What are the Top Benefits of Bovine Colostrum?
Bovine colostrum is a nutrient-rich food often explored for its potential benefits for gut health and immunity.
In this blog, we’ll discuss what bovine colostrum is, the benefits it can provide to those who use it, and how you can incorporate it into your existing diet.
What is Bovine Colostrum?
Commonly known as ‘liquid gold’, colostrum is the first form of milk produced by a mammal after its baby is born. This milk is produced for the first two to five days after giving birth. Rich in antibodies, growth factors, and nutrients, it's designed to jump-start a newborn's immune system and support their health and growth.
Human colostrum is something that isn’t available unless you have just given birth, in which case you’ll be saving that for your newborn! Because of this fact, the majority of colostrum products you will find around are bovine colostrum, which comes specifically from cows.
While colostrum is initially formed to help in a newborn's growth, adults can also benefit from colostrum. Thanks to its nutritional profile, many people incorporate colostrum into their diets and wellness routines. You can even add it to your pet's meals if you want to share the love!
The Benefits of Bovine Colostrum
Nutritional Profile
One of the benefits of bovine colostrum powder is that it has an incredible nutritional profile. It contains a wide range of antibodies, vitamins, and growth factors that make it a brilliant source of nutrients for all ages. The antibodies in bovine colostrum are believed to support the body’s defence system.
Vitamins and Minerals: Bovine colostrum is a rich source of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, B, C, D, and E, as well as minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc.
Proteins and Peptides: The protein content in bovine colostrum is high and of exceptional quality - bovine colostrum has 15% more protein than mature cow's milk. Proline-rich polypeptides are studied for their role in supporting immune function, making them a notable component of colostrum. NourishMe Organics’ 100% Pure Colostrum Powder contains a minimum of 12% proline-rich polypeptides, which is four times higher than that of alternative colostrum products on the market.
Fats and Lipids: Fats and lipids in bovine colostrum contribute to its nutritional value, providing essential fatty acids that are important for brain health, reducing inflammation, and overall cellular function. The fats found in bovine colostrum include oleic acid, which is studied for its potential role in supporting cardiovascular health.
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates in bovine colostrum, primarily in the form of lactose, act as a source of energy and play an important role in gut health. This fosters a friendly environment for beneficial bacteria to thrive in the body. The other carbohydrates found in bovine colostrum include nucleotide sugars, oligosaccharides, glycoproteins and glycolipids.
Gut Health and Immune System Support
Gut health is a major contributing factor when it comes to a person's overall well-being. Our gut health influences everything from our immune system’s efficacy, all the way to our mental health. Bovine colostrum is often explored for its potential to support gut health, including the maintenance of the gut lining.
This mechanism is thought to help maintain gut barrier integrity, potentially preventing the entry of unwanted substances into the bloodstream. Additionally, bovine colostrum’s immune-boosting characteristics make it effective at protecting the body against common illnesses and infections.
Synergy with Other Products
Bovine colostrum's properties can complement probiotics and fermented products for a balanced gut environment. While fermented products work by populating your gut with beneficial bacteria, bovine colostrum provides immune support to create a comprehensive and healthy gut environment.
A great combination is milk kefir and colostrum. Colostrum can significantly improve the nutrient content of milk kefir and also provide additional health benefits, as demonstrated by Italian researcher Marco Ruggiero when developing MAF314.
Athletic Performance and Recovery
If you’re an athlete, you may want to consider adding bovine colostrum to your preparation and recovery regimens. Bovine colostrum is known to improve gut efficiency, leading to better nutrient absorption, which can enhance performance. Its anti-inflammatory properties can also help to reduce recovery times and prevent illness.
How to Add Bovine Colostrum to Your Diet
Bovine colostrum supplementation comes in both powder and pill form, used in 10-60-gram doses. Powders can be added to your favourite cold drinks or smoothies, providing benefits such as improved immune health, reduced inflammation, and reduced gastrointestinal distress.
For general health benefits, one teaspoon should be added to your favourite cold beverage. For those looking into bodybuilding and strengthening, you can up this amount to one tablespoon.
NourishMe Organics Colostrum Powder
NourishMe Organics’ 100% Pure Colostrum Powder contains immune and growth factors to support your wellness goals.
Our colostrum is harvested only after the newborn calves get their share and is a Third-Party Verified True 8-to-16-hour colostrum. The colostrum is low heat and low pressure processed to ensure that the delicate colostral proteins are maintained and bioactive. Some of the key features and benefits of our pure colostrum powder include:
- 25% Immunoglobulin G (IgG) content
- 65% protein
- Free from hormones, antibiotics and pesticides
- Anti-ageing and immunity-boosting properties
- Digestive health support
- Non-GMO
- 100% colostrum, no fillers.
