By: Dr. Mohd. Jayad Al-Nuaimi / Dr. Mohd. Jamil Al Hibal
Translated from Arabic: Editorial board

The Almighty Allah said: (Do they not look at the camels, how they were created) (Al-Ghashiya: 17)

In this noble verse, God Almighty singles out camels – from among His living creatures – by asking to look at how they were created and to prioritize that over contemplation on how he has raised the heavens, set up mountains and flatten the earth.

There are many advantages that distinguish camels from other creatures – mammals. We will briefly mention some of the functional (physiological), medical and nutritional characteristics of camels.

The camel is: the only animal that can survive for many days without water or food under the scorching sun in the desert when the temperature rises above fifty degrees Celsius. Camels can withstand dehydration in their body to an extent of 30%, while humans and other animals if the percentage of dehydration in them reaches 10%, it poses a danger to them, and if it exceeds that, it may lead to their death.

What helps it to withstand dehydration is that the red blood cells in camels are characterized by their oval shape (not rounded and concave on both sides), as shown in Figure (1). This allows it to pass between the blood vessels and supply the tissues with oxygen despite the severe dehydration and the loss of a large proportion of body fluids, as shown in Figure (2). In addition, camels have a feature that enables them to refine urine and reabsorb it into the body, so it can remain without urine for many days at the time of dehydration in summer, which preserves body fluids. In the hot summer and dehydration of the body, the body temperature of camels rises to 42 degrees Celsius (without getting a fever) and without affecting vital functions; But when the body temperature rises to this degree, it is considered fatal for the majority of mammals. As for the camel brain, there is a ventilation and cooling system in the nose, as well as in the composition of cerebral vessels, which prevents the brain from rising to more than 37 degrees Celsius. This is in addition to the ability of camels to store hundreds of liters of water for use at the time of dehydration.

Among its other medical functional advantages is the presence of the five known immunoglobulins in camel blood, as camel blood contains very small immunoglobulins that are not found in humans or other animals. Because of its smallness, it has the ability to penetrate from the blood to reach any place in the body’s tissues and to provide it with immunity, as it has a strong ability to kill germs of all kinds, in addition to its ability to kill cancer cells. It was noted that these tiny immune bodies are also found in camel milk, as shown in Figure (3).

Moreover, camel milk has high nutritional properties, as it has an integrated healthy food; It is the main food of the Bedouins in the desert. It is rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C, and contains a high percentage of iron and calcium. As camel milk contains a small amount of fat, not more than (2%), so camel milk is considered low fat. This fat consists mainly of polyunsaturated fatty acids that give milk white color and at the same time help reduce harmful cholesterol, protect blood vessels, reduce the incidence of atherosclerosis and prevent heart disease.

Camel milk also contains a high percentage of protein, as the percentage of “caseine”, which is the main protein in milk, is 70%. As well as a high percentage of albumin 22.3% and globulin 22.1% compared to milk of other field animals.

Camel milk is very close to human breast (mother’s) milk and can be used as a substitute for feeding children, especially those with skin allergies to cow or human milk.

From a medical point of view: Camel milk treats many diseases, including bacterial and viral diseases in the body in general and the digestive system in particular. Because it contains antibacterial proteins such as lactoferrin, and these proteins are also anti-cancer cells. In addition to the presence of immunoglobulins, especially the minute ones, in camel milk, which also kill germs and cancer cells.

Camel milk is unique in treating children with food allergies. Many medicines have been used to treat them, as well as all other dairy products, but to no avail. But they benefited by drinking camel milk.

Also, camel milk was used to treat autism, a chronic physical and psychological disease that mainly affects children, and the results were positive.

And since camel milk contains calcium in a much higher proportion than cow’s milk, it protects against osteoporosis in adults and rickets in young ones.

In 1998, it was discovered that camel milk contains a high percentage of insulin-like substance that may reach 50-60 units per liter (source 1). It is the highest percentage compared to the rest of the animals. In addition, the insulin in camel milk is the only one that is not broken down or destroyed by gastric juices, as the insulin found in other milks (including human milk) is broken down by stomach juices. Therefore, based on this unique property, scientists began using camel milk to treat patients with diabetes of all kinds. Where many studies have shown that camel milk has been used to treat diabetes – type 1 – whether on humans or experimental animals, which depends on insulin injections for treatment. The results were positive and significant in all research, where it was observed a decrease in the level of sugar and a decrease in the glycosylated hemoglobin (HA1c) in the blood, as well as a decrease in the amount of insulin used for treatment, or its dispensation in other researches. But the research in which camel milk was used to treat diabetes – type II – which does not depend on insulin in treatment, which is common (85-90%) in very few (only three studies) and the results were conflicting. Significant positive results were observed in two studies in 2006 and 2011 (source 2, 3), but in the recent research in 2015 (source 4), there were no significant positive results regarding low blood sugar after using camel milk in these patients.

