What a myth!
*Can Malt and Milk give You Blood? Nigerian Doctor Explains*
By Chinonso Egemba - June 23, 2019

A Nigerian doctor by name Olufunmilayo decided to break the myth concerning the practice among Nigerians taking a Malt and Milk drink in the hopes that it will help replenish their blood levels.

Is there any truth to this?

it all started when a random twitter user by name Accidental Engineer posted a picture of a tin of peak milk and Maltina with the caption “Sco Pa Tu Manaa” to which Doctor Olufunmilayo quoted saying

“This is not a blood tonic This is not a blood tonic This is not a blood tonic. This is not a blood tonic. This is not a blood tonic. This is not a blood tonic. In case this is not clear enough: *THIS IS NOT A BLOOD TONIC* . It is a myth and a lie. There’s no truth to it. AT ALL.”
he further went in the thread to explain

“Okay let’s analyse this a bit further. Let’s look at the content list for Peak Milk and Maltina. I just took a picture of Peak Milk tin in my kitchen and downloaded an internet page on the contents of Maltina- let’s look at what they contain. Look at the following images.

“So according to that image, Each 100g of Peak Milk contains 28.3g of Fat (of which 19g is “saturated fat” which is actually bad fat- very bad medically for your heart). 37.1g carbohydrates. 25g protein. 506 kilocalories of energy. And the rest are salt, vitamin A and D.”

“So essentially Peak Milk is mainly fats, carbohydrates and protein. “Blood tonics” need to be rich in IRON- that is easily absorbable by the body- because this is what your body needs and uses to make blood! And unfortunately, Peak Milk has NONE of that. There is NO Iron in it.”

“So what am I saying in essence, for ANYTHING to “give you blood” or help you build blood- it has to be a rich source of IRON- because that’s what your body needs to build blood. That’s why when you blood is low, doctors give you IRON Sulfate capsules which you take for it.”

“And that’s why ANYTHING that would be considered a “blood tonic” MUST BE a rich source of Iron. Look at these images of actual blood tonics and see that they are ALL rich sources of Iron and that is stated on the pack. So IF something is NOT rich in Iron, it can NOT give blood.”

“So does that make sense so far? IF it is NOT rich in Iron, it cannot help you to build Hemoglobin and Red Blood Cells- which is essentially what you need to “build blood”. Do you understand? So this is why doctors just laugh at the popular myth of “malt and milk give blood”
“And in fact, shall I shock you more? The Peak Milk bottle clearly says on it that it’s NOT rich in Iron. Look at the attached image- It is boldly written on it. So IF you are hoping to “build blood”, and you are drinking Peak Milk- you are actually wasting your time. And money.”

IF anything at all, all those Milk is high in “saturated fats”- which as I said earlier on is “bad fat” for your heart. Regularly taking in large amounts would make you fat, increase bad cholesterol “LDL”, can give you hypertension, heart disease and a heart attack. Be careful.

I’m NOT saying don’t take it at all. I’m only saying as an adult, it has risks for your heart and on your health IF you take large amounts of all those milk on a consistent continuous pattern. Because of the high calories and fat.

You have to learn how to limit it and cut down.
Okay let’s analyse the Maltina. What does it contain? Look at the attached images. Again you see that Maltina – like any malt drink- is mainly calories and carbohydrates (sugar) with very little fat and vitamins. That’s all. There is NO Iron whatsoever in Maltina. NONE AT ALL.

So you now see my argument as a medical doctor on this myth of “Maltina and Peak milk gives blood”. Maltina has NO Iron. Peak Milk has NO Iron. Iron is what your body needs to build blood. Do you now see that it makes no medical sense to continue to believe this deceitful myth?

Unfortunately, some Nollywood movies and many uninformed elderly people have pushed this narrative for so long that no one ever bothered to check or ask questions. But actually, it is NOT true. Milk and Malt will NOT give you Blood. If you feel you need blood, see your doctor.

I hope this short thread has NOT broken your heart. It wasn’t deliberate. I felt I should set things straight and tell you all the truth. If you want to drink Maltina or milk, go ahead. But not for blood

“But what about Ugwu and Milk”? Now this is NOT a myth. *It is TRUE. It works* . Not because of the Milk but because of the Ugwu. And it is the same principle- Ugwu is known as Pumpkin. Pumpkin is actually rich in Iron. And of course Iron helps to build blood as I said earlier.

Ugwu is known to contain high levels of Iron actually. So definitely Ugwu can help you build your blood. Look at the attached images to verify this information. Infact, the Igbos have used Ugwu as natural blood tonic for centuries. And they are right on that. That’s NO myth.
He posted a link showing the content of Iron in Ugwu leaves also.

“But they give us Malt and Milk after donating blood” Actually, that’s a “ *thanks for coming* ”, dears. They are not giving you back your blood AT ALL. Don’t be deceived. It’s just an incentive for you to donate. It’s NOT blood replacement. I hope this is clear enough for us all.