A glass of milk every day fulfils the protein and calcium needs of our body while also improving our bone health. It carries several nutrients and enzymes that boost immunity. While we often drink boiled milk, some believe drinking it raw is a bit more beneficial. However, studies say the consumption of unpasteurised milk can cause significant harm to your health.
Unpasteurised milk from cows, sheep or goats can contain harmful bacteria and germs, posing major health risks. Pasteurization — a heating process that destroys pathogens — makes milk safe to consume.
Here we’ve mentioned some of the potential health risks of consuming raw milk regularly.
- Health diseases: Raw milk contains germs and bacteria that can contaminate our systems and cause conditions such as reactive arthritis, diarrhoea, dehydration and even tuberculosis.
- Not Good For Pregnant Women: Raw milk contains bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes that can cause an infection called Listeriosis which could be harmful to pregnant people, newborns, older adults and people with weakened immune systems. It can also lead to miscarriages, premature delivery, stillbirth and even life-threatening diseases in newborns.
- Risk of Bird Flu: Raw milk can be contaminated with several harmful germs including the HPAI A(H5N1) virus that causes bird flu. However, the risk of developing Bird Flu through raw milk is largely theoretical, there are no confirmed cases of humans getting the disease from drinking raw milk as of now.
- Severe illnesses or even death: Individuals with weaker immune systems, such as transplant recipients, HIV/AIDS patients, cancer patients and the elderly, are more prone to infections from raw milk. Due to their weak immune systems, ingesting unpasteurised milk can lead to severe infections, hospitalisation and even death.
- Increase Acid Levels: Raw milk contains acid and proteins that can increase stomach acid production in the body which could make acid reflux and other acidity symptoms worse. Note that it is important to keep the acid levels under control.
- Chronic Health Diseases: Drinking raw milk can lead to severe or even life-threatening disorders such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, which causes paralysis, and haemolytic uremic syndrome, which causes kidney failure, stroke and death.
Therefore, it is advised to drink pasteurised milk.
