Boobs: Milking Your Gains?

Don't Be a Sucker for Internet Breast Milk

Q: What are your thoughts on the news that bodybuilders are buying breast milk online for its supposed muscle-building properties?

A: ABC News apparently ignited this media frenzy.¹ Google “breast milk bodybuilding” and you’ll see what I mean.² The volume of “me too” news reports and their sensationalized tone might suggest a massive army of muscleheads trolling the Internet for lactating women. Is there any truth to it? Well, lactating women are definitely out there, selling their milk for babies who need it via online sharing communities like “Eats on Feets” or commercial sites like “Only the Breast.” Human breast milk is full of good stuff and is designed to make babies grow rapidly. But would it pack pounds of muscle on an adult?

Actually, breast milk probably wouldn’t do jack for muscle growth, according to every nutrition expert I spoke with. Doug Kalman, Ph.D., RD, co-founder of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, said, “Human breast milk is calorie-rich, nutrient-dense and the richest source of immunoglobulins (colostrum, for example) responsible for ‘turning on’ the immune system of infants. But there’s not a shred of scientific evidence to suggest it builds muscle in adults.” And averaging $2.50 per ounce, who could afford it in volume? Why spend $160 for a half-gallon of breast milk when you can get 70 percent more protein in a half-gallon of cow’s milk for only three or four bucks?

There are some other very good reasons to avoid getting human milk online. A 2013 study found that human milk purchased via the Internet showed high bacterial growth and frequent contamination³, while a 2015 study found that some samples of online donor milk were contaminated with cow’s milk.⁴ Jesse Kwiek, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology at Ohio State and co-author of the studies, describes the “4 Ds” of buying breast milk online: “Disgust (bacteria and viruses⁵), Dilution (cow’s milk), Drugs (both narcotics and pharmaceuticals) and Deception (seller claims to be a non-smoker, for example, but tests show nicotine in the milk).”⁶ Note that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns against feeding babies breast milk obtained from others or over the Internet.⁷

So, are lots of bodybuilders really doing it? There was a 2010 forum post that made the rounds of the online message boards, extolling breast milk as “the greatest supplement ever.” One online poster boasted that, “I started using it as the cornerstone of my diet, and started growing beyond measure.” The post claimed that various IFBB pros drank breast milk regularly, and that even Arnold and Tom Platz “accredited much of their gains to breast milk.” Really?! It obviously sounded like the forum was being punked. But just to be sure, I asked a variety of today’s top pros, NPC athletes, bodybuilding journalists and even ordinary gym rats about the post. “I’m calling it BS that guys from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s used breast milk,” laughed Peter McGough, bodybuilding’s legendary historian and a journalist who was as close as any one to the pros of that era. “They used to talk about everything with me— training, diet, drug protocols, personal stuff. Never in that time did anyone mention breast milk, and they did mention some pretty weird stuff. As Arnold said, ‘Milk is for babies. When you grow up, you have to drink beer.’ I rest my case.”

Peter’s sentiments about Internet breast milk for bodybuilding were echoed by others. Nobody I spoke with could name a single recognized bodybuilder who advocated the practice. So the consensus is: prank post. But while saying it was the stupidest thing he’d heard lately, Bob Cicherillo cautioned, “Bodybuilding can sometimes get pretty extreme— who knows what a few random nuts might be doing out there?” He’s right. If we looked hard enough, we’d find some desperate bonehead drinking his own urine for its “vital nutrients” (one deceased pro reportedly did that, although he later denied it). But a couple of isolated lactate-loving whackos hardly make a phenomenon worth writing about. Maybe the real story is the gullibility of the mainstream media? Anyway, when it comes to Internet breast milk for bodybuilding, don’t be a sucker. Did the public really need a dozen news reports to be informed that buying unregulated human body fluids from strangers online was a bad idea?

Rick Collins, JD, CSCS [rickcollins.com] is the lawyer that members of the bodybuilding community and nutritional supplement industry turn to when they need legal help or representation. [© Rick Collins, 2015. All rights reserved. For informational purposes only, not to be construed as legal or medical advice.]

References:

[1]. Liz Neporent, “Why Bodybuilders are Pounding Down Breast Milk,” http://abcnews.go.com/Health/body-builders-pounding-breast-milk/story?id=29020910.

2. Or check out the breast milk references in the film “Pain and Gain” and even in the new “Mad Max” flick.

3. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/10/16/peds.2013-1687.full.pdf+html.

4. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2015/03/31/peds.2014-3554.full.pdf+html.

5. These could include staph, strep and even the HIV virus.

6. James Andrews, “As Online Sales of Breast Milk Rise, Experts Warn of Dangers,” http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/04/as-online-sales-of-breast-milk-rise-experts-warn-of-dangers/#.VWfQVPldUrW.

7. http://www.fda.gov/ScienceResearch/SpecialTopics/PediatricTherapeuticsResearch/

ucm235203.htm.

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