CANCER patients and bodybuilders are putting themselves at risk of contracting HIV and syphilis when buying human breast milk online, experts have warned.

Often bought by mothers who are unable to breastfeed, breast milk sold online can be cheaper than that from regulated milk banks.

But is has also and has emerged as a recent craze for cancer sufferers, fetishists and bodybuilders.

Dozens of websites sell and hail breast milk as a "superfood", which provides energy, nutrients and can even help with erectile dysfunction and cancer.

But an academic at Queen Mary University of London (QMU) warned that the purported benefits of breast milk did not meet clinical standards.

Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Dr Sarah Steele said: "Online forums are replete with posts boasting about the immune, recovery, nutritional and muscle-building benefits of human milk.

Chemical and environmental contaminants are known to make their way into breast milk, just like the food chain more broadly

Dr Sarah Steele
"Such purported benefits do not stand up clinically, however. Nutritionally, there is less protein in breast milk than other milks like cow's milk.

"Chemical and environmental contaminants are known to make their way into breast milk, just like the food chain more broadly."

Bacteria was detected in a staggering 93 per cent of samples, according to research cited by Dr Steele.

This was due to a lack of sanitisation, pasteurisation and testing and meant the milk could contain contaminants such as alcohol, chemicals and other milk products used to bolster the volume for profit.

Failure of women to sanitise properly when expressing milk, the failure to sterilise equipment properly and the improper or prolonged storage and transportation of milk can expose consumers to bacterial food-borne illnesses like any other raw milk.

And because breast milk is not screened, those drinking it could contract deadly diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis.

Dr Steele added: "While many online mums claim they have been tested for viruses during pregnancy, many do not release that serological screening needs to be undertaken regularly.

SOURCE: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/585297/Breast-milk-HIV-online-adults-drink-health-warning