When one thinks of colostrum, they generally think of pregnancy milk or breastfeeding. Colostrum, also known as “beestings”, “bisnings” or “first milk” (sometimes “baby’s first milk”) is the milk produced from the mammary glands during pregnancy and after delivery. Colostrum is generated in all mammals, but is most commonly produced by humans.
As a nutritional supplement, colostrum is used by adults as a way to support a healthy immune system and gastrointestinal tract. While the original use of colostrum was influenced by human breast milk, most nutritional supplements are made from cow’s milk. Shortly after giving birth, cows produce close to nine gallons of colostrum. It is then mixed with other nutritional supplements into a powder format that is suitable for human use.
This nutritional supplement comprises antibodies and other proteins that work to prevent many different diseases. Bovine colostrum is usually generated through pasture fed cows as it contains pathogens that are similar to human pathogens. The use of this supplement has become increasingly popular, mostly due to its association with prevention and treatment of dementia in the elderly and its association with improvement of people suffering from eating disorders. Some people prefer to call colustrum powder or pills “miracle pills”, as they help to detoxify your body. This supplement trend has been a more recent one and is popular among middle-aged or elderly people or people especially concerned about their health.
While there are many great aspects of colostrum, it’s interesting to note that the first oral vaccine against polio was created using bovine colostrum.
Benefits of Colostrum
As a medicinal supplement, colostrum has many great advantages. A lot of people use this supplement to maintain their health or possibly prevent the early onset of certain diseases. Since colostrum is created from cows, people who have allergies to dairy should be wary of taking colostrum. However, aside from that concern, colostrum is a medicinal supplement that can benefit and drastically improve your physical and psychological state.
Detoxifier
Colostrum is a supplement that works to detoxify your body of negative compounds and chemicals. While there are many supplements out there that claim to do the same thing, most of them are comprised of a multitude of non-synthetic materials that do more harm than good. They’re usually full of artificial ingredients that don’t actually flush out the material in your body, and instead dissolve into your blood stream and cells, often carrying unwanted and unhealthy side effects.
Natural Agent
Fortunately, colostrum supplements never include artificial ingredients and are absorbed into your blood stream naturally. Colostrum works to remove all the negative fats, toxins, and unhealthy cells from your body. These toxins and negative components are often the triggers that cause such problems as fatigue or insomnia, as well as the occasional mood swings. By removing these triggers from your body, your energy is improved, which improves your body’s physical stimulation. It also helps to improve your mood, evening out behavioral issues.
When colostrum cleans out your blood stream, it also eliminates the harmful pathogens from your intestines and bowel. A pathogen is an infection or germ, usually a microbe or microorganism (i.e., a virus or fungus), that resides within your body. Since your body is easily susceptible to harmful pathogens, it’s important to medicate with antibiotics. However, a lot of pathogens can evade antibiotics, which makes colostrum a wonderful, surprising solution. The supplement eradicates those pathogens, which helps to prevent and repair intestinal ulcers and erosions.
Blood Sugar and Diabetes
Colostrum supplements also help prevent diabetes. Bovine colostrum contains the component Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), which is a somatomedin C protein that is composed in a molecular structure that makes it work similar to insulin. IGF-1 comprises seventy amino acids that are on one chain of three intramolecular disulfide bridges. IGF-1 resembles insulin and has been shown to help prevent the onset of diabetes in most people, but especially in people who have a genetic disposition for developing diabetes. Diabetes is a serious health issue that affects millions of people in the world and it often goes untreated and unrecognized. If you have diabetes, have a family history of diabetes, or are worried about developing diabetes, the IGF-1 levels within colostrum supplements will help prevent diabetes. Colostrum works to delay diabetes not only just because of the high concentration of IGF-1, but because the IGF-1 reduces the activity of cell destruction. The prevention of this disease is one of the best physical benefits of this medicinal supplement.
Similarly, colostrum helps to maintain the blood sugar level of people with low IGF-1 levels. Low blood sugar does not necessarily mean diabetes, but rather, someone who either has poor dietary habits or doesn’t regularly consume food high in natural sugars. Natural sugars are a natural part of a person’s daily diet, as they help to strengthen the body’s immune system, as well as prevent fatigue and weakness. Lack of blood sugar causes unexpected fatigue. Natural deficiency of IGF-1 levels in incredibly worrisome and by frequently consuming colostrum, you’re working to prevent that deficiency.
On that same note, people with serious eating disorders are often people who suffer from low levels of IGF-1. This can be due to malnutrition, obesity, or disinterest in eating. There are a variety of eating disorders, such as over eating or anorexia. Colostrum’s high levels of IGF-1 is useful in weight reduction for obese people. While it is not an instant weight loss supplement, it will help to regulate weight and influence a person to start maintaining a normal, healthy diet. Additionally, it will create high levels of IGF-1, which strengthens the body’s blood sugar within the blood stream and stimulates the muscle and brain’s energies and reflexes.
