Cancer and Breast milk

Health professionals have long espoused the benefits of breast milk.

But only now are researchers discovering that breast milk contains substances that can destroy cancer cells without negatively affecting healthy cells. The substance known as HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumor cells) (Ian: whoever thought that up has too much time to waste) contains a specific protein and fatty acid that occur naturally in breast milk.

They don't yet know for certain that the substance forms spontaneously in milk, but suspect that it may form naturally in an infant's stomach. Most of the studies conducted with HAMLET have been done in laboratories. These experiments have shown that HAMLET kills 40 different types of cancer. Human studies have shown that HAMLET kills cancer cells in patients with bladder cancer. The researchers are currently studying the effects of HAMLET on additional types of cancer including skin cancer and brain tumors. The researchers hope that HAMLET can be used to develop future cancer medicines.