Promising Anti-Cancer Powers of Breast Milk
December 19, 2006 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under breast milk, cancer, scientific studies
Science News reports that researchers have discovered potential cancer-fighting properties of breast milk:
Catharina Svanborg thought that she already knew how remarkable breast milk is. The immunologist had logged hundreds of lab hours documenting ways in which human milk helps babies fight infections. But when the group decided to use cancerous lung cells to avoid the variability shown by normal cells in laboratory tests, Svanborg and her team at Lund University in Sweden were in for a surprise. They applied breast milk to the cancerous lung cells, and all the cells died. Breast milk killed cancer cells.
Once Svanborg stumbled upon this discovery, her team set about to discover which component in breast milk was the cancer-killer. It turned out that the “assassin” was the protein alpha-lactalbumin, which turned lethal when combined with acid. Svanborg named the acidified protein “HAMLET” (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumors). HAMLET kills 40 different kinds of tumor cells in lab dishes, and human trials of HAMLET for treatment of bladder cancer look “very good” and show no side effects.
Pharmaceutical companies are developing the cancer-fighting breast milk component for clinical use. Clinical studies will reveal whether breast milk constitutes a powerful cancer treatment. Wouldn’t that be amazing? I don’t find it surprising — scientists have long known about potent antibodies in breast milk. However, much remains to be learned about the true protective properties of human milk, and I find this discovery fascinating!
amazing!!!!
I can honestly say this doesn’t surprise me one bit – I’ve been waiting to hear such news! I can’t wait to find out more!
You can be sure that this will NEVER make it into a conventional treatment. Natural substances can’t be patented and therefore this is a huge threat to Big Pharma profits.