Human Consumption of Bovine Colostrum
Assertions that colostrum consumption is of human benefit are questionable because most ingredients undergo digestion in the adult stomach, including antibodies and all other proteins. Bovine colostrum and its components are safe for human consumption, except in the context of intolerance or allergy to lactose or other components. It shows promise in the treatment or prevention of a variety of diseases.
Bovine colostrum from pasture-fed cows contains immunoglobulins specific to many human pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Cryptosporidium parvum, Shigella flexneri, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, and rotavirus (which causes diarrhea in infants). Before the development of antibiotics, colostrum was the main source of immunoglobulins used to fight infections. In fact, when Albert Sabin made his first oral vaccine against polio, the immunoglobulin he used came from bovine colostrum. When antibiotics began to appear, interest in colostrum waned, but, now that antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogens have developed, interest is once again returning to natural alternatives to antibiotics, namely, colostrum.
Some athletes have used colostrum in an attempt to improve their performance decrease recovery time, and prevent sickness during peak performance levels. Thus, supplementation with bovine colostrum (20 g/d) in combination with exercise training for 8 wk may increase bone-free lean body mass in active men and women.
Low IGF-1 levels may be associated with dementia in the very elderly, although causation has not been established. People with eating disorders also have low levels of IGF-1 due to malnutrition, as do obese individuals. Supplementation with colostrum, which is rich in IGF-1, can be a useful part of a weight reduction program. Although IGF-1 is not absorbed intact by the body, it does stimulate the production of IGF-1 when taken as a supplement.
Colostrum also has antioxidant components, such as lactoferrin and hemopexin, which binds free heme in the body.
Read more about this topic: Colostrum
Famous quotes containing the words human and/or consumption:
“The history of philosophy is to a great extent that of a certain clash of human temperaments.”
—William James (1842–1910)
“Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)