Whether it’s a joke in poor taste or a real thing, several adult TikTok users have claimed that they’ve benefited from drinking breast milk they bought off the dark web.
Dr. Karan Raj took to his account to talk about in detail the risks of drinking human milk as adults while debunking the infamous myth widely propagated on social media.
Doctor advises against drinking breast milk
Dr. Karan Raj posted a video on his TikTok account in reaction to another video depicting a TikTok user drinking breast milk.
The doctor debunked similar claims on the platform by outlining the harmful effects of indulging in this, including lack of nutrients and negative impact on the digestive system.
He claims that breast milk contains way less protein than cow milk, so there’s no truth to claims that it helps build muscles in humans.
According to the American Pregnancy Association, breast milk contains nutrients like proteins, fats, vitamins, carbohydrates, and more.
The website states that lactose is the primary carbohydrate found in human milk, which accounts for 40% of calories in breast milk.
“Lactose helps to decrease a large number of unhealthy bacteria in the stomach, which improves the absorption of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. It helps to fight disease and promotes the growth of healthy bacteria in the stomach,” it further states.
While it is considered optimal for babies, the effects don’t translate to adults, as Dr. Karan explains in his video.
Harmful effect of social media trend
Dr. Karan says a high quantity of lactose in breast milk compared to other types of milk can only be digested by babies with lactase enzymes.
However, adult humans lose the lactase enzymes with age, which means, your body can’t efficiently digest the breast milk.
Furthermore, the gut microbiome is well-established in adults. Therefore, the prebiotic and probiotic properties of human milk do not provide any added benefits when adults consume the same.
Drinking breast milk from random sources without proper screening can cause more health complications as it may contain pathogens that aren’t good for your body and cause infections.
Dr. Karan Rajan is a certified NHS surgeon from London with over seven years of experience. After graduating from Imperial College London, he’s currently serving as a lecturer at Sunderland University.
He is best known for his TikTok videos related to health and medicine which he uses to educate his followers. He identifies himself as a ‘speaker’ and ‘educator’ with millions of followers across social media, which he has gained by combining his expertise with entertainment.
