The camel's milk of human kindness

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), January 20, 2001

Answers

I wouldn't mind trying this. I wonder where I can get some?

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Camel's milk has undiscovered health benefits Dubai

|By Joanna Langley 20-01-01

A glass of camel's milk a day could keep the doctor away, but a poor image means most people wouldn't drink it, experts say. Research has shown that camel's milk is nutritionally and economically superior to cow's milk.

According to scientists, experiments have also proved it contains a unique protected insulin that could help diabetics, but consumers are not benefiting because the market for cow's milk is too strong.

Dr Ulrich Wernery, a senior researcher at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory here, has been working with camels for 15 years. Last October he began studying the nutritional value of camel milk following a visit to Kazakhstan.

"I was very interested to see the people there were breeding Bactrian camels for milking, rather than cows," he said. "I was also shown evidence of the milk's medicinal properties, including a severe diabetes sufferer who kept his condition under control by drinking the milk.

"I then decided to carry out my own research and am convinced it would be of tremendous benefit to the human population, in health and economic terms, especially in this region. "There are lots of reasons why the milk is far healthier for humans. The first is that it contains over three and a half times the amount of vitamin C found in cow's milk, which is essential for brain function, growth and immunity.

"The second is that it contains a special protein-coated form of insulin that can pass through the stomach and be digested naturally in the small intestine. Usually insulin is destroyed by the stomach's acid, which is why it has to be injected. This could be of great benefit to diabetics if more research is carried out.

"Thirdly, it's also far closer in content to human milk. Those people who are allergic to cow's milk can often drink camel's milk without any problems because the proteins are completely different. It also contains high concentrations of bactericidal and virucidal properties, which means it can act like a natural antibiotic."

He said dairy farming using cows is not economically viable in the UAE compared with camel farming. "Cows are not indigenous to this region, so if their temperature goes above a certain level, their milk supply will stop. This means they have to be kept in expensive air-conditioned sheds or they have to be sprayed with water regularly to keep their heat down.

"Secondly, they have to be given drinking water every day. If not, their milk either stops or is undrinkable because the fat content rises to 30 per cent.

"Camels on the other hand are perfectly adapted to this climate. In the height of summer they can produce 15 to 20 surplus litres of milk per day as well as feeding their calves. They can also be without water for 10 days and still produce the same quantity and quality of milk."

There are other health benefits which must be explored. He cited cases of severe skin conditions and auto-immune diseases being controlled with camel's milk. "I know of a young girl in Kazakhstan with 99 per cent of her body affected by psoriasis. She had to leave school because it had become so bad, but when she began to drink the milk, her condition disappeared within a fortnight.

"A friend of mine in Germany who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis was also helped. She was confined to a wheelchair, but she began to drink the milk and within two weeks was free from all symptoms.

"However, she was not living in a region where the milk was readily available, and when she stopped drinking it, the symptoms returned. She and her husband then moved to the Black Forest area of Germany where camel's milk can be obtained, and she is now living a normal and healthy life."

Wernery said he would like to see the milk marketed in the UAE, but the animal's poor image hinders progress. "People are prejudiced against the camel because they see it as a primitive Third World animal. It's a real shame because this hinders valuable research and puts a stop to a potentially huge market. At the moment camels are only used here for racing, but they could be so much more useful.

"There isn't even a machine that automatically milks camels, and although it's available in Saudi Arabia, they use cow milking machines that are not suited to the camel's physiology."

He urged food retailers to consider camel's milk. "I would like to see all the major supermarkets here taking an interest and stocking the milk because they are the ones who will encourage the market and help more research to be carried out."

Traditional dairies, however, don't believe that camel's milk will become a threat to their business. Larry Stafford, Sales and Marketing Manager for Al Ain Dairies, said, "I know nothing about the benefits of camel's milk, but figures show the majority of people here have been brought up on cow's milk, and that's what they want to drink.

"Years of study show cow's milk is highly nutritious and full of all the calcium and vitamins needed by the human body. Realistically speaking, the milk market is extremely tough and I doubt there is room for such a niche product."

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), January 20, 2001.

Once again, the Orient/Middle East (read oldest civilizations and oldest Mother Nature patterns) appear to be able to provide solutions to some of our oldest western medical problems. But again, as this is the west, there is no profit margin to be speculated on, bid on, hoarded, and so forth. No 5-7 year study for R & D as it would serve only a limited population. Sad, very sad.

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 21, 2001.

AB, why don't you raise some camels and I'll buy some milk from you. Or maybe Cin will do this; she's an animal freak. Naturally what appealed to me was the reference to MS. Thing is, there have been scores of freaky MS "cures" over the years including bee venom and snake venom. None have ever proved out, except for the persons peddling the cure-de-jour.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), January 21, 2001.

those desert folk's don,t seem to have a wieght-problem!! I heard that if you kiss a camel-yuo'll never be the same!!

-- al-d (dogs@zianet.com), January 21, 2001.

al-d

Please explain how you would know this...

-- Uncle Bob (unclb0b@aol.com), January 21, 2001.

Better yet, please al, dont.

-- sumer (shh@aolc.on), January 22, 2001.

Don't let a camel get a nose under your tent Al.

-- (nemesis@awol.com), January 22, 2001.

If you are interested in camel milk in the US contact me.

-- Gil Riegler (gilriegler@cs.com), March 13, 2001.