In order to resolve the issue, we conducted a study on patients with type 2 diabetes. 20 patients were selected. Of them, 15 patients were used as a ruler, that is, they were given only the standard treatments for diabetes, and 15 patients also used camel milk at a rate of half a liter per day in addition to the standard treatment for diabetes for a period of six months. The results were positive, as the blood sugar level decreased significantly and the glycosylated hemoglobin (HA1c) decreased significantly, as well as the level of insulin in the blood increased significantly, which indicates the benefit of camel milk in stimulating and energizing the pancreas to manufacture and secrete insulin compared to the patients of the ruler. This research was accepted and submitted at the Fourth International Medical Conference on Endocrinology and Diabetes, which was held in Riyadh from February 21 to 23, 2017.

The reports of the World Health Organization show that there is a significant increase in the prevalence of diabetes globally, especially type II, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. For example, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there is an excessive increase in the prevalence of this disease compared to other countries, where the research for the year 2011 showed that the rate of type 2 diabetes is between 25-30% (Source 6), and the percentage increased in 2014 to 40% (Source 7) and the recent research of the year 2016 shows a prevalence of 45% among 50-year-olds (source 8) and this is remarkable for the high cost of treatment (the treatment costs billions and not millions of dollars) as well as the negative complications on human health, which may be caused by diabetes from heart diseases such as stroke, angina pectoris, or kidney disease, which ends with the inability of the kidneys, or visual impairment that ends with blindness, or nerve damage, which may lead to loss of sensation, weakness of movement, and impotence.

In 2007, the scientist Agrawal explained that the prevalence of diabetes is zero among some tribes living in the deserts of India who use camel milk as their main food; therefore, camel milk is a protective factor in addition to being a treatment factor for patients with diabetes, whether type 1 or type 2 (source 9).

Therefore, we note that some European countries, as well as in America, have started private farms for breeding camels, despite the cold weather in these countries. In order to obtain camel milk and benefit from it to treat many diseases; where it is sold at high prices compared to cow’s milk.

The scientific marvel of hadith
Here we refer to the scientific marvel of the hadith of the Prophet, where he directed the Arabs to take medication by drinking camel milk when they were sick, and this corroborate with the modern scientific medical discoveries that confirm the use of camel milk to treat some diseases. Anas bin Malik narrates that some people from Arina came to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, and they fell ill with disease of hollow(1). The Messenger of God said to them: “If you wish, you should go out to the camels of charity and drink from their milk and urine, so they did, so they healed.” (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Al-Nasa’i, Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Tayalisi).

And the Almighty Allah says:
(And he does not speak out of desire, for it is nothing but a revelation that is revealed, the knowledge of which is very powerful.) (An-Najm: 3-5).

Conclusion:
The kind and the precise details of the characteristics of camels and the immense medical effects that their milk evokes in detail were not known at the time of the revelation or centuries after it until man possessed the latest equipment that enabled him to perceive a new aspect out of those aspects referred to in the noble verse (Do they not look at camels how they were created?) (Al-Ghasheya: 17)

The new qualities of the composition of this animal was came to be known about this creator, as well as new way of making camels’ dairy products that have a direct impact on the most subtle incurable and chronic diseases were also known.

All of this testifies that Prophet Mohammad is a messenger from God, and those instructions from him for healing with camel’s milk were not uttered out of whim, for it is nothing but a revelation that is revealed.

References:

1. Zagorski , Maman A, Yafee A, Measles A, Van Creveld C, reuven Yagil R. insulin in milk – a comparative study. International Journal of Animal Science. 1998; 13: 241-244.
2. Wang SY, Liang JP, Song NN, Shao WJ, Heng H. Effect of raw camel milk in type 2 diabetes animal models and patients: ten months randomized study. J Camel Prac Res. 2009;16(1):107-13.
3. Agrawal RP, Sharma P, Gafoorunissa SJ, Ibrahim SA, Shab B, Shukla DK, Kaurt T. Effect of camel milk on glucose metabolism in adults with normal glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes in Raica community: a crossover study. Acta Biomed. 2011; 82(3):181-6.
4. Ejtahed HS, Naslaji AN, Mirmiran P, Yeganeh MZ, Hedayati M, Azizi F, Movahedi AM. Effect of Camel Milk on Blood Sugar and Lipid Profile of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Pilot Clinical Trial. Int J Endocrinol Metab. 2015; 13(1): e21160. Published online 2015 Jan 22. doi: 10.5812/ ijem.21160.
5. Mohammed Chyad Al-Noaemi and Mohammad Jamil Habbal. A novel Saudi study concerning the use of camel milk as an adjunct in the management of type2 diabetic patients. Accepted and presented in the 4th International Conference of Endocrinology & Diabetes. 21-23 February 2017. Riyadh. KSA.
6. 6. Alqurashi KA, Aljabri KS, Bokhari SA. Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in a Saudi community. Ann Saudi Med. 2011;31(1):19-23.
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8. Bahijri SM, Jambi HA, Al Raddadi RA, Ferns G, Tuomilehto J. The Prevalence of Diabetes and Prediabetes in the Adult Population of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia- A Community-Based Survey. PLoS ONE.2016;11(4): e0152559.
9. Agrawal RP, Budania S, Sharm P, Gupta R, Kochar, D.K. Zero prevalence of diabetes in camel milk consuming Raica community of north-west Rajasthan, Ind. Diab res and clin pract. 2007;76(2), 290-296.
10. Shabo Y, Barzel R. Margoulis M, Yagil R. Camel milk for food allergies in children. Isr Med Assoc J.2005;7(12):796-8.