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Is raw milk healthier than pasteurised milk?

What you hear: “Raw, unpasteurised milk is more nutritious than pasteurised milk and helps with allergies and lactose intolerance.”

What the studies found

A systematic review found pasteurisation lowers some vitamins, but the effect on milk's nutritional value is minimal because those vitamins are low in milk anyway. In a small randomised trial of 16 lactose-intolerant adults, raw milk did not reduce symptoms compared with pasteurised milk. Per amount drunk, unpasteurised dairy caused about 150 times more outbreaks in the US; a lower allergy rate in farm children is an observed link that may come from farm life itself.

Take care: Raw milk can carry germs that cause serious illness, and outbreaks fall hardest on children and teens.

What you could do

Choose pasteurised milk, especially for children, older adults, pregnant women and anyone with weak immunity.

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Not medical advice. General information from published studies, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Talk with your doctor before starting a supplement or changing a medicine, especially if you are pregnant, take other medicines or have a health condition.

How we judged it

Doesn't hold up: Good studies looked and found no benefit, or the claim is plainly false. We judge the claim as it is usually said online, not the habit itself. Trials assign people at random, so they can show cause; observed studies follow people and show a link, not proof. Last checked: October 2026.

The studies, in their own words

1. Macdonald et al. J Food Prot 2011

   The effect of pasteurization on milk's nutritive value was minimal because many of these vitamins are naturally found in relatively low levels.

2. Mummah et al. Ann Fam Med 2014

   Raw milk failed to reduce lactose malabsorption or lactose intolerance symptoms compared with pasteurized milk among adults positive for lactose malabsorption.

3. Langer et al. Emerg Infect Dis 2012

   Nonpasteurized products caused a disproportionate number (≈150× greater/unit of product consumed) of outbreaks and outbreak-associated illnesses and also disproportionately affected persons <20 years of age.

4. Koski et al. Epidemiol Infect 2022

   During 2013-2018, 75 outbreaks with 675 illnesses occurred that were linked to unpasteurised milk; of these, 325 illnesses (48%) were among people aged 0-19 years.

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