Antioxidants
A colostrum supplement, whether in powder or pill format, is also ripe with antioxidants. Antioxidants are molecules that are chemical reactions that transfer electrons so that they create oxidizing agents which, in turn, produce free radical. Free radicals produce chain reactions that eventually cause the death (or damage) to harmful cells or resins within the body. Antioxidants are usually referred to as reducing agents, as they work to eradicate and reduce negative agents within the body. Someone who frequently consumes colostrum supplements is supplying their body with healthy chemicals that will fight to prevent the onset of diseases.
Prevents High Blood Pressure
In addition to the high level of antioxidants in colostrum medicinal supplements, colostrum also provides your body with prevention against high blood pressure. As the colostrum supplements that are usually consumed are made from bovine cells and milk, their composition is inherently healthy. The composition is dairy-based and in powder and pill form, this makes colostrum easier to digest. While this helps flush out your digestive system, it means that the colostrum supplements are more easily spread throughout the oxygen in your blood stream. As it travels through your blood stream, it lowers the negative cell count, which is what helps to lower or prevent high blood pressure. The presence of colostrum fights the invading negative blood cells and pathogens and lowers the risk of heart problems. High blood pressure is one of those harmful heart problems.
Psychological Therapeutic Benefits
While colostrum is extremely beneficial in fighting against blood pressure, heart problems, and many other physical issues, it also helps to erase psychological problems, especially those that are cognitive in nature. Colostrum is especially beneficial to those suffering from dementia. Dementia is the loss of the cognitive abilities and recognition, which is generally caused by damage to the body, especially the brain. The components and effects of this medicinal supplement work to improve the ability of the brain’s functions, which is what usually decays during the onset of dementia. Frequent consumption (with normal dosage amounts) of this supplement helps to regular any previous negative cognitive ability. Colostrum forces the brain to regulate its functions, which helps to normalize its processes. The regulation and normalization of these cognitive processes is what ultimately improves the brain’s capabilities. Improving these capabilities means there’s less of a chance of dementia.
Additionally, colostrum helps to regulate behavioral issues. Since the supplement helps improve the function of the brain and the body’s digestive system, there’s less fatigue present. Fatigue tends to be a trigger for multiple psychological problems and is a major factor in behavioral issues. Combating fatigue leads to an overall better attitude, less mood swings, and a more positive well-being.
Health
Other benefits of colostrum range from overall maintenance of a person’s body (whether physically or psychologically) to extra improvement of the body’s functions. Some athletes are known to use colostrum to help improve their physical performance during endurance sports. They’ve also been noted as using colostrum to prevent the onset of illnesses during peak performance levels or to improve their performance recovery time. Athletes – or people who are concerned about either health or their body weight – have also shown frequent consumption in order to bolster lean body mass.
The use of this medicinal supplement has many benefits, though most of them tend to be physical benefits over psychological benefits. However, the physical benefits are incredibly important and useful to keep in mind. Physicians have recommended the use of colostrum as a medicinal supplement to many people suffering from malnutrition, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and dementia. They unique way this supplement is produced means that its all-natural components allow a quicker, more healthy way to eradicate harmful cells to treat physical and medical issues.
This is a supplement that has many wonderful benefits that improve the issues that are found within the body’s blood stream. These issues can be found in the intestines, bowel, or brain. Regardless of what the physiological or physical issues are, colostrum supplements are incredibly useful in counteracting the problems, making your body stronger, healthier, and less prone to developing diseases.
Methods of Use
Colostrum is created from the milk of cows that recently gave birth. However, people rarely use colostrum in its liquid form, instead preferring to consume it through a pill or powder. Colostrum is a popular supplement in the athletic community and is often combined with daily meals. It is recommended the colostrum supplements are taken with additional food or liquids. While human produced colostrum is essential for newborns, it is recommended that bovine colostrum supplements should only be used by adults. Additionally, no more than five hundred mg a day should be consumed.
Colostrum supplements can be found in powder or pill formats. Powder formats are usually mixed into liquids, such as water, tea, juice, or health shakes. Depending on your skills in the kitchen, you can also include the supplements in soft foods, such as applesauce, mashed potatoes, or yoghurt. Since the supplement is in powder form, it will be easily dissolved into the food or liquid.
As a pill, it is recommended that you take additional food or liquids. The specific food you eat with the pull doesn’t matter, though studies have found that food high in carbohydrates or protein is the best. While you can consume the supplement on an empty stomach, it’s not recommended. Pills generally come in 500 mg, though you can break it into 250 mg dosages if you prefer to take a lower dosage.
