Experts have advised Britons to avoid drinking breast milk because of its “nutritious” and “energy-boosting” effects, as health guru Joe Wicks suggested earlier this week.
The 38-year-old fitness professional shocked his fans with a video on social media showing him drinking breast milk from his wife Rosie.
Wicks praised the substance for its supposed health benefits, describing it as “a natural sweet vanilla milk,” adding: “No wonder babies love sugar and sweets.”
However, scientists have told MailOnline that breast milk is ‘potentially harmful’ to adults, highlighting serious risks including sexually transmitted infections and food poisoning.
Breast milk has been a popular, if unconventional, health supplement for certain groups of people, such as bodybuilders, for many years.
Joe Wicks shocked fans by drinking his wife Rosie’s breast milk while on his way to Taylor Swift’s final Eras Tour show at Wembley
The Body Coach, 38, hit the road with Rosie, 33, and their daughter Indie for the megastar’s final show of the European leg of her tour
This belief is mainly based on the faulty logic that breast milk contains everything a rapidly growing baby needs and therefore should apply to everyone.
However, adult drinkers are at risk of a number of health problems.
Most people joining the breastfeeding trend are using online marketplaces where they can buy the necessary supplies for £80 a pint.
Online sources are often unpasteurized, meaning the milk has not been heat-treated to kill potential pathogens. Even if sellers claim it has been, there is no guarantee that it has been done, or done correctly.
Previous testing of breast milk sold online found that 93 percent of 254 samples contained detectable amounts of bacteria.
Additionally, three of the four samples tested positive for gram-negative bacteria, a family of organisms that can cause human disease, such as E. coli and salmonella.
Like cow’s milk, breast milk is also subject to potential food safety hazards. For example, consider storing breast milk in food-safe packaging and at the right temperature.
However, there are also specific risks involved.
Breast milk may contain a number of pathogens that can be transmitted through bodily fluids.
This can happen naturally between mother and child, but also with any other person who consumes the fluid.
Pathogens that can be transmitted through breast milk include HIV and syphilis, as well as hepatitis B and C.
Because many of these infections can also occur in breastfeeding women without causing any symptoms, many women may unknowingly pass on these pathogens.
Substances such as certain drugs, both medicinal and illegal, can also pass into breast milk.
Professor Edzard Ernst, a world-renowned expert in complementary medicine at the University of Exeter, said the only adults who saw the benefits of breast milk were those selling it.
“The only benefit I can think of to breast-feeding supplements is the benefit to the bank account of those charlatans who try to convince adult consumers that it is good for their health,” he said.
A selection of British mothers or mothers-to-be selling their breast milk online and inviting men to place an order
Kourtney Kardashian has shocked her fans by admitting she drank an entire glass of her own breast milk
The star previously shared a photo of herself breastfeeding in a plunging black dress after welcoming her son Rocky with husband Travis Barker last year
‘It is not only unhealthy, but potentially harmful. I would therefore like to warn people not to spend their money on such products.’
Experts have also told MailOnline that drinking breast milk ‘fresh from the source’ is very different to drinking liquid bought online and carries fewer risks.
The so-called Body Coach isn’t the only celebrity who loves a glass of breast milk.
Earlier this year, reality star Kourtney Kardashian admitted to drinking an entire glass of her own while feeling unwell.
Drinking breast milk is only considered safe if the milk has been tested for traces of diseases and medications and if the milk has been properly pasteurized and stored.
These processes are carried out in NHS milk banks that accept voluntary donations from mothers and expectant mothers.
Breast milk is 88 percent water, but the remaining 12 percent contains everything a baby needs to grow, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins and minerals.
Research has shown that breast milk is not good for adults who want to gain weight, as breast milk contains less protein than other sources of milk.
Some British breast milk sellers are making a tidy profit on the so-called liquid gold, selling it for £4 an ounce, which works out to around £80 a pint.
One example is Merseyside saleswoman Chelslou2, who bills herself as a “healthy 24-year-old” and says her “milk is produced fresh to order” and she is happy to supply it to people who want to use it for “alternative purposes”, including men.
She is just one of dozens of women who breastfeed directly to men, or to “anyone who wants to,” as one profile put it.