Indian mums love giving their kids a glass of milk every day, but it’s time to stop and see what it’s doing to them. Because lo-and-behold, parents, a particular hormone called oxytocin is being secretly injected into its supply everyday!
Yes, you read that right.
You not only have to worry about adulteration of milk in India, but also about Oxytocin which is injected in the cattle to produce more milk.
And mind you, this hormone reportedly not only affects animals, but also triggers faster puberty among young children. In a report by a daily, it was suggested that many milkmen in India inject Oxytocin in their cattle, which lowers their reproductive ability eventually leaving them barren.
Indian kids are hitting puberty at an early age
But the more dangerous part was the fact that this hormone has actually been leading an increased number of kids to hit early puberty. This means that your girl will get her periods really early and your boy may start growing facial hair at the age of just 10!
A report by Mid-Day stated that despite a ban on artificially injecting the hormone, Oxytocin is administered to cattle secretly.
Dr V L Deopurkar, director of research, Veterinary University, at Nagpur told the daily, “Oxytocin or Pitocin is an injection used on pregnant women to induce labour. Commercial tabelas are using oxytocin injections almost twice a day on cattle. Upon injecting the drug, the milk, which is otherwise stored in the udder of the cattle for its calves, is also released, giving a few additional litres of milk.”
Another expert Dr Rahul Kumar, pharmacologist with Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University, Lucknow told another daily, “Oxytocin adversely affects growth hormones especially in females because of which minor girls attain early puberty.”
How it reduces the age of puberty in kids?
Dr Parminder Singh, Endocrinologist, Ludhiana, told Mid-Day, “In the 1990s, menarche occurred among girls at age 16. This age has come down drastically, and nowadays anxious parents come to us when their daughters show signs of premature puberty at age 9 or 10. Cases of male children being diagnosed with gynaecomastia (breast enlargement) are on the rise.”
He further explained, “This is due to hormonal imbalances created by exogenous source of hormones like oxytocin in milk and dairy products. The Health Ministry and Drug Controller General of India should carry out rigorous checks to curb the misuse of hormones on cattle. Laboratories should be established to check the level of hormones and insecticides in food and dairy products.”
Why isn’t this hormone banned in India?
Well, after reading what you just read, if this is the question in your mind, let us tell you that this hormone is actually banned from sale over the counter.
As per Section 12 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which is the Food and Consumable Substances Adulteration Act as well as the Drug Control Laws, the drug that contains this hormone cannot be purchased without a prescription from the medical practitioner.
Unfortunately, it is still being sold illegally and many dairy owners are administering them to their cattle in order to increase produce. But this heinous business is leading a lot more damage than good; with the worst affected being young boys and girls.
So what can be done?
You should always check the source of your milk consumption and if possible, take a sample and get it checked in a laboratory. Another way is to always keep a tab on any kind of adulteration in milk. Here’s how you can do it at home based on the guidelines of the central food regulator.
- Water: Put a drop if milk on a polished smooth surface.The drop of pure milk will slide down leaving a trail, while milk adulterated with water will slide down without an trail.
- Detergent: Shake 5-10 ml of sample milk with the same amount of water. If you spot lather, know that it is contaminated with detergent.
- Synthetic milk: Synthetic milk leaves a bitter after taste and turns yellow after heating. You can also spot synthetic milk by rubbing it between your fingers, if it feels soapy, it is synthetic.
- Starch: Add some Iodine solution to sample milk and if you see blue colour, it is an indication that there is presence of starch in the milk.
*Republished with permission from theIndusparent
Also READ: Why is puberty starting earlier than ever for girls
