The Risks of Consuming Raw Milk

Raw milk is unpasteurized milk that can contain harmful germs.

Drinking raw milk can make you sick, cause serious illness, and can even be fatal. While food-borne diseases can happen from different sources of food, drinking raw milk stands at the top of that list.

Many patients often ask me about the benefits and risks of drinking raw milk. In India, this is a popular belief that consuming things in their rawest form is the healthiest choice. But unfortunately, it is not always true.

Drinking raw milk has been found to cause severe diarrhea, stomach cramping, and vomiting. It has also resulted in life-threatening diseases. While the benefits of drinking raw milk could not much different from drinking pasteurized milk.

What is pasteurization?

Pasteurization basically means heating the milk for long enough to bring it to a boiling temperature where all the contaminants and disease-causing germs would die. Even though the packaged milk might say pasteurized milk, it is advised to boil it before use.

Benefits of drinking raw milk 

As I already mentioned, many people believe that drinking raw milk has added benefits. But the truth is that the risks outweigh the benefits. One of the benefits that a few health enthusiasts claim is that raw milk contains vitamin C which is lost during pasteurization. But milk is not a primary source of vitamin C and it can be obtained through other foods. Similarly, a few other nutrients can be lost during the process of heating the milk, but that can be met through other food options. 

Also, pasteurization might inactivate some of the enzymes in milk, but those enzymes are not crucial to human health. So, there is actually no unmatchable benefit of drinking raw milk. But the risks are quite high.

Thus, pasteurizing does not result in a significant loss of nutrients like vitamins, carbs, minerals, or fats. The protein also remains intact. Hence, drinking pasteurized milk is as beneficial as drinking raw milk without the risks.

There are many false claims saying that raw milk can cure asthma or it can cure lactose intolerance. But there is no scientific evidence to back such claims. There is also no clinical evidence or studies to prove these points.  

Risks of drinking raw milk

Raw milk is often contaminated. It can get contaminated in different ways. Sometimes, it can come in contact with animal feces. The cow may be sick, for example, bovine tuberculosis. Bacteria can also live on an animal’s skin. The environment in which the animal is kept is often unhygienic. The processing of milk may be unsanitary. Contamination can also happen through workers. 

Thus, raw milk may contain a wide variety of germs that can make people sick. This includes E.Coli, Salmonella, Listeria etc. All of these germs are known to cause severe sickness. That’s why it is advisable to avoid buying and drinking raw milk or raw milk products including soft cheese, ice cream, or yogurt that do not explicitly mentions that made from pasteurized milk.

Risks of Drinking Raw Milk – Research

According to a study, 127 outbreaks happened between 1993 and 2012, because of drinking raw milk. These outbreaks reported 1909 illnesses and 144 cases of hospitalization. Most of these outbreaks were caused by the germs like E.Coli or Salmonella. This report also highlighted that a lot of these cases were seen in young children. 59% of the total cases reported were of children less than 5 years. 38% of these children reported illnesses caused by Salmonella and 28 % were caused by E. coli. 

This number is very limited as many cases of such illness go unreported. The real numbers are quite high, especially in India.

Who is at the highest risk?

Young kids, infants, elders, pregnant women, or people with weak immune systems should completely avoid drinking raw milk.  Even healthy people with a strong immune system can get sick from drinking unpasteurized milk depending on the level of contamination.

Your Takeaway!

Always boil the milk before use, even if you bought it from a supermarket. Milk that is safe one day may not be safe the next day. Also, the tests done on these products do not detect a low level of contamination and germs can grow at an exponential speed when they get the right environment. That’s why it’s important to boil milk before use, whether it’s organic, packaged, fresh from a farm, or any other source.

Also Read:

Is hot milk and honey a toxic combination?

Never eat fish and milk together