After reading Christina Adamss new book Camel Crazy: A Quest for Miracles in the Mysterious World of Camels(New World Library), I may have a new favorite animal (sorry, cats and hippos).
Most of us know camels as curiosities at zoos. As beasts of burden highly adapted to hot and dry climates, theyve served the trade routes that helped build civilizations, and may indeed flourish in our increasingly hot and dry world. We value their hide, meat, and especially their milk.
Camels are unusual, biologically speaking. And that may be why their milk can alleviate some aspects of autism.
Camel milk sounds weird to American ears, but camels are a domestic fact of life elsewhere. Although the US classifies them as exotic animals, they actually have early origins here; fossils have been found in Los Angeles. But the true reservoir of knowledge on camels is found in rural cultures and universities in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, Christina told me.
Got Camel Milk?
In 2005, Christina met a camel at a childrens book fair in Orange County CA. Rather than hauling kids around, the animal was standing near a display of lotions and soaps made with camel milk. When the owner started to tell Christina how the milk is hypoallergenic and helps premature babies in the Middle East, she glanced over at 7-year-old Jonah. Hed already had four years of costly treatments for autism.
Might it help reboot my sons immune system and help his autism symptoms? she recalls thinking, aware of a link to immune dysfunction. Cow milk and cheese made him hand-flap and walk in circles, which he described as feeling like having dirt in my brain. Vegan substitutes like rice, nut, or soy increased his allergic response.
Camel Crazy details Christinas two-year journey to find the milk. Once she started giving it to Jonah, four ounces at a time, mixed in with food like cereal, his behavior changed quickly.
He became calm. Inquisitive. Caring. His language became more emotional and focused. He held his head straight instead of rolling it. Eating became neat, not a mess fest. He dressed himself and began making eye contact. He even got his shoes and backpack on and was calmer in the car going to school.
By the third dose, Jonah was sleeping through the night. He became more fluid, social, and attuned. Within days he could cross the street without me holding on to him. Within weeks his skin grew smoother. The milk also reversed his skin irritation, agitation, mental distraction, hyperactivity, and stomach pain, Christina recalled.
So she did research and spread the word, first in an article Got Camel Milk? that went viral, then in a peer-reviewed case report, Autism Spectrum Disorder Treated With Camel Milk, published in Global Advances in Health and Medicine. After describing Jonahs early difficulties, she wrote on October 10, 2007, two weeks before my sons tenth birthday, he drank his first half cup (4 oz) of thawed raw unheated camel milk. The case report documents Jonahs sustained symptom improvements associated with drinking half a cup a day from 2007 to 2013.
Christina then began traveling the world, giving presentations on camel milk and autism, and consulting with scientists and vets. Camel Crazy details her immersion into the world of camels and cameleers, from Tuareg, Amish and Somali people in America to herders in India, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. She serves on the editorial board of the new International Journal of Camel Science.
I was a beta reader for Camel Crazyand loved it. Being a nerd I searched for the science, and wasnt disappointed. The milk indeed has some startling differences from other milks, yet tastes, Christina says, like cows milk.
Camels drink a lot, pee a little, exhale minimal vapor, have insulating coats, and their red blood cells balloon and shrink as the water content in the bloodstream shifts. Natural selection has favored persistence of these traits that provide adaptation to heat, aridity, and exposure to intense ultraviolet radiation and choking dust. Body temperature ranges from 93.2-104F (3440C).
Being specifically a genetics nerd, I delved deeper into the DNA that encodes the unusual versions of proteins that might explain the magic of camel milk, as well as other details of the physiology. Much of the info below comes from the article Desert to Medicine: A Review of Camel Genomics and Therapeutic Products, from three researchers at United Arab Emirates University.
Fighting an Opioid Released from Casein Breakdown
The first technical paper Christina found was The etiology of autism and camel milk as therapy, from Ben Gurion University researchers Reuven Yagil and Yosef Shabo. Parent reports inspired their work.
