A craze for consuming breast milk as a sports supplement is misconceived, an expert warns today.
Milk can be ordered on-line – and sellers claim it is a "clean" food that can lead to improvements in the gym.
It is touted as a clean super-food.
But Dr Sarah Steele, of Queen Mary College, University of London, warns that human breast milk has less protein than cows’ milk.
Users also face risks of infection as the milk may not be produced in sterile surroundings or be pasteurised like cows’ milk.
Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Dr Steele says: “While many online mums claim they have been tested for viruses during pregnancy, many do not realise that serological screening needs to be undertaken regularly.
“Sexual and other activities in the postpartum period may expose the woman expressing to viruses that they may unwittingly pass on to consumers of the milk.”
More than a lucrative liquid: the risks for adult consumers of human breast milk bought from the online market the JRSM 18 June 2015; doi: 10.1177/0141076815588539
Leave a Reply