The Dangers of Raw Milk, According to a RDN

Whether or not it’s your top choice to add to your morning latte, dairy milk is a source of many essential nutrients, including protein, vitamins, and minerals. But in recent years, “raw milk” has gained attention. That’s not a milk alternative like oat or almond; instead, “raw milk” refers to milk that hasn’t gone through the pasteurization process intended to kill harmful bacteria. There’s a subset of social media users who claim that raw milk is more “natural” and contains more nutrients than pasteurized milk, but drinking it can be downright dangerous — and despite its trending status, the health benefits of raw milk remain unproven.

We spoke with Meggie Connelly, MS, RDN, LDN, to get the lowdown on why people think drinking raw milk is beneficial and to review some of the risks of drinking it in place of pasteurized milk. Here’s what to know if you’re considering making the switch.

Experts Featured in This Article

Meggie Connelly, MS, RDN, LDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist, PCOS expert, and culinary nutritionist.

What Is Raw Milk?

Raw milk is unprocessed, straight-from-the-farm milk from cows, sheep, or goats. It skips the pasteurization process, a heating method used to eliminate harmful bacteria. According to Connelly, this means that there’s a high likelihood of raw milk containing bacteria like Listeria, E. coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter, all of which can lead to foodborne illnesses.

It’s similar to the warnings against eating raw cookie dough. The raw flour in the dough is a potential source of Salmonella. (Many people think the raw eggs are what make raw cookie dough dangerous, but most eggs in the US are pasteurized, so even raw there’s a low likelihood of carrying the bacteria — another point in favor of pasteurization.) Baking the dough helps kill off that bacteria, making the cookies safe to eat.

However, drinking unpasteurized or raw milk is far riskier than eating raw cookie dough. Heat is needed to ensure it’s free of many different bacteria, not just Salmonella, and safe for human consumption. Plus, a recent study showed that raw milk contains significant amounts of antibiotic-resistant genes. In other words? Raw milk potentially contains bacteria that are hard to kill with antibiotics.

Why Is Raw Milk Trending?

So if it’s so dangerous, why is a certain subset of TikTok promoting raw milk as a must-have wellness product? You may have seen it touted as a natural remedy for allergies and lactose intolerance and a way to boost gut health or even the immune system, Connelly says. However, science doesn’t back up these claims, she says. In fact, by choosing raw milk, people may be unknowingly putting themselves and their loved ones at risk of serious foodborne illnesses or infections.

One of the big reasons raw milk is seen as “better” is what’s known as the “appeal to nature fallacy.” This is a logical error that occurs when someone claims that something is inherently good, healthy, or better simply because it’s “natural.” In this case, the argument is that, “raw milk is better for you because it’s natural and hasn’t been pasteurized.” However, this flies in the face of scientific evidence, and the status of raw milk as “natural” doesn’t make it any safer or healthier than pasteurized milk. In fact, the opposite is true.

Does Raw Milk Have Benefits?

There’s no scientific evidence that raw milk has health benefits beyond what pasteurized milk offers in vitamins and nutrients.

One persistent myth is that raw milk is a natural remedy for lactose intolerance since it contains probiotic bacteria that produce an enzyme that digests lactose (an enzyme that people with lactose intolerance lacks). Pasteurization, the thinking goes, kills these good bacteria, making pasteurized milk even harder for those with lactose intolerance to digest.

But research simply doesn’t support this idea. A recent study in the journal Microbiome showed that raw milk doesn’t contain the same beneficial microbes found in fermented dairy products like yogurt or kefir. By definition, probiotic microorganisms must not cause illness, but raw milk contains several bacteria that can cause illness, such as E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria and Campylobacter. Therefore, it cannot be considered a probiotic product.

One specific good bug people claim is in raw milk is Bifidobacteria, which is found in human and animal gastrointestinal tracts. It’s also found in cow feces. Therefore, raw milk that has been collected using proper hygiene and sanitary techniques should not contain Bifidobacteria, per the Food and Drug Administration. If it does, this means that milk was not collected properly and has been contaminated with fecal matter (still want to try raw milk?).

Another misconception is that raw milk is a natural treatment for allergies, which likely came about due to the misinterpretation of the PARSIFAL study from 2007. This study found an inverse relationship between farm milk and asthma and allergies. In other words, those who drank farm milk had lower rates of asthma and allergies. However, about half the farm milk was boiled in the study, so the study isn’t specific to raw milk. Plus, the study’s authors specifically state that drinking raw milk poses serious health risks and that drinking raw farm milk shouldn’t be recommended as a preventative measure for asthma and allergies.

Finally, some proponents of raw milk believe that it contains immunoglobulins — a type of immune cell that helps protect against harmful invaders like bacteria and viruses — that can “boost” the immune system. However, the FDA notes that cow’s milk contains relatively few immunoglobulins, and the type of immunoglobulins found in cow’s milk are extremely heat-stable, so they’re able to withstand the pasteurization process.

The TL;DR? No, raw milk doesn’t have any benefits that would outweigh the very large health risks associated with drinking it.

What Are the Risks of Consuming Raw Milk?

Drinking raw milk comes with serious risks, including the potential for foodborne illnesses that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and flu-like symptoms, Connelly says. According to the FDA, there were at least 133 illness outbreaks due to raw milk consumption between 1987 and 2010 in the United States. This led to 269 hospitalizations, three deaths, six stillbirths, and two miscarriages.

Certain groups of people are especially vulnerable, such as those who are immunocompromised (including individuals who have recently had an organ transplant, those living with HIV/AIDS, or those undergoing cancer treatment), as well as infants, children, pregnant people, and the elderly, Connelly says. She emphasizes that Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can thrive in raw milk, is particularly dangerous for pregnant people, as it can lead to miscarriage, illness, or even the loss of a newborn.

The bottom line is that raw milk has no scientifically validated health benefits and can be extremely harmful, especially for vulnerable groups of people. Pasteurization is essential for making milk safe to drink and doesn’t significantly impact the nutritional value of milk. Before drinking raw milk, it’s important to prioritize safety and make decisions based on science — not trends.

Sarah Glinski is a registered dietitian and health and nutrition writer with over six years of experience in the health and wellness industry. Her specialties include diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, gut health, and intuitive eating. She believes food is more than just nutrients and acknowledges the power food can have to heal and build community. As a nutrition professional who writes health content, Sarah uses the latest scientific research to guide her writing and recommendations. Her goal as a writer is to ensure that complex health information is made easy to understand and actionable so that more people can benefit from it.