Benefits Of Colostrum

Benefits Of Colostrum

             Colostrum is a milky fluid that comes from the breasts of humans, cows, and other mammals the first few days after giving birth, before true milk appears. It contains proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and proteins (antibodies) that fight disease-causing agents such as bacteria and viruses. Antibody levels in colostrums can be 100 times higher than levels in regular cow’s milk.

          People originally got interested in bovine colostrum because of the high antibody levels. They thought that the antibodies might prevent intestinal infections in people, but they seem to be wrong.

            Some athletes use bovine colostrum to burn fat, build lean muscle, increase stamina and vitality, and improve athletic performance. Bovine colostrum is not on the banned drug list of the International Olympic Committee.

         Bovine colostrum is also used for boosting the immune system, healing injuries, repairing nervous system damage, improving mood and sense of well being, slowing and reversing aging, and as an agent for killing bacteria and fungus.

         Bovine colostrum is used in the rectum to treat inflammation of the colon (colitis). Researchers have created a special type of bovine colostrum called “hyperimune bovine colostrum.” This special colostrum is produced by cows that have received vaccinations against specific disease-causing organisms.

       The vaccinations cause the cows to develop antibodies to fight those specific organisms. The antibodies pass into the colostrum. Hyperimmune bovine colostrum has been used in clinical trials for treating AIDS-related diarrhea, diarrhea associated with graft versus host disease following bone marrow transplant, and rotavirus diarrhea in children.

            The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted hyperimmune bovine colostrum “orphan drug status.” Under the Orphan Drug Law, drug makers who INVEST in the development of treatments for rare conditions enjoy special MARKETadvantages; for example, permission to sell the drug without competition for 7 years. If these special incentives were not in place, pharmaceutical companies might not develop drugs for rare conditions because the potential market is so small.

How does it work?

             Colostrum is collected from cows that have been vaccinated to produce antibodies that fight the bacteria that cause diarrheal disease. These antibodies appear in the colostrum that is collected as medicine. Though the hope is that these cow antibodies will help fight human disease, the cow antibodies do not seem to be very active in humans.

Colostrum is nature’s first food. Studies are increasingly showing that it’s great for immunity. 

           Antibodies in colostrum bolster immunity and reduce tissue inflammation. Avinash Inamdar was prone to persistent upper respiratory tract infections, and had been battling chronic fatigue for years. Dr Inamdar, 59, heads the department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, BJ Medical College, Pune, and he took the tried and tested path of loading himself with antihistamines and antibiotics to fight the infections.

            He also developed an intolerance to foods like banana and curd. Six weeks ago, he decided to explore a new route, and began a course of cow colostrum supplements.

        Colostrum is the first food produced by all mammals during the first 24 hours of lactation and is designed to give a newborn the essential nutrients it needs to thrive. It is abundant in immune factors, growth factors, vitamins and minerals to protect a newborn from infection and help it grow.

            Cow colostrum is colostrum from lactating cows. While the calf gets all that it needs during the first day, the remaining colostrum can be used and processed to keep the immune factors and other nutrients biologically active. Cow colostrum is available in India in caplet and powder form.

           Its value as an immune enhancer and a nervous system repair agent has been known to Ayurvedic medicine for centuries, and in the last 20 years Western medical research has produced several hundred studies that point to its usefulness as a food supplement which can optimize the health of both healthy and sick adults and children.

           The changes in Dr Inamdar’s case were immediate. A month after he started the supplement, the infections stopped, and he feels less fatigued now than he has in the last 10 years. He’s even tried eating bananas and yogurt, and suffered no discomfort.

                He was convinced to try the supplement after he was shown the results of the scientific studies done on colostrum by Vinod Marathe, chairman and managing director, Sharp Wellness Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Pune. Dr Marathe advised him to increase his water consumption while taking the supplements, which Dr Inamdar did.

        Dr.Inamdar credits the change in him to the immune-boosting properties of cow colostrum. When he began taking it, he stopped taking antibiotics and antihistamines. Studies have shown that antibodies and the immune factors in colostrum bolster immunity and reduce tissue inflammation.

        Walter L.Hurley from the department of animal sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US, and his colleague reviewed more than 200 studies on antibodies found in colostrum and milk. The review, published in April 2011 in Nutrients and titled Perspectives on Immunoglobulin’s in Colostrum And Milk, suggested it can provide substantial protection from disease, given the concentration of antibodies in cow colostrum, greater than those found in human colostrum, and the fact that the cow antibodies in colostrum are quite resistant to the digestive enzymes found in human stomachs.

             “Since inflammation is a major cause of coronary disease and osteoporosis, I plan to continue taking the supplement for a six-month period. And research has shown that it can be safely taken for a six-month period without any side effects,” says Dr Inamdar.

