Human breast milk, breast-milk-flavored ice cream and lollipops are available on the Internet. But online human breast milk carries health hazards for the adults who consume it, especially if the milk is unpasteurized, improperly stored or pumped from a woman with a transmittable disease.
Breast milk websites are plastered with health claims stating that breast milk is a natural superfood that can help people build muscles and immunity. Some sites claim it is easily digestible and that it helps erectile dysfunction. But “such purported benefits do not stand up clinically,” the researchers wrote in their article, published June 17, in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. There are no scientific studies showing that adults who drink breast milk fare any better than those drinking a placebo, they added.
Breast milk purchased online comes with more risks than proven benefits. Unpasteurized breast milk contains hundreds of bacterial species that come from unsterilized equipment and improper storage or shipping practices. Unpasteurized breast milk could also expose a person who drinks it to a variety of diseases, including cytomegalovirus (a virus related to herpes), hepatitis B and C, HIV and syphilis. People selling milk online may say that the milk donors were tested for these illnesses during pregnancy, but there’s no proof these claims are true, and the sellers may not realize that women need to be retested regularly for these conditions. The milk can also collect toxins if it’s improperly stored, for instance, in a container made with Bisphenol A, a chemical linked to health problems that is now banned in baby bottles in the European Union and Canada, the researchers said.
Drinking milk sold on the Internet is “ill advised,” the researchers concluded. With the help of health professionals and regulators, the public could be educated about the perils of drinking raw breast milk from an online source, they said…….
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