Drinking unpasteurised cow's milk for health is not like 'drinking bleach to cure Covid' says independent agricultural advisor Julia Jones, but it's too risky to be undertaken lightly. Photo: Engin Akyurt
She might be glad the health benefits of dairy milk are trending, but independent agricultural advisor Julia Jones warns against drinking it raw just on the advice of social media influencers.
Although unfamiliar with American 'trad wife' Hannah Neeleman, who recently extolled the virtues of raw milk, Jones says people seem to need reminding that information from those who "look like a supermodel or might be in the 1 percent of great genetics" is often unscientific.
"When are we going to learn that we don't take health advice from social media? Don't drink raw milk because some hot chick on Instagram told you to."
Raw milk: Social media fad or superfood?
While drinking raw dairy milk to be healthy isn't as out there as "drinking bleach to cure Covid", Jones says, it comes with serious risks, especially for pregnant women, older people and those with underlying health conditions and low immunity.
Because cow's milk carries high levels of naturally occurring bacteria, our regulatory standards for its production are, rightfully, "off the charts" she says.
Agricultural advisor Julia Jones Photo: Dairy Women's Network
"If an unwell animal was producing antibodies to try and fend off an infection, that will show through in the milk. It's actually tested in milk as well. It wouldn't even go into the system to then get pasteurised like that."
To produce safe unpasteurised dairy milk farmers must be extremely vigilant about storing it at the correct temperature, she says.
"If there was a bacteria in there and there's no testing done, then it doesn't take much for that bacteria to multiply and grow and then that's when you could potentially get really sick.
"We're not just talking a night on on the loo. We're talking quite serious damage."
According to Jones, who once tried drinking raw milk directly from a cow in a dairy shed, the taste isn't up to much anyway.
"It might have been that smell but it just made me feel a bit yucky ... I didn't think it was going to make me sick, I just found it a little bit too rich. It was a sensory overload."
From a nutrition standpoint, standard milk from the supermarket is safer and no less "super", she says.
"If you're only taking [raw milk] because you think you're going to get some nutrient benefit from it, guess what? That gorgeous little bit of milk that you buy from the supermarket in the fridge, that's a super food as well. So just knock that back and don't worry."
Read MPI's guidelines on consuming raw milk products here.