It’s referred to as the “Gold Elixir,” in the Middle East and it’s actually the closest composition to breast milk. Nope, not goat’s milk, it’s camel’s milk! As natives from the Middle East have used camel’s milk for centuries now, and as many have begun to learn about it’s astonishing health benefits, it’s begun to creep its way into America and made more accessible to those in the United States by Desert Farms.

Many have touted about camel milk’s antibacterial, antiviral and antitumor properties that has led to testimonials from those who have shown major improvements from cancer, diabetes, autism, autoimmune disorders, and the like to take social media sites by storm.

After doing some further investigation and trying it out for myself, I’ve become a believer. Looks like our grandparents knew what they were doing!

Here’s the Top 4 Benefits I was most intrigued with:

Diabetes

I always remember hearing how in the Middle East, camel milk was the answer for everything, but I never really took note of it. After listening more closely to what my elders were saying, I took heed that people have been using camel milk for diabetes.

I’m one of those gals who always wants to see the research behind everything, so I dug deeper into it and found an article by Medical News Today. It found a study from India which showed camel milk actually contained “high levels of insulin, or an insulin-like protein, which appears to be able to pass through the stomach without being destroyed.”

If you know anyone that has diabetes, you know that diabetic wounds are one of the worst symptoms of the disease and very hard to treat. Astonishingly though, a study published by BMC Immunology showed that camel whey improved the “healing and closure of diabetic wounds.”

Check out what these scientists from Mongolia had to say:

Cancer

The big “C” word. The dreaded word none of us ever want to hear being diagnosed to us or our loved ones. It’s the number one killer in the United States and has gotten so rampant that it’s led people to turn to natural alternatives – camel milk being one of them.

So how does camel milk help the body heal from cancer? A study published in Food Chemistry showed that a substance called lactoferrin, which is found in camel milk, could be beneficial for those diagnosed with colon cancer.

Their research showed that it stops colon cancer cells from reproducing and has the potential to cease DNA damage affected by cancer.

They found over a 50% decline in cancer cells within just 48 hours after the introduction of camel milk.

Autism

Just last weekend, I met up with some family (who was actually the motivation behind this article). They told me that up until they started their son on camel milk, they had not heard their child speak. He was diagnosed with apraxia and is on the Autism Spectrum. They believed camel milk helped their son.

In April of 2014, Pediatric Research published the results of a two week study on children with autism who were given camel milk significantly improved clinical measurements of autism severity. They also saw a decrease in the thymus’ serum level, which was remarkable because it showed that stress levels were going down and the immune system was getting stronger.

Allergies

According to a study led by Drs. Yosef Shabo, Reuben Barzel, Mark Margoulis and Reuven Yagil, children who have severe food allergies, especially to dairy, not only have been shown to be able to digest the milk well but they have been shown to fully recover from their allergies to other foods.

Research is showing that kids who have allergies to cow milk may not have allergies to camel milk.

Children who had allergies to cow milk were tested for reactions to camel milk. It was discovered that 80% of the participants in the study were not allergic to camel milk, making it a viable alternative to cow milk. Another study that was done in Qatar showed that it may even be safer than goat milk. Now, of course every child and adult is different, so it’s always wise to consult with your doctor before trying anything.

So, along with math, science and coffee, you can now add camel’s milk to the ever growing list of how the Middle East has changed the world, for the better.