What you've heard
Raw milk is healthier
Verdict
Unsupported, and the risk is measured
Is raw milk healthier?
Unsupported, and the risk is measured.
In a large European study of farm children, drinking farm milk was linked to less asthma. But the link was observational, and boiled farm milk showed no such link. The infection risk, by contrast, is counted. In the United States, a small minority of people drink raw milk or eat unpasteurized cheese, yet unpasteurized dairy caused 96% of the illnesses in dairy-linked outbreaks. Raw milk can carry Listeria, E. coli and other germs most dangerous to young children, pregnant women, older adults and anyone with weakened immunity.14
Where the book tests it
Sources
- 14.Loss, G., Apprich, S., Waser, M., Kneifel, W., et al. (2011). "The protective effect of farm milk consumption on childhood asthma and atopy: the GABRIELA study." Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 128(4), 766-773.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2011.07.048 (8,334 rural schoolchildren); Costard, S., Espejo, L., Groenendaal, H., and Zagmutt, F.J. (2017). "Outbreak-related disease burden associated with consumption of unpasteurized cow's milk and cheese, United States, 2009-2014." Emerging Infectious Diseases, 23(6), 957-964. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2306.151603 (3.2% of Americans drink raw milk and 1.6% eat unpasteurized cheese; 96% of illnesses in dairy-linked outbreaks, 2009-2014); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025). Raw milk (last reviewed 31 January 2025). https://www.cdc.gov/food-safety/foods/raw-milk.html; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.). Preventing Listeria Infection. https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/prevention/index.html (higher risk in pregnancy, over 65 and with weakened immunity)
Note numbers are those of Chapter 6, The Gut That Expects Dirt.
This verdict is one of the "What you've heard" boxes in Chapter 6, The Gut That Expects Dirt, where the book tests the claims people repeat against the studies behind them.
Educational content, not medical advice. Disclaimer.