Experts have urged Brits not to drink human breast milk for its ‘nutrients’ and ‘energy-boosting’ effect — as recommended by health guru Joe Wicks earlier this week.
The fitness pro, 38, shocked fans with a video posted to his social media which saw him glug breast milk produced by his wife Rosie.
Hailing the substance for its supposed health benefits, Wicks described the substance as ‘a natural sweet vanilla milk,’ adding, ‘no wonder babies love sugar and sweet stuff.’
However, scientists have told MailOnline that human breast milk is ‘potentially harmful’ to adults, highlighting serious risks including contracting sexually transmitted infections and food poisoning.
Breast milk has been a popular, if unorthodox, health supplement among some groups of people, such as bodybuilders, for years.
Joe Wicks has shocked fans by drinking his wife Rosie’s breast milk while en route to Taylor Swift’s final Eras Tour Wembley show
The Body Coach, 38, headed out with Rosie, 33, headed out with their daughter Indie for the megastar’s last show of the European leg of her tour
This belief has mainly been based on a flawed logic that since breast milk has everything a rapidly growing baby needs, the same should be true for everyone.
However, adult drinkers face a gauntlet of potential health problems.
Most of those who indulge in the breast milk trend use online marketplaces where they can buy supplies for £80 a pint.
Online sources are frequently unpasteurized, meaning the milk hasn’t been heat treated to kill potential pathogens, and even if sellers say it has there is no guarantee this actually been carried out, or done correctly.
Previous audits of breast milk for sale online have found 93 per cent of 254 samples contained detectable levels of bacteria.
Additionally, three out of four samples tested positive for Gram-negative bacteria — a family of organisms that can cause human illness such as E. coli and salmonella.
Just like cows’ milk, breast milk is also subject to potential food safety hazards such as it being stored in a food safe container, at the right temperature.
It also comes with its own, unique risks, however.
Breast milk can be host to a number of pathogens that can be passed through body fluids.
This can occur naturally between mother and child, as well as any other person who consumes the liquid.
Pathogens that can be passed via breast milk include HIV and syphilis, as well as hepatitis B and C.
As many of these infections can be present in breastfeeding women without symptoms, many women might unknowingly pass such pathogens on.
Substances like some drugs, both medicinal and illicit, can also seep into breast milk.
Professor Edzard Ernst, a world-renowned expert in complementary medicine at the University of Exeter said the only adults who saw benefits from breast milk were those selling it.
‘The only benefit of breast milk supplements that I can conceive is the one for the bank account of those charlatans who try to convince adult consumers that it is good for their health,’ he said.
A selection of the British mums or mums-to-be selling their breast milk online and welcoming men to put in an order
Kourtney Kardashian has sparked bewilderment among her fans by admitting she downed entire glass of her own breast milk
The star previously shared a snap of herself pumping breast milk in a plunging black dress, after welcoming her son Rocky with husband Travis Barker last year
‘In fact, it is not only not healthy but even potentially harmful. I would therefore warn people not to spend their money on such products.’
Experts have also told MailOnline that consuming breast milk ‘fresh from the source’ is very different from drinking liquid purchased online and carries less significant risks.
The so-called Body Coach is not the only celebrity who is partial to a glass of breast milk.
Earlier this year reality star Kourtney Kardashian admitted to downing an entire glass of her own while feeling unwell.
Consumption of breast milk is only considered safe if it has been tested for traces of diseases and drugs, and has been properly pasteurised and stored.
These processes are done in NHS milk banks that take voluntary donations from mums and mums-to-be.
Breastmilk is 88 per cent water but the remaining 12 per cent provides everything a baby needs to grow like carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and minerals.
Analysis has found breast milk isn’t great for adults wanting to bulk up, containing less protein than other milk sources.
Some British breast milk sellers make a tidy profit of so-called liquid-gold, selling it for £4 per ounce, equivalent to about £80 a pint.
One example is seller Chelslou2, who advertises herself as ‘healthy 24-year-old’ in Merseyside and says her ‘milk is produced fresh to order’ and that she is happy to provide it for people seeking it for ‘alternative use’ including men.
She is just one of dozens offering breast milk directly to men or to ‘all willing receivers’ as one profile put it.