They zeroed in on an opiate-like effect. Casein, the most abundant milk protein, breaks down into peptide pieces. And one of them, beta-casomorphin-7, is an opioid. It can slip through the leaky gut of a person with autism and enter the brain. Could an opiate bathing the brain affect social interactions and lack of interest in surroundings?
Other breakdown peptides of casein (-casein and no -lactoglobulin), which are more abundant in cows milk, may spike milk allergies.
Upping Anti-Oxidants
Camel milk delivers potent anti-oxidants that might temper autism symptoms, wrote King Saud University researchers Laila Al-Ayadhi and Nadra Elyass Elamin in a2013 report. People with autism are more sensitive to oxidative stress, which is damage from unstable forms of oxygen called oxygen free radicals.
The researchers measured levels of three anti-oxidants in the blood of 60 kids with autism: superoxide dismutase, myeloperoxidase, and an enzyme needed to make glutathione. Over a two-week period, 24 children drank raw camel milk, 25 drank boiled camel milk, and 11 drank cows milk. The trial was double-blinded and randomized, but it wasnt a crossover, in which each child would have had all three milk experiences. Nevertheless, raw camel milk was superior in anti-oxidant levels and a behavioral rating scale.
Special Tiny Antibodies
Camels share with only their camelid brethren (llamas, alpacas, vicunas, and guanacos) tiny antibodies in milk, called nanobodies. Most antibodies have one or more Y-shaped subunits; a nanobody is one arm of one Y, the variable region that distinguishes species. A student discoveredcamel nanobodies in a lab course at the University of Brussels in 1993, analyzing a dromedarys blood serum. Camels make large antibodies too.
Nanobodies can squeeze into places more bulbous antibodies cannot, vanquishing a wider swath of viruses and bacteria. They look strikingly like monoclonal antibodies, and so have become darlings of pharma, particularly in cancer drug discovery.
A camels streamlined nanobodies arose from a mutation that removed the hinges that connect the Y-shaped arms of more conventional antibodies. Sometimes a mutation is a good thing!
Further infection protection comes from the milk protein lactoferrin, which fights hepatitis C.
Tolerating High Blood Sugar
A camel-herding people in India, the Raika, drink camel milk and dont get diabetes. Thats because camels tolerate high blood glucose levels, and some of that ability seeps into their milk.
P. Agrawal, at the SP Medical College, Bikaner, India and colleagues have conducted clinical trialsthat show that camel milk decreases blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c (a three-month-measure of blood glucose), and, in people with type 1 diabetes, reduces the insulin requirement by up to 30 percent .
How can camels have high blood sugar yet low HbA1C? In most animals, the beta chains of hemoglobin bind glucose at several points, upping HbA1C. This doesnt happen in camels. If glucose binding to hemoglobin in us is like Velcro, then in camels, its like contact between a boot and slippery ice.
Conserving Water
Milk requires water, and camels are masters at conserving it. A self-contained cooling system, as Christina describes it, cycles body water from a camels nostrils to its mouth. The multi-layered eyelids and double row of eyelashes keep out blowing sand. Their unique oval blood cells compress as camels safely dehydrate, then swell up again as they refill with water, keeping their blood flowing in extreme conditions.
Camels dont dry out in the desert, as we would, thanks to variants of the genes that encode the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. They enable camels to resorb lots of water while tolerating high salt conditions, without their blood pressure spiking. Their kidneys are keenly attuned to taking back water.
Camel milk is also high in the calming neurotransmitter GABA, low in lactose, and has more vitamin C than cows milk.
Beyond Milk
The astonishing adaptations of the camel arent restricted to its milk. Here are a few more that have their roots in the animals genes.
Variations on the Camel Theme
About 94% of the worlds 35 million camels are the domesticated, one-humped dromedaries (Camelus dromedaries) of northern and eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and southwest Asia. A feral branch lives in Australia. Wild dromedaries are extinct and are in a separate genus, Camelops hesternus. They dwelled in western North America.
About 2 million two-humped domesticated Bactrian (Camelus bactrianus) camels live on the steppes of central Asia, and each weighs about 1,000 pounds. Fewer than 100 wild Bactrian camels remain; they split from a shared ancestor about 700,000 years ago. Today they live in Mongolia and in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Province, in an area that was a nuclear testing site for 45 years. In 2008 the wild Bactrians were designated a distinct species, Camelus ferus.
