Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, specialists said there was little evidence to support claims that the milk – traded via websites in a lucrative market for adult buyers – is some kind of super food that can boost health and fitness and ward off disease. On the contrary, the experts warned, raw and unpasteurized human breast milk bought online can expose consumers to many serious infectious diseases, including hepatitis, HIV and syphilis. It is also potentially very hazardous if used to replace a healthy balanced diet, Sarah Steele, a specialist at the global health and policy unit at Queen Mary University of London, wrote in the journal.