LONDON — British scientists warned Thursday that there’s a growing craze of adults buying human breast milk online to drink, saying that it’s not only hazardous to consume, but it doesn’t have any of the nutritional benefits that some claim it has.

In a new study from Queen Mary University of London, which is published in The Royal Society of Medicine journal, researchers say that raw or unpasteurised breast milk puts people who are drinking it at risk of bacterial borne illnesses as well as infectious diseases.

Scientists say there’s a lucrative market and point to forums that describe human breast milk as a natural, free-from or clean superfood that is easily digestible and has immune building properties.

The study says that the adult breast milk craze is being led by bodybuilders, paleo dieters, chronic disease sufferers, fetishists and even foodies, with adult drinkers paying a premium to get it.

“Online forums are replete with posts boasting about the immune, recovery, nutritional and muscle building benefits of human milk … Such purported benefits do not stand up clinically, however,” researchers write in the study.

“Nutritionally, there is less protein in breast milk than other milks like cow’s milk. Chemical and environmental contaminants are known to make their way into breast milk, just like the food chain more broadly.”

It highlights the risks people who consume human breast milk are taking.

“The lack of pasteurisation and testing not only indicates a bacterial risk but breast milk also exposes consumers to a host of infectious diseases, including cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B and C, HIV-1/2, HTLV I&II and syphilis,” researchers say.

“While many online mums claim they have been tested for viruses during pregnancy, many do not realise that serological screening needs to be undertaken regularly.”

Researchers conclude that it’s ill-advised to to drink the milk as an adult and call for regulators to issue public guidance on the purchasing of it.

The UK’s Food Safety Authority told Mashable that it advises against anyone buying breast milk over the Internet, saying: “it would be very difficult to confirm the safety of the product.”

“Sales of breast milk in a food product could be permitted but the business would be required to prove the milk has been collected and handled hygienically and the product is free from harmful viruses and bacteria,” it adds.

There are breast milk banks in the UK, but they are located in hospitals and the purpose of them is to supply milk to babies who are premature or unwell. However websites such as Only The Breast, set up in 2009, and described as the “Craigslist of breast milk” enables mothers to sell their breast milk not only to other mothers who are unable to breastfeed but also to adults.

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