Raw milk has been linked to lower rates of allergies and asthma. But it can also contain deadly bacteria, scientists report.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns of the dangers of consuming raw milk because it can contain bacteria that can cause serious illness and death. Pasteurization is the only way to ensure the safe consumption of milk. However, scientific studies have linked raw milk consumption, especially at an early age, with lower rates of allergies and asthma. Is this evidence strong enough to risk drinking potentially dangerous raw milk? Researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland and their colleagues across Europe conducted a study of European children aged 6 to 12, which found lower rates of allergies and asthma in those of the children who, under the age of one, drank only raw milk. Importantly, when it was boiled to kill the bacteria, it completely reversed the protective effects. Not surprisingly, the researchers found much higher levels of bacteria in the raw milk consumed by children in this study. However, it was not possible to determine whether these bacteria are protective factors. A recent study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health found that the risk of developing allergies and asthma later in life was reduced in adults in the United States who grew up in a farming environment, and therefore drank mostly raw milk. it may contain pathogens. Instead, the team hopes that once the mechanisms underlying the protective effect are better understood, ways to process and preserve safe milk with preventive properties can be developed. Scientists are looking at different lines of research to understand what makes raw milk so good at preventing allergies and possibly asthma.