Colostrum as a therapeutic supplement
Colostrum is the nutrient-rich fluid produced by a mother during the first few days after giving birth, offering newborns vital antibodies and growth factors essential for their early development. While traditionally associated with infant nutrition, colostrum has emerged as a therapeutic supplement for adults, particularly in the prevention and treatment of infectious diarrhea. Most commercial colostrum products are derived from cows, and one variant known as hyperimmune colostrum is specifically created to combat infections affecting humans. Research indicates that hyperimmune colostrum may effectively reduce symptoms of rotavirus diarrhea, although overall evidence for its efficacy in treating other infections is mixed.
Beyond gastrointestinal health, colostrum is being explored for its potential benefits in conditions like ulcer prevention, inflammatory bowel disease, and oral health issues such as Sjögren's syndrome and lichen planus. Additionally, it has garnered interest as a sports supplement due to its growth factors, although research findings on athletic performance benefits are inconsistent. Generally considered safe, colostrum has not been linked to significant side effects, although comprehensive safety data, particularly for vulnerable populations such as young children and pregnant women, is lacking. As interest in colostrum grows, individuals seeking a natural supplement should consider the varying evidence supporting its therapeutic uses.
Colostrum as a therapeutic supplement
- DEFINITION: Natural substance from a woman’s body used as a supplement to treat specific health conditions.
- PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USES: Prevention and treatment of infectious diarrhea
- OTHER PROPOSED USES: Lichen planus, Sjögren’s syndrome, sore throat and other upper respiratory infections, sports supplement, ulcer prevention
Overview
Colostrum is the fluid that women’s breasts produce during the first day or two after giving birth. It gives newborn infants a rich mixture of antibodies and growth factors that help them get a good nutritional start.
Although colostrum has been available since the first mammals walked the earth, it is relatively new as a nutritional supplement. The resurgence of breastfeeding in the 1970s sparked a revival of interest in colostrum for both infants and adults.
However, most commercial colostrum preparations come from cows, not humans. The antibodies a mother cow gives to her calf are designed to fend off bacteria that are dangerous to cows; these may be very different from those that pose risks to humans. Nonetheless, colostrum also contains substances that might offer general benefits, such as growth factors (which stimulate the growth and development of cells in the digestive tract and perhaps elsewhere) and transfer factor (which may have general immune-activating properties). In addition, some researchers have used a special form of colostrum called hyperimmune colostrum, which is created by inoculating cows with bacteria and viruses that affect humans. The cow, in turn, makes antibodies to them and secretes those antibodies into its colostrum. Hyperimmune colostrum has shown considerable promise as an infection-fighting agent.
Hyperimmune colostrum, however, is not available over the counter as a dietary supplement. Non-hyperimmunized colostrum might have some value, too, but the evidence is much weaker.
Requirements and Sources
Breastfeeding is one of the healthiest ways to nourish a newborn, and a woman’s colostrum is undoubtedly good for a baby. However, one should not believe claims (by some manufacturers) that most newborns would die without colostrum. Colostrum is good for health, but it is not essential for life. Colostrum is available in capsules that contain its immune proteins in dry form.
Therapeutic Dosages
The usual recommended dosage of colostrum is 10 grams (g) daily. In studies of colostrum as a sports supplement for athletes, a much higher dose of 60 g a day was used.
Therapeutic Uses
Many, but not all, studies have found that hyperimmune colostrum might be able to help prevent or treat various forms of infectious diarrhea. Colostrum has also shown some promise as a sports supplement, presumably because it contains growth factors, but study results are inconsistent.
For years, people with ulcers were advised to eat a bland diet and drink lots of milk. Although this treatment was eventually found to be ineffective, according to one study in rats and a small human trial, ordinary colostrum (although not milk) might help protect the stomach from damage caused by anti-inflammatory drugs. It has been hypothesized that colostrum’s growth factors help stimulate the stomach to regenerate.
Weak evidence suggests that oral hygiene products containing ordinary colostrum might have beneficial effects in a disease of the mouth called lichen planus, as well as in the condition known as Sjögren’s syndrome (which also affects the mouth by reducing salivary flow). One study found that colostrinin, a substance extracted from colostrum, might be helpful for Alzheimer’s disease.
Ordinary colostrum has been suggested as a treatment for short bowel syndrome (a condition following digestive tract surgery), chemotherapy-induced mouth ulcers, and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), but additional evidence is necessary to prove it is effective.
A study cited by some colostrum manufacturers as showing that colostrum can prevent or treat upper respiratory infections (such as colds) was actually far too preliminary to do more than hint at benefits. A proper double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 148 adults failed to find colostrum helpful for shortening the duration of sore throat.
Scientific Evidence
Infectious diarrhea. Preliminary evidence suggests that hyperimmune colostrum might help prevent or possibly treat infectious diarrhea. For example, a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of eighty children with rotavirus diarrhea found that hyperimmune colostrum (prepared by immunizing cows with rotavirus) reduced symptoms and shortened recovery time. Similar results were seen in another double-blind trial of about the same size. However, colostrum prepared by immunizing cows with a monkey form of rotavirus was not found effective for treating rotavirus in a double-blind trial of 135 children. The difference between these results may lie in the level and type of antibodies found in the particular colostrums used. Both hyperimmune and normal colostrum have been tried for prevention or treatment of Cryptosporidium infection in people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, but the evidence that it works is weak at best.
Other studies suggest that hyperimmune colostrum might help prevent infection with Shigella and E. coli (a common cause of travelers’ diarrhea). However, studies have not found it effective for treating the diarrhea resulting from Shigella or E. coli infection once it takes hold. A study of Bangladeshi children infected with Helicobacter pylori (the organism that causes digestive ulcers) found no benefits with hyperimmune colostrum.
Sports performance. Colostrum contains the growth factor IGF-1, which may help build muscle, and on this basis, colostrum has been proposed as a sports supplement. However, the results are conflicting as to whether it really works.
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the use of colostrum over an eight-week training period did not improve performance on an exercise-to-exhaustion test; however, it did improve performance on a repeat bout twenty minutes later. This suggests potential benefits for enhancing recovery of energy following heavy exercise.
Another eight-week double-blind study found that the use of colostrum enhanced sprinting performance, but not endurance exercise, in elite hockey players. Previous double-blind studies found improvements in rowing performance and vertical jump.
A small double-blind study found that colostrum, compared with whey protein, increased lean mass in healthy men and women undergoing aerobic and resistance training. However, no improvements in performance were seen in this trial.
It appears that the IGF-1 in colostrum is not directly absorbed into the body. Nonetheless, consumption of colostrum does appear to increase IGF-1 levels in the blood. The explanation for this is unclear.
Safety Issues
Colostrum does not seem to cause any significant side effects. However, comprehensive safety studies have not been performed. Safety in young children and in women who are pregnant or nursing has not been established.
Bibliography
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