TikTok Influencers Driving Raw Milk Sales – But It’s Still A Bad Idea
It seems the most viral wellness trends are those that go against everything we've learned about health and safety. For instance, there are the carnivore diet eaters, who forego anything that isn't an animal product and likely significantly lack healthy fibre, and the even more worrying extension of that in raw meat eaters.
Why Is Raw Milk Trending?
Now, raw milk is the latest trend concerning experts. Online, people claim the straight-from-the-udder delicacy contains more nutrients, improves digestion, leads to better skin... the list goes on.
It's gaining traction offline too, thanks to Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump’s nomination to run the US Department of Health, who has said government regulations on raw milk were part of a 'war on public health'.
In the United States, the law bans sales of raw milk across state borders, but individual states can choose their own regulations around production and sales.
Raw milk is banned from being sold in Scotland, and in England, Wales and Northern Ireland it can only be sold by registered producers, labelled with a health warning, and not in any supermarkets or high street shops.
While there aren't many stats showing an increase of sales as a result of raw milk chat in the UK, sales rose by up to 65% from 2023-2024, according to a report seen by the Associated Press.
Is Raw Milk Healthy?
'Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurised or homogenised,' Clare Thornton-Wood, a dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietitics Association, tells MH.
'Pasteurising milk involves heating it to a temperature that kills bacteria, yeasts and moulds. Homogenisation involves breaking the fat globules into tiny particles and mixing them within the milk – this prevents the milk separating and the cream rising to the top.'
While homogenisation may be an effort-saving process, pasteurisation is vital for health.
'When the milk is within the animal it is sterile. However, during the process of milking the milk becomes contaminated with bacteria from the udder and skin of the anima, faeces and the equipment used,' explains Thornton-Wood.
'Studies have shown that there are higher levels of bacteria in raw milk than pasteurised milk. The bacteria that may be present include salmonella, Listeria, E coli and Campylobacter, all of which have the potential to cause illness, hospitalisation and even death.'
Sounds like something best avoided. Yet influencers – and, apparently, politicians – cling on to the few beneficial side effects of raw milk. Namely, that pasteurising milk removes some of the nutrients. This impact is minimal, Thornton-Wood points out.
'Most of the vitamins and minerals in milk are heat stable, with the exception of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) – though some of this is still present. Riboflavin is easily obtained from other dietary sources too, such as meat, eggs, nuts and green vegetables.
'Raw milk does also potentially contain slightly higher levels of probiotic bacteria than pasteurised milk. However, fermenting milk – such as in kefir – will increase the number of probiotics in pasteurised milk. Probiotics are also found in many other foods such as kimchi, pickles, sauerkraut, miso, cheese, green olives, apple cider vinegar and sourdough.'
So, is it worth the risk? No, according to Thornton-Wood, who says 'I never recommend raw milk.'
Why Do Influencers Love Raw Milk?
The trend is (unfortunately) hardly surprising. While we can roll our eyes at these attitudes, we can see why it happens: we are in a nutrition crisis, with an over-reliance on ultra-processed foods.
However, what these idealists forget is that while people used to live on more natural products, they were also pretty unhealthy. According to John A. Lucey, PhD, a professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and director of the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, it's estimated that in 1938, pre-pasteurisation, milk-borne outbreaks constituted 25% of all disease outbreaks (related to food and water) in the United States. Now, they make up fewer than 1%.
'The rise in raw milk is happening as we are beginning to understand and be bombarded with information in the media about the risks to health of consuming ultra-processed foods,' says Thornton-Wood. 'However, milk is not ultra-processed; it is considered a minimally processed food as nothing is added to it, there is just heat treatment.'
The Men's Health Verdict
While we always advocate for taking a proactive approach to your nutrition, including eating plenty of wholefood ingredients, we draw the line way before bacteria-ridden milk. There are much better ways to look after your health, no matter what TikTok wants you to believe.
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