are among the old and deficient to whom it is generally marketed. It's quite possible that by improving one's metabolic profile, they improve cognitive performance. Working out a few times a week, even for just 15 minutes or so will do the trick to some extent. Combine it with progesterone and ime, it'll make you look better too. It may also simply correct for GnRH deficiencies via upregulation signalling ( I know that's not the term everyone uses for it, but it's been a while since I've seen it and it does the job close enough).

I suppose the trick is getting it to the right places so that you don't develop visceral fat.

That's what I'm confused about.  Studies show that when men are given progesterone, their testosterone levels decrease because the progesterone acts on the negative feedback loop to decrease testosterone synthesis, however what is not clear (and what I am trying to figure out) is what is the metabolic fate of the progesterone? Is it converted into testosterone or what? I find conflicting studies and most are done with rats.

That's what I'm confused about.  Studies show that when men are given progesterone, their testosterone levels decrease because the progesterone acts on the negative feedback loop to decrease testosterone synthesis, however what is not clear (and what I am trying to figure out) is what is the metabolic fate of the progesterone? Is it converted into testosterone or what? I find conflicting studies and most are done with rats.

 From wikipedia:

 

 

Progesterone has a variety of important functions in the body. It is also a crucial metabolic intermediate in the production of other endogenous steroids, including the sex hormones and the corticosteroids, and plays an important role in brain function as a neurosteroid.

 It's likely used (metabolized) and that process signals for an increase in GnRH which is then turned into the appropriate steroid profile according to gender and genetics, but I don't think it could increase GnRH or that cascade beyond the person's max. So it will have some effects in it's initial metabolic cascade, and then simply contribute to maintaining homeostasis.

Edited by YOLF, 16 May 2018 - 05:18 PM.