            Dr.Marathe says that while it is not known if there are side effects if you have it for more than six months, it can be ingested in six-monthly periods to build immunity every couple of years.

Colostrum supplementation isn’t limited to adults.

           Ruta Sawarkar, paediatrician, Priyottam Brainberg Clinics & Consulting, Pune, routinely gives cow colostrum caplets to patients. She finds it particularly useful in treating gastroenteritis, coughs and colds. “I find that once the babies are given cow colostrum, they recover in three days when they would normally take a week. They also need less powerful antibiotics, if at all.”

             Megha Bharekar, 30, is the mother of a 13-month-old. She gave cow colostrum in half a capsule to her son for two days on Dr Sawarkar’s recommendation when he suffered from gastroenteritis at six months; he recovered within two days.

             Dr.Sawarkar says that because of the high cost of the supplement, around Rs.160 for 10 capsules, she only recommends it when her patients are sick—but she sees no reason why it can’t be taken as a preventive.

       Not everyone agrees. For instance, Anand Shandilya, director and paediatrician, Dr Anand’s Hospital for Children, Jogeshwari (East), Mumbai, says: “While there are studies that have been done on cow colostrum supplements, there aren’t enough rigorous studies done for me to prescribe it to my patients. I feel very strongly that cow colostrum falls in that grey area of supplements that needs to be studied further and standardized before it can be used in patients.”

               Research shows the immune factors, growth factors and nutritional components that make colostrum a potent immune ally could be useful for the strenuous exercisers among us too. Typically, strenuous exercise makes us more prone to upper respiratory tract infections, something you may have experienced if you’ve ever trained heavily in the gym.

               A research paper by Glen Davison, School of Sports and Exercise Science, University of Kent, UK, in Medicine And Sport Science, published online on 15 October, showed cow colostrum taken over a number of weeks reduces the number of upper respiratory tract infections suffered by athletes.

              Another paper published in Preventive Medicine in May 2012 by Kathleen F. Benson and colleagues at NIS Labs, Klamath Falls, Oregon, US, sheds light on how cow colostrum acts as an immune vitamin. Dr Benson’s study looked at the effects of a single dose of colostrum whey or a placebo on healthy people, with blood samples taken 1-2 hours later.

            The researchers found there was a rapid increase in the ability of monocytes, a particular type of immune cell or white blood cells, to eat infectious bacteria and viruses. Monocytes need to be activated to act as immune vultures and the presence of colostrum immune activators in the stomach triggers an immune reaction throughout the body.

            In an email interview, Dr Davisonsaid he too had had similar results “in a study in which we showed that a single dose (only on the day of exercise) has some benefit to immune markers. However, not as large as with longer (weeks) periods of supplementation”. Dr Davison’s study was done on athletes, but “any other group of people that suffer a high incidence of upper respiratory infections because of stress could potentially benefit,” he says.

                J.T. Pol, consultant physician, Nikop Hospital, Laxmi Nagar, Phaltan, Satara, Maharashtra, has been prescribing cow colostrum supplements to patients with allergic bronchitis, and finds that after four months of supplementation the incidence of allergies goes down. He has documented these results in several patients and intends to publish the data in a scientific journal.

              He has also prescribed colostrum to liver and renal cancer patients and finds that it reduces their pain and the side effects of chemotherapy. Dr Pol himself takes colostrum every morning and evening, half an hour before food. “For preventing illness it is an excellent food supplement,” he says.

            But just like any other supplement, do consult your physician before taking colostrum. Organic colostrum benefits and rebuilds the human body at a deep foundational level.

           To understand how bovine colostrum benefits your health, you have to first understand, what it is and what it's composed of. All mammalian mothers produce colostrum milk for a short period of time after they've given birth. This "first milk" is available for a set amount of time (it varies from species to species) after the mother has given birth and then her milk transitions over to regular milk, which is produced for the rest of the suckling stage of her offspring. Colostrum is vastly different in it's nutritional composition than regular milk and this is what makes it one of the most powerful and rejuvenative anti aging foods available.

            The health benefits of colostrum can be attributed to the fact that it contains 97 immune factors (constituents that build and improve different aspects of the immune system), 87 growth factors (bio-identical hormones and hormone precursors) and a variety of different probiotics along with prebiotics that help grow and feed the beneficial flora in the colostrum and in your gut! When harvested within 6 hours (for bovine colostrum) after a calf is born and exposed to as little processing as possible, colostrum benefits 4 aspects of the human body. It builds, repairs, strengthens and restores:

~the hormonal system back to levels associated with youth

~the immune system to it's top fighting form

~the digestive system to it's optimal function

~and it even provides you with every basic essential nutrient known

           When the Australian Olympic swim team won more GOLD medals than the Chinese in both 2000 and 2004, they attributed it in part due to their us of colostrum supplements. It is popular among athletes as the health benefits of colostrum milk include decreasing recovery time, increasing strength and performance gains and preventing sickness due to overtraining (a common phenomenon among peak performers). This makes raw colostrum both a powerful yin jing tonic and a live superfood!

