While milk and dairy products offer numerous nutritional advantages, consuming raw or unpasteurized milk comes with potential health dangers. Recently, renowned health expert "The Liver Doc" ignited a heated discussion on X about the health risks associated with consuming raw milk. In a recent post, the Kerala-based hepatologist issued a stern warning, advising against drinking or giving raw milk to children due to its potential to harbour harmful bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria. He also emphasised the importance of pasteurization, stressing that it was introduced "for a reason" to safeguard public health.
''Please do not drink and do not feed your kids raw milk. This looks and sounds cool because it feels like you are doing it the natural way as our ancestors did and all, but remember that our ancestors lived a very long life of 25-30 years, mostly. Raw milk can contain dangerous bacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia, Brucella, Coxiella and Listeria,'' the tweet read.
The doctor further noted that many of the bacterial infections in it aren't easily treatable. ''These are not your run-of-the-mill infections. Some of them can ruin your life (eg: Listeria can attack the brain and repeatedly give your child seizures) or kill you (severe Salmonella infection can lead to shock and shut down the heart and brain in limited time),'' he added.
See the post here:
Notably, raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, goats, or other animals that have not been pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria and other harmful germs.
In his tweet, the doctor also provided studies and advisories released by the New York State Department of Health and Food and Drug Administration, that strongly recommend people to not consume raw milk or raw milk products. In a document, the FDA explained that germs in raw milk can be especially dangerous to people with weakened immune systems (such as transplant patients and individuals with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and diabetes), children, older adults, and pregnant women.
To ensure safety, raw milk should be boiled promptly to eliminate harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends boiling raw milk for at least 30 seconds to kill harmful pathogens.