When bactrian and dromedary camels interbreed, most offspring have one hump, some with a dip in the middle.
Camel Genomics
Camel genomes are remarkably diverse with many mutations, perhaps because people havent controlled their breeding. Doing so is challenging.
The jelly-like consistency of camel semen complicates both freezing and using artificial insemination. Still, researchers from Oman and France recently published a report about possible genetic improvements: selecting for traits that ease of using milking machines, provide resistance to infections, improve racing ability, and enhance beauty. Camels are, after all, gorgeous creatures.
The first camel genome sequence, published in 2012, revealed 20,821 genes splayed out among 37 chromosome pairs. Some 2,730 genes have evolved faster in camels than in their cattle relatives, many involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Perhaps the unusual variants contribute to the camels ability to conserve water.
Researchers from Kuwait University report in PLOS Onethat they analyzed DNA from the blood, spit, and hair of nine camels, concluding that tail hair follicle DNA is the best tissue source to create a biobank.The International Camel Consortium for Genetic Improvement and Conservation promotes camel genetic conservation.
Bring on the Camel Fro-Yo!
The milk isnt cheap. Camel Milk Cooplists $36.99 for a weeks supply. And as Christinas book explains, theres little to no incentive to conduct a clinical trial or to attempt to replicate natures magical mix of milk ingredients. Camel Crazy includes a users guide and directory of global sources.
The milk is available in liquid, frozen, and powdered form. Camel-milk-containing products include skin cream, cheeses, ice cream pops, chocolate milk, and a delectable-looking sweet called barfi, which means snow in Persian (not vomit).
When will camel milk come to Starbucks?
More:
Camel Milk and Autism: Connecting the Genetic Dots | DNA Science Blog - PLoS Blogs
- Commentary: This genetics firm didn't resurrect the extinct dire wolf, but did achieve a breakthrough in hype - Los Angeles Times - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- WHAT THE TECH? How the sale of genetics testing company could impact you - Local 3 News - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Genetics of circulating proteins in newborn babies at high risk of type 1 diabetes - Nature - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Daily briefing: Potato pangenome reveals the complex genetics of the humble spud - Nature - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Chinese and other global scientists jointly solve genetics mystery of Mendel's peas - China Daily - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Leveraging genetics to understand ADAR1-mediated RNA editing in health and disease - Nature - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- Zevra Announces Publication of MIPLYFFA Mechanism of Action Manuscript in Molecular Genetics and Metabolism - Yahoo Finance - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- Myriad Genetics price target lowered to $9 from $11 at BofA - Yahoo Finance - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- Genetics of hemophilia: Why mutations matter more than ever in diagnosis and treatment - Firstpost - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- RFK Jr. sparks backlash with autism comments, dismissing genetics and calling disorder preventable - 13newsnow.com - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- The Crucial Role Of Genetics In Rare Diseases - BW Healthcare World - April 19th, 2025 [April 19th, 2025]
- How AI and genetics are revolutionizing psychiatric diagnosis and treatment [PODCAST] - KevinMD.com - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Opus Genetics Announces One-Month Clinical Data from Pediatric Patient in Phase 1/2 Trial of OPGx-LCA5 Gene Therapy in Inherited Retinal Diseases -... - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- A genetics company just revived the dire wolf, sort of - Boy Genius Report - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Slammed 25% Opus Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRD) Screens Well Here But There Might Be A Catch - simplywall.st - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Do genetics hold the key to the US' European green crab problem? - Oceanographic Magazine - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Sequence errors are canaries in a coal mine in genetics studies, sleuth says - Retraction Watch - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- Significance of noninvasive prenatal testing using massively parallel sequencing in women with twin or vanishing twin pregnancies | Journal of Human... - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- All You Need to Know About