Grown men do a lot of really weird stuff. Some drink breast milk as a sexual fetish. Others, though, have begun to do drink breast milk in order to enhance their workout performance.

At least that’s why they say they do it.

Human breast milk is a high protein and high fat food (usually). It’s designed to help our little ones achieve their largest growth spurt, which occurs in the first six months of life.

But now, our physique-obsessed male culture has taken to drinking breast milk as a growth-enhancer of sorts. The trend is illustrated in the 2013 movie “Pain & Gain.”

Some women produce excessive amounts of breast milk and have historically donated or sold it to women who don’t produce enough milk for their babies, or for families who have adopted infants and want them to have human breast milk.

Bodybuilding men, though, will pay top dollar for human breast milk, which the website OnlytheBreast.com calls “liquid gold.” Most of the customers who visit the website are women, but an eyebrow-raising one-third of the customers are men.

“One St. Louis provider catering to athletes boasts that her milk is best because she adheres to a “Paleo-style diet with added grass-fed butter,” only organic foods, and a daily regimen of supplements including charcoal and probiotics,” reports Outside Magazine.

The grown men who drink human breast milk say it’s far superior to cow’s milk and the best for bodybuilding. They even say it helps to boost immunity. New York Magazine reported that human breast milk is…wait for it…the energy drink of the future. As a currently breastfeeding mom, I just got a little chill from typing that.

Okay. So it’s creepy. But there’s a “but.” A big but. (And not just because I also did something creepy: I ate my baby’s placenta.)

Men who would be likely candidates to juice up with steroids and other body-damaging performance enhancers are now opting instead for breast milk.

“It gives me incredible energy I don’t get from other food and drinks,” a breast milk drinker named Anthony told New York Magazine. Anthony buys it online for about $2.50 an ounce, the magazine reports. ““I don’t believe in steroids or other energy supplements, none of that garbage,” he said in a phone interview. “I want natural stuff that’s God-given, and if it’s okay with moms looking to get rid of it, I’ll take it.”

Avoiding ‘roid rage and the numerous health risks that come from the garbage many athletes frequently use to grow muscles is a healthy step up, but according to Bo Lonnerdal, a professor of nutrition and internal medicine at University of California at Davis, “I don’t see much sense in it all,” she told Outside. “It doesn’t provide more energy than other drinks with the same energy content.”

According to Outside, “a liter of breast milk has only one-third the total protein of cow’s milk. And it contains nearly twice as much lactose sugar, making it sweeter than cow’s milk and a poor choice for those who are lactose intolerant. Then there’s breast milk’s fat content, which varies widely based on the donor’s diet.” And the supposed benefits of breast milk that these grown men say enhance their performances, aren’t likely to pass through the stomach of an adult male—adult stomachs are “highly likely [to] break down bioactive components like lactoferrin and immunoglobulins long before they could have any potential function,” Lonnerdal said.

So if it will keep men off of steroids and there are willing women to sell their milk, that’s okay. I guess. But perhaps it will also bring more much-needed public acceptance to breastfeeding—and women’s breasts in general. They are, after all, designed to nurture human growth. We need to be mindful of that at every age.

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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Researchers at the Boston Children’s Hospital have discovered a significant link between breastfeeding and higher intelligence later in life.

In a study which followed 1,312 Massachusetts mothers from the beginning of their pregnancies (in 1999) to 2013, the research team found that overall intelligence and language scores of children rose for every additional month of breastfeeding they received as babies. Not only that, but babies who were solely breastfed for the first six months averaged 3 points higher on the language test and .35% higher on the intelligence test when compared to their peers who were fed a mixed diet or did not nurse for a full six months.

Although breastfeeding did not show a measurable effect on areas like motor skills or memory, researchers have concluded that the benefits to language and intelligence are  weighty enough to encourage mothers to breastfeed more and more often. Their official recommendation is that babies should be breastfed exclusively for the first six months, then continue to breastfeed while solid foods are gradually introduced.

Another interesting area of the study investigated whether or not a mother’s fish intake (while breastfeeding) might impact her baby’s cognitive development. Although the children of women who ate fish 2+ times per week was slightly higher than their peers, the number was not great enough to be considered significant.

This article appears courtesy of Ecorazzi

Ecorazzi covers news and gossip on celebrities and notables in support of the environment and humanitarian causes. You can follow us on Twitterand Facebook.

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Image: coatl28

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Alicia Silverstone hopes to provide assistance to fellow vegan moms who are struggling to feed their newborns breast milk.

We’ve heard of car sharing, bike sharing, and other collaborative consumption efforts, but what about sharing breast milk? Your initial reaction might be shock, but it’s actually not uncommon for women to supplement their own milk production in times of emergency or physical inability. There are both formal “milk banks” and informal sharing circles.

Now, actress, author, and vegan activist, Alicia Silverstone, has launched her own peer-to-peer breast milk sharing program, called “Kind Mama Milk Share.” The program is intended to provide an alternative for those mothers who have made the decision to be vegan, and want to raise their newborns in the same way.

On her blog, The Kind Life, Silverstone recounts the experience that inspired her to start the milk share.

A couple weeks ago, another mama I know gave birth to a son…because of a breast reduction surgery, she found she wouldn’t be able to make enough milk for him, no matter how much precious boobie time they spent together. She tried reaching out in her community for donor milk, but it was almost impossible to figure out what kind of lifestyle choices the donors had made.”

Vegan mothers who find themselves in similar situations are often forced to turn to formulas in order to ensure proper caloric intake. Yes, there are vegan formulas, but just like the dairy-based version, it’s a poor substitute for mother’s milk.

In a move that clearly plans to mobilize Silverstone’s significant online following, she’s encouraging vegan mothers who need milk to connect with those who have extra milk by commenting on her website. There are already more than 100 comments offering or requesting milk on the post, though it’s unclear whether Silverstone will be creating a dedicated page for “Kind Mama Milk Share”.

Would you participate in a sharing program of this nature or encourage your friends to do so? Share your thoughts in a comment. 

Image: maessive

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