ASTANA – Kazakh national dairy drinks saumal (freshly milked horse milk), kymyz (horse milk), and shubat (camel’s milk) support immunity and have healing properties, said Bakytzhan Bimbetov, gastroenterologist and professor at the Medical Center Hospital of President’s Affairs Administration.
Saumal is a newly milked mare’s milk that begins to sour and loses its therapeutic properties within an hour or two. Photo credit: otyrar.kz.
In an April 13 interview with Kazinform, Bimbetov said Kazakhstan has a severe problem with hepatitis D and metabolically related illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and oncological diseases. Increasing obesity is also straining the country’s healthcare system.
“According to global statistics, 33 percent of people in developed nations are overweight. If I see ten patients per day, this condition affects 3 percent of them. This is often linked to lifestyle choices, nutrition, stressful situations, and lack of physical activity. People who lead sedentary lives consume the same amount of food as those who are physically active,” said Professor Bimbetov.
Saumal is a universal product for all illnesses
According to Professor Bimbetov, the World Health Organization states that health is more than just the absence of diseases, but a combination of physical, mental, and socioeconomic well-being. He said people should pay more attention to preventive measures to improve the nation’s health, noting mare milk’s therapeutic and dietary properties.
Saumal is a newly milked mare’s milk that begins to sour and loses its therapeutic properties within an hour or two. It is a functional nutrition that significantly impacts health. Saumal, by composition, is equivalent to a mother’s milk. Unlike kymyz, it has a sweet flavor.
“We have done a lot of research on the medicinal and nutritional qualities of mare’s milk in steatohepatitis, an inflammatory liver condition accompanied by fatty degeneration. We achieved great outcomes. The results were even better in comparison to the use of medications,” he said.
According to Bimbetov, not only did the function of the liver improve in those cases, but so did cholesterol and triglyceride levels, followed by better physical activity, energy, and quality sleep.
“Saumal and kymyz are our national drinks. We must popularize them. It is a universal product for all illnesses. If we use it for specific treatments, the results will be one and a half to two times better than without it,” he said.
Bimbetov noted that during the pandemic, he saw people get up at 3 a.m. and stand in a long line so they could drink freshly milked mare’s milk.
“This shows that people are aware of the benefits of saumal. We want to reach the government, so that they include our national products in the Ministry of Health’s diagnostic and treatment protocols as medicinal, nutritional, preventative, and rehabilitation products. Everyone benefits from this: patients heal faster, disease complications and adverse effects from intensive pharmacotherapy are reduced, and the state saves money on expensive treatments. Our goal is for people to have longer, healthy lives,” added Professor Bimbetov.
Effect of mare’s milk on cancer treatment
In April, Kazakh scientists, in collaboration with the Kazan University of Tatarstan, secured an original patent for using mare’s milk in cancer treatment. Bimbetov’s postgraduate student defending a Ph.D. thesis in oncology is researching the effect of pasteurized mare’s milk powder on patients going through breast cancer chemotherapy.
Mare’s milk shows positive results in patients going through chemotherapy. Photocredit: kazpravda.kz.
“Chemotherapy is aggressive and has many side effects, including poor tolerability, a deterioration in the quality of life, anemia, a drop in leukocytes and platelets, nausea, vomiting, pain, weakness, and fatigue. We conducted a scientific trial in which one group was given chemotherapy with mare’s milk, while the other without the dairy product. We then compared the results. The outcomes were better in the group of patients who consumed mare’s milk,” he said.
Professor Bimbetov stated that the interpretation of results and statistical analysis on the effectiveness of treatment is still in progress.
“But using mare’s milk in chemotherapy produced positive results. This powdered milk is very convenient for dosing. We patented this work in collaboration with scientists from Tatarstan to promote the information not only in Kazakhstan but also worldwide,” Bimbetov said.
According to the professor, the pasteurized mare’s milk can be given to small children, intensive care patients, pregnant women, and the elderly.
“Academician Ilya Mechnikov, a Nobel Prize winner, once described mare’s milk as a longevity product. It boosts immunity by improving the intestinal microbiota. Furthermore, the immune system functions independently in both therapeutic and preventive capacities. One can speak forever about the health benefits of mare’s milk. We frequently saw people who regularly consumed mare’s milk and kymyz and lived to be 90 years old or older. It is quite beneficial,” Bimbetov said.
Camel’s milk
Bakytzhan Bimbetov has also been studying the properties of shubat – fermented camel’s milk. According to the professor, it benefits people with diabetes by regulating blood sugar levels.
Shubat benefits people with diabetes by regulating blood sugar levels. Photocredit: gastronom.ru.
“Many people are unaware of it. This milk is fantastic for rehabilitating the body following major surgery, bacterial infections, many oncological conditions, and for patients with malnutrition,” the professor said.
Shubat is snow-white in color, thicker, and fattier than kymyz, with eight percent fat. It stays in good condition and retains its properties for an extended period.
Professor Bimbetov noted he and his colleagues received fascinating data from their Moscow colleagues. The Russian doctors shared a case from their practice in which a child was cured of all autistic symptoms after consuming camel milk for two months.
“This is an excellent result,” Bimbetov said. “The child received the most advanced treatments accessible in the world, but they failed to yield the desired results. One of the doctors then suggested drinking camel’s milk. After two months of consuming the milk made in Kazakhstan, he uttered words for the first time in his life, saying, ‘Mom, give me milk’.”