Atossa Genetics (ATOS) Rating Upgrade to Buy - Yahoo Finance - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- 23andMe Stock Is Surging After a Bankruptcy Judge Cleared Genetics Business Sale. Heres Why You Need to Stay Far Away From ME Shares. - Barchart - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- Dairy producers leverage genetics to optimize milk composition for processing - Feedstuffs - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- Several Insiders Invested In Opus Genetics Flagging Positive News - Yahoo Finance - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- Human genetics and biotechnology company 23andMe to pursue bankruptcy sale after failed prepetition attempt Case Profile - ION Analytics - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- AP Biology Students At NLHS Explore Genetics With Build-A-Baby Monster Lab - EastTexasRadio.com - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- Winners And Losers Of Q4: Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ:MYGN) Vs The Rest Of The Therapeutics Stocks - Yahoo Finance - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Helix Unveils Groundbreaking Real-World Insights at the ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting, Driving Clinical Care Forward - PR Newswire - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- S2 Episode 3: Molecular Classification and Genetics of Endometrial Cancer - Medscape - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Fowl Play: How Chicken Genetics Barons Created the Egg Crisis - The Big Newsletter - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Exposure to violence alters human genetics for future generations - Earth.com - March 5th, 2025 [March 5th, 2025]
- Family-based genetics identifies association of CUBN IL1RL1 and PRKN variants with leprosy in Bangladesh - Nature.com - March 5th, 2025 [March 5th, 2025]
- The role of genetics in infant hearing loss: What parents need to know - The Times of India - March 5th, 2025 [March 5th, 2025]
- Analyzing Genetics May Lead to Better Contraceptive Experiences for Women - Yale School of Medicine - March 5th, 2025 [March 5th, 2025]
- Fulgent Genetics Full Year 2024 Earnings: EPS Beats Expectations - Yahoo Finance - March 5th, 2025 [March 5th, 2025]
- Myriad Genetics Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Financial Results; Full-year 2024 revenue of $838 million grew 11% year-over-year, the... - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Dual recombinase-mediated intersectional genetics defines the functional heterogeneity of neural stem cells in adult hippocampus - Nature.com - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Myriad Genetics Partners with PATHOMIQ to add Artificial Intelligence Technology Platform to its Oncology Portfolio - Yahoo Finance - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- The Genetics of Creativity: Can Creative Talent Be Inherited? - Etownian - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Weight and metabolism determined more by genetics than diet - WVTF - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Beyond genetics: The biggest factors that influence health and aging - Earth.com - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Study finds lifestyle, environment have greater impact on lifespan than genetics - CBS Boston - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- 6 Things to Know About Genetics in GI Cancers - Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Virologist Wendy Barclay: Wild avian viruses are mixing up their genetics all the time. Its like viral sex on steroids - The Guardian - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Do you find coffee too bitter? Scientists explain how your genetics and roasting process affect the flavour - Hindustan Times - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- 2025 Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale prioritizes trusted genetics for herd growth - Morning Ag Clips - - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Game-Changing Cancer Detection Tool Spots What Others Miss: New Breakthrough from SOPHiA GENETICS - StockTitan - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Integrative genetics and multiomics analysis reveal mechanisms and therapeutic targets in vitiligo highlighting JAK STAT pathway regulation of CTSS -... - January 23rd, 2025 [January 23rd, 2025]
- deCODE genetics: Complete recombination map of the human-genome, a major step in genetics - Financial Times - January 23rd, 2025 [January 23rd, 2025]
- Myriad Genetics Announces Hereditary Cancer Risk Assessment Program Study Published in Obstetrics & Gynecology - Yahoo Finance - January 23rd, 2025 [January 23rd, 2025]
- Bjarni V. Halldorsson and Kari Stefansson, scientists at deCODE genetics, discuss the paper: Complete recombination map of the human-genome, published... - January 23rd, 2025 [January 23rd, 2025]
