Fancy Camel Milk on Your Cornflakes?

Camel’s milk has been the lifeline of Bedouin, nomad and other pastoral people over the ages. Camel’s milk is a full form of food; herders have survived solely on Camel’s milk for centuries. Herders have long taken their camels out to feed over long distances in deserts and arid environments. Recent research has shown it to be a health tonic and a medicine. Medicinal benefits of camel’s milk include treatment of Diabetes, autism, Cohn’s disease, tuberculosis, cholera, diarrhea, cancer, food allergies, Hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS. Camel dairy farming is an effective alternative to cow’s milk in dry and desert regions. Camel farming is well suited for arid regions as this animals feed on salty desert plants.

Camel’s milk is known to possess medicinal properties that can assist in treating different illnesses as it contains high amounts of vitamin, minerals and immunologic content. Camel’s milk composition is due to its feed and species. Bactrian milk is similar in high fat content than Dromedary milk. Camel’s milk has features such as:

• More iron than cow’s milk
• It has more vitamin C than cow’s milk
• It is rich in B vitamins
• It has high immunoglobins content
• It is high in protein
• Minerals are also with high rating
• It is low in fat compared to cow’s milk
• It has lesser cholestrol than cow’s milk
• It has anti-bacterial properties
• It is anti-viral in content
• Anti-inflammatory characteristics are stored inside it

It contains six different types of fatty acid including Lanolin acid. Lactose intolerance is a key aspect of camel’s milk and many sufferers of the same cannot tolerate camel’s milk.  Yet, lactose is highly present in camel’s milk. The proteins present are shorter making it easier to digest. Camel’s milk is a last resort or bare necessities product in most poor countries. It is used to treat diabetes in most Bedouin and camel herding. More research is in place to make this claim as insulin like protein is present in the milk. Pakistan and Afghanistan do produce the highest amounts or degrees of milk. It produces up to 30 litres of milk. The Bactrian camel is known to produce the most amount of milk that is between 2.5 to 5 liters per day. The Dromedary is a one humped camel capable of producing an average of 6 to 9 litres of milk per day. Camels have a habit of going without water for 21 days at a stretch and produce milk when feeding on fodder of very low quality. Camel cheese does not coagulate easily and hence is difficult to make. In Mongolia, camel’s milk is used at different stages of food production. The United States has a camel population of 5000 camels. The Oasis Camel Dairy was founded in 1997 in California. In Mauritania, the soft camel’s cheese is sold as Caravane. It is also known as Camelbert due to its similarity to the French camembert cheese.

The Camel is instrumental in supporting human populations in most poor and disease affected worlds in Africa and the Middle-East. Camel’s milk has lesser fat and cholesterol content in it. It contains more vitamin C than other forms of milk. It contains high levels of insulin and is of help to people with type 2 diabetes. It is used as treatment in different forms of diseases. Though it contains lactose, it also has lower amounts than cow’s milk. Harrod’s in Great Britain is heard to have stocks of Camel’s milk. A glass of camel’s milk contains 120 calories and 5.8 grams of fat. It is very watery and salty to the taste.