Avoiding a c-section could be as simple as munching on cow poo, according to a doctor who swears by the health benefits of chowing down on bovine dung.

Dr Manoj Mittal even filmed himself popping a cow pat into his gob, which he says helps remove impurities from his body. According to media reports,  Dr Mittal, from India, says his whole family has eaten cow dung for years.

“Every part of Panchagavya obtained from the cow is very valuable for mankind. See, if we eat cow dung, then our body and mind become pure. Our soul becomes pure. Once it enters our body, it purifies our body,” he said.

He claims that his mother had ‘natural births’ because she devoured dung. “By eating cow dung, it removes impurities from our body. We are nine siblings, and we have been eating dung.

“My mother also consumes it from time to time, and she had given all of us birth via normal deliveries.”

Dr. Manoj Mittal MBBS,MD, Pediatrician. pic.twitter.com/0cXRL8uA61 https://t.co/InQHixIcTR

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) November 16, 2021

This isn’t the first time that people have advocated for ingesting cow poo and urine for supposed health benefits. According to Forbes, earlier this year Sohel Daria and Md. Rabiul Islam from the University of Asia Pacific in Dhaka, Bangladesh, wrote a letter published in the International Journal of Health Planning and Management, titled, ‘The use of cow dung and urine to cure Covid-19 in India: A public health concern.’ It outlined why using these cow waste products was a problem, and not a solution to any health issues.

Don’t eat cow poo. Just don’t

Besides the obvious stomach-churning aspects of eating cow poop, the risks are actually pretty serious. Cow dung carries all sorts of nasties – ringworm, Salmonella, Listeria and E.coli to name a few. They’re all pretty harmful at any time, but particularly when pregnant.

So here’s the disclaimer. We obviously can’t verify the claims made by Dr Manoj Mittal, so we’d strongly suggest NOT eating cow poo. Ever.