How gym influencers are risking deadly bird flu by drinking raw milk

Gym influencers are risking a host of deadly infections, including bird flu, by drinking raw milk, experts have warned.

Raw milk does not go through pasteurization, a standard practice that involves heating liquids at high temperatures to kill off bacteria and other harmful contaminants. 

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the bird flu virus, also known as H5N1, had been found in raw milk samples at 'very high concentrations.' 

As H5N1 spreads to 34 farms in nine states, experts have assured that pasteurized milk, which is standard in major retailers, is safe.

Dr Paul Saladino, a holistic physician also known as 'Carnivore MD,' claimed on TikTok: 'No matter how you get it, getting raw milk, raw dairy, in your diet is definitely going to improve your health. You're welcome'

Taylor Morgan, a Marine Corps veteran who calls himself 'The Captain,' posted a TikTok last year showing himself in the grocery store looking at a display of raw kefir. 'Raw kefir is one of the best foods that human beings can have. It's stupid that it's illegal in some states, so they have to market it as for pets. But I'm an animal,' he said

Initial testing showed that one in five commercial milk samples contained genetic fragments of H5N1. 

However, there was no evidence of the live virus, suggesting the pasteurization process killed it off. 'These results reaffirm our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,' the FDA last week. 

Though raw milk has consistently been proven to be unsafe and hold no additional nutritional benefit over pasteurized milk, TikToks showcasing the drink have gained nearly 26 million views, with gym bros and housewives claiming it's superior for muscle growth, allergies, and immune health.

The CDC classifies raw milk as 'one of the riskiest foods' and states that the germs it is could carry 'can pose serious health risks to you and your family.'

Experts also estimate that pasteurization kills 99.9 percent of pathogens. 

Dr Paul Saladino, a holistic physician also known as 'Carnivore MD,' posted a TikTok video last year about 'why you should be drinking raw milk.' 

He goes on to claim that kids who drink raw milk have lower rates of asthma, eczema, and allergies in adulthood, and that raw milk has high levels of the joint-healing compound methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). 

Dr Saladino said: 'Interestingly, in studies looking [at] raw milk consumption, it's been found to be as effective as breastfeeding in reducing respiratory tract infections in kids.

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'No matter how you get it, getting raw milk, raw dairy, in your diet is definitely going to improve your health. You're welcome.'

However, MSM can also be found in protein-rich foods like eggs, meat, poultry, fish, and legumes, as well as supplements.

Additionally, in the breastfeeding study Dr Saladino mentions, the authors note that while there could be some respiratory benefits to raw milk, it still has 'health hazards' that are important to consider. 

In a response to another Carnivore MD video about raw milk, Dr Terry Simpson, a weight loss surgeon in California, said: 'This is downright dangerous.'

'Raw milk is not healthy for you. It doesn't contain more enzymes that are beneficial to you, and besides, enzymes that would be in raw milk would be destroyed by your stomach acid anyway.'

'It should be illegal because something that causes a public health concern, like raw milk does, should be illegal.' 

Dr Simpson also noted that raw milk illnesses led to 98 deaths last year and has been associated with conditions like Guillain-Barre, which causes the body's own immune systems to attack the nerves and lead to paralysis. 

Taylor Morgan, a Marine Corps veteran who calls himself 'The Captain,' posted a TikTok last year showing himself in the grocery store looking at a display of raw kefir.

Kefir is a fermented milk drink that's similar to thin yogurt, and raw kefir is made from unpasteurized milk. 

'Look how f****** stupid this is,' he said, pointing to a sign that says raw kefir is 'for pets.' The video has 7.8 million views. 

'Raw kefir is one of the best foods that human beings can have. It's stupid that it's illegal in some states, so they have to market it as for pets. But I'm an animal.' 

The FDA bans the interstate sale and distribution of raw milk, though exact restrictions vary by state. For example, some states ban the sale of raw milk for humans but allow it for animals. 

Dr Terry Simpson, a weight loss surgeon in California, said that promoting raw milk 'is downright dangerous'

Gubba Homestead, a wellness and homesteading company, posted a video earlier this month showing a woman drinking a cup of raw milk. 'I'm a conspiracy theorist, of course I drink raw milk,' she said in the video, which has more than 127,000 views

The company claimed that the largest salmonella outbreak was from pasteurized milk, which experts responded was not true

Gubba Homestead, a wellness and homesteading company, posted a video earlier this month showing a woman drinking a cup of raw milk. 'I'm a conspiracy theorist, of course I drink raw milk,' she said in the video, which has more than 127,000 views.

She continued: 'Did you know that the biggest salmonella outbreak was actually from pasteurized milk, not raw milk?'

In the caption of the video, the company wrote: 'Raw milk is a whole food. Pasteurized milk is a dead food. By heating the milk (pasteurization) it denatured necessary enzymes and proteins necessary for nutrient absorption.

'The largest salmonella outbreak, occurring in 1985, was from PASTEURIZED milk. Not raw milk.'

'The system wants you sick and doesn’t want you to know the secret of raw milk. That is why it is hard to come by friends.'

'Pasteurized milk is DANGEROUS.'

In response to Gubba Homestead's video, which has 5million views, a microbiologist named Weston, who goes by microbiologywes, refuted the claims.

'Lucky for you, I wrote my entire master's thesis on bacterial infections in the mammary glands of cows, the place where they make that moo juice that you're guzzling down right now and thinking it's amazing,' he said.

Weston noted that the US' largest salmonella outbreak was actually in 1994, which was tied to ice cream that was transported in a tanker that was previously used to carry unpasteurized products and was not properly cleaned out. 

Roughly 224,000 people were sickened as a result.

'And it was not caused by the dirty unpasteurized stuff that was there before,' he said.

Weston explained that drinking raw milk is not only 'disgusting and weird, but it's also extremely dangerous.'

USDA data shows that H5N1 has been detected in 34 farms across nine states, leading scientists to test raw and pasteurized milk samples

A microbiologist on TikTok who goes by microbiologywes said that the largest salmonella outbreak in the US was from ice cream transported in a tanker that previously carried raw dairy and was not properly cleaned. Weston said that drinking raw milk is not only 'disgusting and weird, but it's also extremely dangerous'

'Raw milk can carry pathogens that are very dangerous such as staph, E coli, campylobacter, and even tuberculosis.' 

'Pasteurization kills all of that bacteria. If you want to drink raw milk, go ahead. You're disgusting, but don't pretend like it's safe because you have a 640 times higher likelihood to be sick after drinking raw milk than you do after drinking pasteurized milk.' 

Weston also noted that the chance of being hospitalized from those illnesses is about 45 greater for raw milk drinkers than those going for the pasteurized variety.

'Let's also remember that only three percent of the population drinks raw milk, but they account for 96 percent of all illnesses linked to dairy products.' 

Dr Darin Detwiler, former food safety advisor for the FDA and USDA, previously told DailyMail.com: 'Raw milk definitely carries a higher risk of exposure to not only avian flu but pathogens such as salmonella, E coli, listeria.'

'Pasteurization is the only effective way or eliminating these pathogens and to make inactive any kind of influenza virus should they be present in milk.'

'But quite honestly, pasteurized milk is always the safer choice.'