Imagine a newborn baby, suddenly exposed to the outside world after a completely protected life growing in their mother’s womb. Not entirely on their own, new babies are strengthened to interact with the world by a special food in early breast milk: Colostrum is the earliest breast milk produced, beginning in mid-pregnancy (12-18 weeks) and then continually produced through the first few days after baby’s birth. It varies in color and consistency but all colostrum is valued for its high content of immune factors, protein, sugar, and fats.

You may be thinking, “that’s really sweet, Dr. Gordon is a new grandmother after all (!!!) …but what does this have to do with improving health for an aging body and brain?!”  So glad you asked. It turns out that sometimes we adults need the same kind of protection that babies get from colostrum. And colostrum can actually be taken as a supplement.

Key benefits of colostrum—at any age!—include:

• Helps build a strong immune system (contains antibodies and white blood cells), enhancing resistance to infections and allergies.
• Creates a resilient coating on the lining of stomach & intestines to keep germs from causing illness and prevent inflammation, particularly helpful for newly functioning infant bowels.
  • Acts as a laxative to help bowels work properly
  • Growth factors support the development of healthy muscles, bones, skin and internal organs.

All of the above benefits might be of use to anyone whose immune system needs a boost, perhaps someone with frequent infections or a “long” infection?  Colostrum benefits anyone whose intestinal system is “in recovery,” and here’s where it gets interesting.

• Whose intestines are in the process of “recovery”?
• Those with recent infections…
• Or a marked stress or change to their digestion, even if better now
• Those with “colitis” whether severe or mild..
• Someone who’s taken a high dose of NSAIDs or perhaps steroids,
• And…anyone who exercises vigorously!

It turns out that while vigorous exercise helps us to build strength and endurance—new  muscles and new brain cells—that same activity causes the lining of our intestines to become..well, leaky! (In medical terminology, leaky gut is known as “intestinal permeability.”)  Exercise itself increases “intestinal permeability” –that is, it causes “leaky gut”, a condition where the contents of the intestines can partially leak out into your bloodstream. Usually leaky gut is not a problem when just a transient occurrence after exercise but can be problematic if it persists. Colostrum helps heal an exercise-induced leaky gut.

Perhaps  that is why research has shown that colostrum enhances the body’s response to exercise:

• Less intestinal permeability
• Better recovery
• Better muscle building from strength training & faster speeds for racers
• And diminished bone resorption, paired with better mineralization of bones! Of particular importance for cyclists, recently observed to have greater loss of bone than comparable but weight-bearing athletes.

Sounds like a great idea, but… I’m concerned about colostrum sourcing.  Even the most industrial dairy cow-raising operations keep the calves with the mothers for a short initial period to enable the calf to obtain their birth-right dose of colostrum. Any little mammal (human, cow, etc!) born without access to colostrum will suffer. I just can’t imagine crowding a baby calf away from mom so that I can access the colostrum for my workout recovery drink!

What to do, it sounded like such a great idea?!

1. I have reached out to a supplement company: “please tell me you have a different way of doing this!” and will let you know when I hear back. (At least one company, producing colostrum supplements for animals, has a system for protecting calves: extracting just a small portion of the colostrum for commercial use and leaving the calves with moms for a prolonged period of time.  Touted as being part of the training for the beautifully dancing horse at this year’s Olympics!)

2. Remember that colostrum is made starting at early- to mid-gestation?  At that point the mother makes more than is needed on a daily basis, a sampling of blood (serum) suffused with helpful nutrients, and the mother cow will just make more.  SO for a protocol that I feel comfortable with at this time includes:

• Bovine Serum Immunoglobulins (bonus: milk-free!) and the brand I’ve used the most is Microbiome Labs
• IF you are having an inflammatory gut issue, I would add L-glutamine, the amino acids that are highest in demand in a healing gut, and finally,
• Collagen powder that can help your body with the soft tissues, muscles and bones, and of course
• Creatine monohydrate, 5 grams a day, taken around the time of exercise

Please let us know if you learn something about a wonderful and kind sourcing of colostrum supplementation for humans!