By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
Millie Hinkle says camels are good for what ails you.
In fact, Hinkle, who practices natural medicine as a doctor of naturopathy, says the animal’s milk, blood and even urine may have healing properties that can help people with a host of medical problems.
The founder of Camel Milk USA, a company dedicated to the research and use of camel milk, Hinkle is traversing the United States to collect camel blood and urine samples for medical research.
“Camel’s antibodies can go into the blood, the body and the brain and destroy toxins,” Hinkle said.
Hinkle said the milk and blood have properties that can cure diseases or disorders from autism to diabetes. She and other proponents even tout its benefits for treating cancer.
But some scientists are skeptical. Dr. Wei Jia, who researches the health effects of certain foods, said he would not believe any animal’s milk or blood would have significant anti-cancer effects on humans.
“We know it does not cure these diseases,” said Jia, co-director of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Center for Research Excellence at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis.
Jia has heard of studies in the U.S. on human breast milk and the benefits it provides for a baby. Human milk enhances the good bacteria in the gut and balances the body, he said.
But Jia said he wouldn’t think an animal’s milk, blood or urine would have health benefits for humans.
“That’s far from being likely. It’s probably not true,” he said.
Still, Lazy 5 Ranch owner Henry Hampton agreed to let Hinkle come to the ranch and draw blood from one of his eight camels.
“If there is a possibility to help, we don’t mind,” he said.
Mary, a 9-year-old dromedary, or one-humped camel, was chosen. Mary is full grown and weighs between 1,600 and 1,650 pounds, Hampton said.
Hinkle was able to obtain several vials of blood from Mary. The blood will be frozen and sent off for testing and research. And Hinkle says her ideas aren’t new.
“It’s been going on for 3,000 years in the Middle East, Kenya and in Dubai,” she said.
Studies done in the Middle East have been done using raw camel’s milk, while in the United States, the milk must be pasteurized.
Studies done in other countries have proven successful with defeating a host of ailments, according to Hinkle.
Other nutrition experts at the N.C. Research Campus contacted by the Post said they were not familiar with such research in the United States.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization reports that camel milk does have three times the amount of vitamin C as cow’s milk and is an essential food source in parts of the world.
Hinkle says camel antibodies are smaller than any other mammal antibody, which means they can enter tissues and cells that other antibodies can’t.
She said the discovery that the blood could eradicate certain diseases happened by accident. Researchers in Belgium injected mice with camel blood. The mice, which had colon tumors, were cured.
In Saudi Arabia and the U.S., scientists have been testing camel urine as a potential cancer treatment, Hinkle said. The urine is made up of natural substances that work, she said, to destroy malignant cells and maintain healthy cells.
Hinkle said researchers are also looking into its healing properties to treat other disorders.
“That’s why I think this animal is so unique,” Hinkle said.
In April, the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments, a nonprofit group in Illinois, approved Hinkle’s application to market camel milk. She must also gain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The nonprofit organization looks into draft proposals before they are submitted for FDA approval.
The goal is to put the blood and urine in pill form or a concentrated amount in capsule form.
“From that, they can rehabilitate an immune system,” Hinkle said.
Hinkle is also gathering camel hair for textile design studies in hopes that it could help people who are sensitive to the sun.
The camel’s coat has the ability to reflect the sunlight.
For more information about Hinkle and her research, visit www. camelmilkusa.com.