VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) -- Shaye Arluk is a former Neonatal Intensive Care Dietitian at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth who knew she wanted her babies to be fed only breast milk when they were born.
But as a breast cancer survivor, Shaye says she wasn't able to produce her own milk.
Shaye and her husband, Glenn, bought breast milk with a prescription from Wake Med Hospital milk bank in Raleigh, NC.
"In the beginning, they started at about $200 a day, but as they got bigger we were spending $1,000 a week," says Shaye.
The couple had no financial help from insurance to buy from the milk bank.
"Even though we knew it was medically necessary, [insurance doesn't] cover food," Shaye said.
Breast milk is an extremely hot commodity, but not just for parents like the Arluk's who were passionate about their children's health.
"Athletes, especially triathletes all across the U.S. are on the bandwagon for breast milk," says CHKD Milk Bank Director Ashlynn Baker, RN.
She says athletes call her every month to buy breast milk and are willing to pay $4.50 an ounce.
She laughs as she recounts some of the calls she's taken.
"It's hilarious. I just crack up when I get phone calls from adult men looking for milk to bulk up their muscles and win an award or a triathlon. Instead of steroids, they're going the all natural route and trying to obtain human milk which has human growth hormone in it, hoping that it will help them bulk up and get stronger for their events," Baker said.
Professional fitness trainer and registered dietitian Jim White says it's true.
"Anything to get a competitive edge, athletes will do. if it is drinking breast milk - it doesn't surprise me," says White. "There has been some claims out there for body builders, for athletes, showing energy increase, decrease fatigue, fat burning and for increased muscle. It's becoming a bigger craze around America."
But Baker says breast milk is not for sale, not even to parents without a prescription.
"There is a demand that exceeds what we are able to process, so we have to make sure that the priority goes to the babies most in need," Baker said.
As a result, those desperate for milk turn to websites like onlythebreast.com, which is like the craigslist of breastmilk. Breast milk can be bought on the site for $2.50 to $6 an ounce.
The site was started by dad Glenn Snow, whose wife produced too much milk. Snow says he started the site after he discovered that thousands of women needed breast milk for their children. But he didn't anticipate athletes also looking to buy.
One add on onlythebreast.com reads, "Breast milk for babies and Athletes!"
But Baker says beware, because there is no way of knowing if the milk is safe. She says parents have no way of pasteurizing the breast milk, like the milk bank does.
We wanted to know whether the breast milk does work as a supplement for adults.
We took it to Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Stephen Buescher from Eastern Virginia Medical School who insists that "human milk is intended for babies."
We asked Buescher if body builders get human growth hormones from breast milk.
Based on a study of how much Human Growth Hormone is in human milk, Dr. Buescher says, "You only have to drink about 165 gallons a day, all the way up to 260 gallons, depending on potency of the milk. That's in order to get anywhere from four to eight units of HGH a day." He adds, "For body builders, it's going to be a really expensive proposition. They will do nothing else than drink breast milk all day if they think they can get growth hormone from human milk."
Dr. Buescher says your stomach acid will destroy the hormone anyway.
The second popular use is in the form of colostrum, the very first milk a mother produces after a baby is born. Many athletes believe colostrum can coat their intestinal tract and strengthen their immune system. Dr. Buescher says there's not enough data on human milk being able to do that, but there is data for cow's milk, which is called bovine colostrum.
"The models have been given bovine colostrum to people who have chronic G.I. disease, diarrhea, that sort of thing. The level of antibodies in bovine colostrum are higher than what's in human milk because cows get it directly from their mothers where humans get it through the placenta. They are two different types of mammals."
He says that's why it would make more scientific sense to purchase Bovine colostrum instead of mother's milk.
Baker says, "Healthy women who are non symptomatic of infection could shed viruses and you could pass that to your baby. So make an informed decision and do your research. We're not sure of their storage. How did they handle this milk. How well did they clean their pump parts? Are they on prescription meds or herbal supplements? Are they even selling you real human milk?"
We purchased the milk online from a woman who posted an ad that read, "Breast milk for babies and athletes!"
It traced back to the email account of Jessica Fooster. But Jessica was actually Tanu Bamufor. We knew something seemed wrong when we went to buy the milk and she insisted on wire transfer's only. We risked it and not got robbed of $140. The milk never arrived but the wire transfer went through. The bank verified the other party got our money.
13NewsNow legal analyst and medical malpractice attorney Kevin Duffan says "buyer beware."
"You can buy it, get sick, and the seller isn't liable," Duffan says.
CHKD goes through a careful and stringent process of pasteurization at 130 degrees to make sure the milk is clean for the babies.
So did Wake Med Milk Bank for the now nine-year-old Arluk twins, Madison and Dylan.
"We were so small when we were born and now we're normal," Dylan said. "Like bigger than some people in my class."
Shaye is convinced breast milk is the reason the kids are thriving today.
"Because we made sure they got breast milk so early and we kept it going until they were six months old," Shaye said. "A $20,000 investment, not counting donations from our family and close friends, and it was worth every penny."
