Breast Milk has been under extreme focus for its health
benefits for adults is generally watched with scepticism. Women Fitness brings
you the fact and fiction about the same.
In an unusual twist, some men are turning to human milk in a quest to bulk up or
improve their health, believing all the benefits it provides to infants can
produce similar effects in adults. The trend is puzzling experts who say breast
milk is meant for human babies, not human grown-ups. They worry about the safety
of drinking milk from donors who are not properly screened.
Still, some men think the nutrient-rich liquid is the secret to their success at
the gym. �It gives me incredible energy I don�t get from other food and drinks,�
Anthony, who didn�t disclose his last name, recently told New York Magazine. �I
don�t believe in steroids or other energy supplements, none of that garbage� I
want natural stuff that�s God-given.�
Many bodybuilders also tout the benefits of breast milk, with some of them
calling it �the greatest supplement ever� on the message boards of
BodyBuilding.com. It�s not exactly a product you can pick up at the store, so
when men are seeking breast milk, some are turning to sites such as
OnlyTheBreast.com, which connect lactating women who want to sell or donate
their milk with buyers � usually other moms, but not always.
OnlyTheBreast.com has had a �Men Buying Breast Milk� category since its
inception more than four years ago, said founder Glenn Snow, adding it's not
surprising there�s demand for breast milk among men. �We think breast milk is
amazing and can be used for many health and wellness purposes regardless of the
age or gender of the person seeking its benefits,� Snow told TODAY.com.
The men�s classified ads feature pleas for breast milk from all corners of the
U.S., including �a retired firefighter looking to fix my health� in Lewiston,
Idaho, and an �older man seeking fresh breast milk for health reasons� in Fort
Worth, Texas. (Some of the ads appear to ask for more than just nourishment,
such as the �Niagara Region gentleman� looking for both breast milk and an
�ongoing personal relationship.�). Still, only a small fraction of the site�s
members seek milk for their own health and wellness, Snow said, with most
focused on helping mothers share milk with babies in need.
Breast milk is rich in nutrients and antibodies, according to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. It contains just the right amount of
fat, sugar, water, and protein to help a baby grow and it�s easier to digest.
Because of all those benefits, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends
breast-feeding for the first six months of a baby's life.
But there is no evidence that breast milk has a protective role in the health of
adults, said Elisa Zied, a registered dietitian nutritionist in New York.
�Human breast milk (is) designed to nourish babies � not grown men,� said Zied,
author of �Younger Next Week.� �Bottom line: I find the idea of an adult using
human breast milk for health benefits unsubstantiated by science.� Breast milk
contains immunoglobulins that help fight infection�but they are immunoglobulins
that, for the most part, adults have and infants don�t, said Dr. Claire
McCarthy, a pediatrician and medical communications editor at Boston Children�s
Hospital.
She noted that human milk was meant for humans while cow�s milk was meant for
cows, so by that reasoning, human milk would be healthier for people to drink
than cow�s milk.
But at the same time, it�s also meant for human babies, not adults, McCarthy
added. Both Zied and McCarthy were concerned about the risk of disease when
drinking breast milk from an unknown source.
�Milk is a bodily fluid and can carry infections that are present in the body,
such as HIV, hepatitis and others,� McCarthy said. Human milk that�s obtained
directly from individuals or through the Internet is not likely to come from a
donor who was adequately screened for disease or contamination risk, the FDA
warns. The agency recommends that parents who are seeking donor milk for their
babies contact the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, which
dispenses milk by prescription or by hospital purchase order only. The
association has safety guidelines for screening donors, and collecting,
processing, handling, testing and storing milk.
Meanwhile, a study last fall found human milk bought and sold on the Internet
may be contaminated. So Zied advised adults to stick with proven nutrition
guidelines.There's little doubt that breast milk helps keep babies healthy, but
could it be a miracle cure for adult illnesses, too? That's the suggestion from
a number of studies on its use as a treatment for conditions as varied as
cancer, diarrhoea and diabetes. In the latest research published last week, a
Swedish team reported that the sizes of bladder tumours were reduced just five
days after patients were injected with a breast milk compound. The team at
Gothenburg University had been looking at the antibiotic properties of breast
milk when a researcher noticed that cancerous lung cells in a test tube died on
contact with breast milk.
They then isolated the key compound - a protein called alpha-lactalbumin.
Subsequent tests showed the compound becomes lethal only when exposed to acid,
as it is in the stomach, so the scientists mixed it with oleic acid, which is
found in babies' stomachs, to form a compound they call HAMLET (human
alphalactalbumin made lethal to tumour cells). The Swedish team, led by
Professor Catharina Svanborg, have shown that HAMLET attacks cancer cells,
causing apoptosis - a form of cell suicide - in 40 kinds of tumour.
