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Like many people who spend time on the Internet, Sabina Urraca had heard that breast milk wasn’t just beneficial for infants. Breast milk could help anyone who drank it by improving skin, boosting the immune system, and even building muscle.
Urraca was curious – and had been feeling a little under the weather as of late – so she decided to ask her friend Marina, who has a two-year-old daughter, if she would be willing to donate some breast milk.
Marina was more than willing and even allowed Urraca to sit in the room as she pumped the breast milk. She laughed as Urraca took a first, tentative sip and made a face that clearly read, “Oy, I just drank your breast milk.”
Freshly pumped breast milk is warm and slightly sweet. Urraca said it reminded her of “watery horchata.”
For the next few days, Urraca drank the milk directly from their containers and claimed she felt more energetic, clear-headed, and even “purified.”
That was when Urraca decided to speak to her doctor about her little experiment. Breastfeeding advisor, Alba Padró, broke Urraca’s bubble with one statement: “Placebos are a hell of a drug.”
"It's true that breast milk can alleviate the effects of chemotherapy, so some people drink it during their treatment,” Padró explained, but any other claims made by bodybuilders or otherwise healthy adults are all baseless.
"It's highly unlikely that the energy people feel after drinking breast milk is actually derived from it,” she added. Human milk contains very little protein in comparison to animal milk, so it’s actually more advantageous for bodybuilders to drink animal milk.
"I can imagine breast milk could possibly help athletes to recover certain minerals, but you could do that with other drinks or mixes, too. I think it's just a trend; there's no scientific basis for it. Of course breast milk is a superfood, but only for infants."
As for Urraca, even after realizing her misconception, she finished her friend’s donated breast milk, but has decided to never try a similar experiment again. Not only does it not benefit her, but she also just can’t help but feel like she’s stealing the milk from a baby.
