Kourtney Kardashian Barker isnt the first to drink breast milk but we know surprisingly little about its adult health benefits [Video]

“I just pounded a glass of breast milk because I feel sick 🤧 goodnight!” wrote Kourtney Kardashian Barker on an Instagram story to her 224 million followers in April 2024.

Her comment attracted shock, horror and disgust from many social media users, but it’s not the first time Kardashian Barker has used her milk as medicine. In 2013, she applied her breast milk to her sister Kim Kardashian’s leg in an effort to heal a patch of psoriasis.

The Kardashians are usually trendsetters. But by drinking her own breast milk, the eldest Kardashian sister helped promote a health trend already steeped in centuries of medical history.

After giving birth to Rocky, her child with Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, Kourtney clearly wanted to put her extra breast milk to good use again. But is there any evidence that human milk is an effective remedy for illness?

The production of milk defines mammals. Every mammal produces milk which has been tailored to their offspring …