LaaL
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- Krishnappa from Kolar spends most of his days in Bengaluru selling donkey's milk
- In villages, donkey's milk substitutes mother's milk - it was a practice until recently to give newborn babies a spoon of donkey's milk
- However, it cannot be harvested on a commercial scale as the yield is low
In fact, Lakshmi, the donkey, is quite the money-spinner. His rate for the product doesn't deter parents, especially those with newborns, many of whom hold the traditional belief that donkey's milk builds immunity in children against a range of diseases. And that's exactly how he markets the milk.
He travels around with Lakshmi and her calf, announcing loudly in Kannada: "Donkey's milk! Good for [curing] asthma, cold, cough. Good for children!" Sudeep Shetty, a resident of Income Tax Layout in Vishwaneedam, met Lakshmi and her owner at his doorstep on Monday morning. He wasted no time in buying the milk for his son. "My brother used to tell me about the benefits of donkey's milk. It is documented in many books that it builds immunity against diseases in children. There is no regular supply of donkey's milk so when you get the opportunity to buy it at your doorstep, why not," asks Shetty.
The traditional practice of giving donkey's milk to babies finds support from unexpected quarters. Jayaprakash HM, special officer of dairy sciences, University of Agricultural Sciences, says: "An ***' milk comes closest to the human milk. It has anti-microbial components such as lysozyme. It is rich in such components and is very good for building immunity."
According to Jayaprakash, in villages, donkey's milk substitutes mother's milk. "Until recently, it was a practice to give newborn babies a spoon of donkey's milk. If the mother was unwell, donkey's milk would be the substitute."
However, donkey's milk cannot be harvested on a commercial scale as the yield is low, he adds.
However, nutritionist Sheela Krishnaswamy says that nutritional science has no evidence of its benefit.
Source: India Times