            Asides from containing the building blocks (all the parent essential fatty acids, all the essential amino acids, etc) for every nutrient needed by the body, the health benefits of colostrum milk can be attributed to these key compounds: 

           Naturally occurring lGF-1 (which stands for insulin-like growth factor 1) could be considered the crown jewel as to why cow colostrum benefits human longevity potential so well. According to wikipedia, "IGF-1 is one of the most potent natural activators of the AKT signaling pathway, a stimulator of cell growth and proliferation, and a potent inhibitor of programmed cell death" (this helps combat the metabolic effects of aging). IGF-1 is one of the many growth factors found in bovine colostrum that helps create a state of anabolism in the body which can lead to increased lean muscle mass, bone density and tissue regeneration.

           The oligosaccharides that are present in colostrum benefits the healing of the skin externally in the form of reversing wrinkles (SurThrival's organic colostrum powder can be mixed with a bit of fresh spring water in your palm and applied as a mask that you leave on overnight for skin rejuvenation) and internally in the form of healing the lining of the digestive tract.

            These long chain sugars also serve as a prebiotic and feed good bacteria in the intestine (including acidophilus) and aid in the maintenance of peak health for the digestive system. You can get great deals on SurThrival's cow colostrum powder (the best colostrum available, in Zak's opinion) by clicking here!

              Thymosin Alfa and Beta are hormones that are naturally produced by the thymus gland (and endocrine gland located in the chest). When a healthy baby is born, this gland is about the same size as their heart. By mid adulthood people past 40 rarely have a thymus glad much larger than a pea and by the time they are seniors, there is usually nothing functional left except some fibrotic tissue strands. A functional thymus gland plays a central role in immune health and studies have shown that raw colostrum can actually begin to re-grow this shriveled gland in adults!

             Lactoperoxidase is an enzyme that acts as an anti-microbial agent. It is found naturally in milk and colostrum to prevent the proliferation of bad bacteria. These beneficial properties are then transferred over to those who consume it. Colostrum benefits your oral health if you let is dissolve in your mouth around your gums. This can prevent or even treat gingivitis and may be able to help re-grow a receding gum-line. Lactoperoxidase has also been shown to stimulate macrophages (white blood cells) to gobble up cancer cells present in the body.

             The lactobacillus acidophilus in raw colostrum is a strain of healthy bacteria that is an important part of the human immune system. Many people develop an imbalance of not only their intestinal flora (healthy bacteria) but also the flora on their skin and other bodily orifices (ears, nose throat, mouth etc) over time due to poor diets and the use of medication and specifically antibiotics.

            Acidophilus taken orally in organic colostrum benefits the flora of the entire body by populating first the gut and then it eventually "overflows" into all other areas of the body. As previously mentioned, there are naturally occurring prebiotics in organic colostrum that feed acidophilus as well as any strains of good bacteria already present in your body.

        Lactoferrin and hemopexin may be two key nutrients in "leveling the playing field" in terms of the difference of lifespan between men and women. One suspected cause for men living shorter live than women on average throughout the world is that they don't regularly shed their blood the way women do once a month. Iron is a pro-oxidant and the theory is that "rusty" old iron that is floating around the body for too long causes damage that builds up over time. Lactoferrin and hemopexin are known to bind to excess iron and remove it from the body safely.

        Nucleosides found in dairy products and specifically in higher amounts in cow colostrum, have a number of beneficial functions for the body. Dietary nucleotides support immune modulation, meaning that they intelligently alter the immune system to become more effective, as opposed to just blatantly boosting it which may exacerbate underlying autoimmune conditions. These nutrients also enhance iron absorption in the digestive tract as well as help in the desaturation of fats, making them easier to digest!

             Proline rich peptides (PRP's) act as hormones that regulate the thymus gland and help modulate the immune system (much in the same way as the nutrients mentioned above). Specifically, PRP's promote better functioning of T-lymphocytes, they help produce cytokines, they stimulate the activity of natural killer cells (NK cells) and they stimulate and modulate many other immunological functions. What makes cow colostrum one of the best antiaging foods is that PRP's increase the permeability of blood vessels in the skin, resulting in the improved uptake of nutrients into the skin which results in a healthier and more youthful complexion!....