- Myriad Genetics Doubles Cancer Testing Rates with Revolutionary Online Screening Tool - StockTitan - January 23rd, 2025 [January 23rd, 2025]
- Genetics, brain development, and mental health shape teen eating - News-Medical.Net - January 15th, 2025 [January 15th, 2025]
- Building Better Flu Shots Based on Antibody Responses and Genetics - Vax-Before-Travel - January 15th, 2025 [January 15th, 2025]
- Its in the Genes: Weight and Metabolism Determined by Genetics More Than Diet - Cville Right Now - January 15th, 2025 [January 15th, 2025]
- It's in the genes: Weight and metabolism determined by genetics more than diet - Medical Xpress - January 15th, 2025 [January 15th, 2025]
- Trump and Musk are obsessed with genetics but theres no science behind their simplistic views - The Guardian - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- From Stonehenge's origins to ice age baby genetics how well did you follow this year's top archaeology stories? - Livescience.com - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- William Thilly, MIT genetics professor who invented Apple Jacks cereal, dies at 79 - The Boston Globe - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Is Atossa Genetics (ATOS) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers This Year? - Yahoo Finance - December 23rd, 2024 [December 23rd, 2024]
- With 54% ownership, Fulgent Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLGT) boasts of strong institutional backing - Yahoo Finance - December 23rd, 2024 [December 23rd, 2024]
- Using the PERC Database to Gather Insights on Epilepsy Genetics: Julie Ziobro, MD, PhD; John Schreiber, MD - Neurology Live - December 23rd, 2024 [December 23rd, 2024]
- Myriad Genetics' Breakthrough Cancer Test Named Top 10 Genomic Advance by Leading Journal - StockTitan - December 23rd, 2024 [December 23rd, 2024]
- Redecan Cannabis Launches New Limited-Edition Genetics and Expands Signature 'Wrapped & Redee' Pre-roll Line for the Holidays - Yahoo Finance - December 23rd, 2024 [December 23rd, 2024]
- Surprising yields, impressive genetics and an early harvest in 2024 Ohio Ag Net - Ohio's Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net - December 9th, 2024 [December 9th, 2024]
- Using music to help people with dementia; supporting breastfeeding radiologists; genetics and Type 2 diabetes; plus other news stories with VUMC... - December 9th, 2024 [December 9th, 2024]
- Genetics and suicideWhats the link? - Genetic Literacy Project - December 9th, 2024 [December 9th, 2024]
- Genetics is all fun and games for a Rochester card game creator - Rochester Post Bulletin - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- Community engagement conduct for genetics and genomics research: a qualitative study of the experiences and perspectives of key stakeholders in Uganda... - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- Dietary restriction interventions: lifespan benefits need resilience and are limited by immune compromise and genetics - Nature.com - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- Texas A&M Researchers Uncover Secrets Of Horse Genetics For Conservation, Breeding - Texas A&M University Today - November 20th, 2024 [November 20th, 2024]
- Myriad Genetics Announces Prequel Prenatal Screening Can Now be Performed Eight Weeks into Pregnancy - GlobeNewswire - November 20th, 2024 [November 20th, 2024]
- Fulgent Genetics, Inc. (FLGT): Among the Best Genomics Stocks to Buy Right Now - Yahoo Finance - November 20th, 2024 [November 20th, 2024]
- Precision mutational scanning: your multipass to the future of genetics - Nature.com - November 20th, 2024 [November 20th, 2024]
- Advancements of Haploid Technology in Crops: New Horizons in Breeding and Genetics - Frontiers - November 20th, 2024 [November 20th, 2024]
- Toward advances in retinoblastoma genetics in Kenya - Nature.com - November 12th, 2024 [November 12th, 2024]
- CRISPR/Cas9 screens identify key host factors that enhance rotavirus reverse genetics efficacy and vaccine production - Nature.com - November 12th, 2024 [November 12th, 2024]
- Genetics Play Key Role in Animal Health and Welfare, Aggression and Handling - Farms.com - November 12th, 2024 [November 12th, 2024]
- Episode 174: Rudy Tanzi talks about genetics, aging and the hallmarks of Alzheimers - IHMC - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Ocuphire and Opus Genetics merge to develop IRD gene therapy - Pharmaceutical Technology - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- The RD Fund Announces Ocuphire Pharma's Acquisition of Opus Genetics - PR Newswire - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- The RD Fund Announces Ocuphire Pharma's Acquisition of Opus Genetics - WV News - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]