Studies with rats showed that after just seven weeks a highly invasive brain
cancer called glioblastoma was seven times smaller in those treated with HAMLET.
The product has also been made into a cream and tested on warts (which share the
same growth properties as tumours) and found to reduce their size by 75 per cent
in 20 volunteers.
Researchers believe this could have implications for the treatment of cervical
cancer, which is linked to the human papilloma virus, or HPV. Its extraordinary
ability to attack rogue cells could be why breast milk appears to protect babies
from all sorts of illness - a protection that scientists believe could linger in
the body for years. Research shows that breast-fed babies have a reduced risk of
many adult illnesses, including cancer. But cancer is not the only focus of
breast milk research:
Diabetes and Parkinson's
Breast milk could be a new, and easier, source of stem cells. Stem cells are one
of the most exciting discoveries in medicine, thanks to their remarkable ability
to develop into many different cell types in the body, serving as a sort of
internal repair system. Stem cells are already being used to treat leukaemia and
could soon help treat eye conditions. Scientists are also researching their
potential in the longer term for treating conditions such as spinal injuries,
diabetes and Parkinson's disease. A molecular biologist at Perth University,
Australia, has discovered stem cells in breast milk.
Dr Mark Cregan and his team cultured the cells of human breast milk and found
the result was positive for a stem cell marker called nestin. 'These cells have
all the physical characteristics of stem cells,' he says. 'What we will do next
is to see if they behave like stem cells.' If so, this promises to provide
researchers with an ethical and easier means of harvesting stem cells for
researching treatments. Indeed, Dr Cregan believes this development could be
possible within five years.
Diarrhoea
Chronic diarrhoea kills up to 2.2 million people worldwide every year, mostly
children in developing countries. Scientists are looking at whether breast milk
could help treat it. One approach is based on indigestible sugars known as
oligosaccharides, many of which occur only in human milk. These sugars protect a
baby from pathogens to which the mother has never been exposed.
It's thought oligosaccharides might be used to boost elderly people's weakened
natural protection against pathogens. They could also be used after a course of
strong antibiotics by helping re-colonise the digestive tract with beneficial
bacteria.
So far, scientists have been able to genetically engineer mice to produce
oligosaccharides in their milk and are working on bioengineering bacteria to
produce human oligosaccharides to put into baby formula milk (to protect
bottle-fed babies) or as supplements for adults.
Other compounds found in breast milk, called lysozyme and lactoferrin, have been
tested on children with diarrhoea and have been shown to not only be an
effective treatment, but to offer some sort of protection against future bouts.
Arthritis
Breast milk contains lactoferrin, which helps prevent babies' immune systems
from overreacting. This is being looked as a potential treatment for auto-immune
conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and septic shock.
Dementia
In Italy, studies are under way to see if a breast milk molecule called
glyerophosphocholine (GPC) can improve mental function in people with dementia
or victims of stroke and traumatic brain injury. In many separate trials, GPC
appears to improve memory, attention and orientation in people with various
forms of dementia, including Alzheimer's. It works like a brain nutrient,
feeding the most energetically needy cells of our body, such as the brain cells.
Acne
A science student at the University of California recently discovered that the
lauric acid in breast milk reduces irritation and spots, and has developed an
acne cream that is undergoing clinical trials. The cream uses tiny gold
particles to carry lauric acid into pores where its anti-microbial properties
fight bacteria. As breast milk is difficult to source, researchers are working
to develop new sources for its health giving compounds.
The compounds lysozyme and lactoferrin are harvested for research from a
specific variety of rice, and the milk from genetically engineered goats and
cows. Though some of these beneficial compounds are found in milk from other
animals, others occur only in human milk, and the nonhuman versions are less
potent when given to humans.
Healthcare
Breast milk has a long history in healthcare. The ancient Egyptians used it as a
medicine, blending it with honey. And in the Sixties, Albert Sabin, inventor of
the oral polio vaccine, conducted a study that showed mice recovered from polio
when fed human breast milk.
Today, some patients suffering from immunological diseases - such as HIV,
leukaemia or hepatitis - or those receiving therapy that reduces the immune
system, such as chemotherapy, have drunk breast milk in the hope that it can
help adults, just as it helps sick babies. It has also been taken by cancer
patients who claim it slows the progression of the disease.
In the U.S., some milk banks provide it to adults. However, the benefits of
drinking breast milk are unproven, and scientists maintain any beneficial effect
may have more to do with placebo.
While British milk banks do sometimes receive requests to supply milk for
adults, they are not able to provide it, says Gillian Weaver of the UK
Association of Milk Banking. 'This is partly because of a lack of clinical
evidence of benefit, but also because milk banks are not funded or organised on
a scale in which they could provide it,' she says. There is also understandable
concern about diverting breast milk from needy babies.
