The Dangers of Drinking Raw Milk

The Dangers of Drinking Raw Milk

Developing a healthy lifestyle is a process with many decisions and steps. One step you might be thinking about is adding raw milk to your diet. However, raw or unpasteurized milk can carry harmful germs that can make you very sick or kill you. If you're thinking about drinking raw milk because you believe it has health benefits, think again.  You might to consider other options.

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized to kill harmful germs which include bacteria, viruses, and parasites which can be harmful. It's important to understand the risks of drinking raw milk, especially because you may be hearing claims about the supposed "benefits" of raw milk.

If you think that certain types of bacteria may be beneficial to your health, consider getting them from foods that don't involve such a high risk. For example, so-called probiotic bacteria are sometimes added to pasteurized fermented foods, such as yogurt and kefir.

Milk and products made from milk need minimal processing, called pasteurization.  When milk is pasteurized, some bacteria remain in it, but the disease-causing ones are killed. Harmful germs usually don't change the look, taste, or smell of milk, so only when milk has been pasteurized can you be confident that these germs are not present.

Remember, you can't just look at, smell, or taste a bottle of raw milk and tell if it's safe to drink. Make the best decision for the health of your family. If you want to keep milk in your family's diet, protect them by not giving them raw milk.

Posted by George Daniels on Friday March 02 2012, 1:26 PM EST. Ref: CDC. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0