New Cows on the Block

Trying to stick to a healthy, yet delicious, diet, but traditional dairy milk seems to be standing in your way? Don’t worry, this isn’t a thinly veiled plug for soy milk, but there may soon be another alternative to your bovine beverage issues. The European Union health officials recently cleared the way for the United Arab Emirates to begin exporting camel milk. After a thorough examination of the milking facilities, camel milk could soon find its way to grocery store shelves across Europe, with the United States and Asia expected to follow in the not too distant future. The Dubai based company Camelicious (yes, this is the real company name, not to mention a pretty sweet replacement nickname if you’ve been saddled with “Quasimodo”) hopes that more Western countries will soon follow suit, making camel milk easily accessible in major markets worldwide.Camel milk actually has three times more vitamin C than that of their cow contemporaries, not to mention it can be digested by lactose intolerant drinkers. There is some speculation in the scientific community that camel milk might also help to fight bacteria, tumors and diabetes, as well as treat liver disease, though these studies are still ongoing. While the potential health benefits are undoubtedly a selling point, what most casual milk drinkers are primarily concerned with is taste. Camel milk is naturally saltier than cow milk, due to the differing diets of the two animal species. In the wild, camels consume large amounts of wild desert brush; however, in an effort to improve the taste, Camelicious feeds their camels an exclusive diet of hay, carrots and dates. Just like regular milk, flavoring can be added to turn camel milk into chocolate or strawberry milk as well.So if you find yourself struggling to stick with your healthy diet regimen, and dairy milk is one of your major pitfalls, perhaps camel milk can help to get you over the hump (sorry, I had to).