Should you be taking bovine colostrum?

Colostrum has recently become a darling of social media wellness gurus. Some say taking it regularly will “boost” your immune system, support your gut, and much more. 

But what is it, and is the hype justified? In this article, we’ll explain all. First, let’s cover the basics.

What is colostrum?

Colostrum is also called “first milk” because it’s the first milk produced hours after birth when a mother begins breastfeeding. All mammals produce it, and it’s vital to support the immune system and rapidly growing body of a newborn.  

Breastmilk is an incredible thing. It’s nutrient-dense and contains everything a newborn needs to survive. Even more fascinating is that its nutrient composition changes to cater to baby’s needs as they grow.

Colostrum is the first iteration of breastmilk, produced during the first 2-5 days after birth. 

Colostrum, however, has a different selection of goodies, with certain vitamins and minerals present in higher doses. It also contains much higher levels of protein and growth factors — a newborn's stomach is tiny, so colostrum needs to pack a lot of punch with little volume.

Colostrum is rich in immune-supporting compounds because newborn mammals are particularly vulnerable to infection due to their unstable gut microbiome and immature immune system.

The term superfood is thrown around willy-nilly, but if you’re a newborn mammal, colostrum certainly is super and it’s the best food option for you. It supports and protects every facet of your developing body. But why are adults taking it?

Why are adults taking colostrum?

Wellness influencers eagerly add colostrum to shakes and smoothies, but why? 

It’s tempting to imagine that because colostrum supercharges the developing baby, it might also supercharge an adult. So, with wellness companies eager to introduce new products, colostrum seems like a solid business plan.

Like many wellness trends — we’re looking at you, celery juice cleanses — there is no good evidence that colostrum has health benefits for adults.

Existing studies are nowhere near strong enough to make the claims you’ll see on the internet. Not to mention the added cruelty needed to harvest bovine colostrum — the baby cow needs to be removed immediately after birth to preserve the precious colostrum for harvesting.

Below, we'll investigate the claims made about colostrum and explore the research. To date, three areas of health have received the most scientific attention:

1. sports performance

2. immune function

3. gut health

 So, we’ll look at each in turn.

Enhancing sports performance

A few studies have investigated whether colostrum might enhance the performance of elite athletes. 

Although a number of these studies have been carried out, they’re generally small and often only recruited males. And they don’t always agree. For instance, some studies have shown that colostrum helps build muscle better than placebo, whereas others found no benefits.

Other studies have investigated whether colostrum supplementation might help athletes as they recover from intense exercise. For instance, one study found that soccer players recovered more quickly when taking colostrum.

Also, according to the authors of a review on colostrum and exercise, many of the existing studies include some forms of bias, and the evidence isn’t particularly compelling overall.

So it’s a "no" on sports performance, and there are many other interventions with much better results for this.

Colostrum and your immune system

One of colostrum’s important functions is to support the newborn cow’s developing immune system. Does it follow that it also improves the immune system of adult humans?

Some studies have asked this question. Again, much of the evidence comes from studies that recruited sportspeople.

Upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) are a common problem for athletes, especially when following a punishing training regime or after a big event.

So far, there haven’t been many studies conducted on humans. However, a review of five studies on URTIs in athletes concluded that “bovine colostrum supplementation may be effective in preventing the incidence of [upper respiratory symptoms] and episodes in adults engaged in exercise training.”

They also note that most of the studies they looked at didn’t find a significant effect, so the conclusion is very generous and the current evidence does not support using colostrum for this. 

Another review took a slightly different approach. Rather than examining URTI symptoms, it reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that measured markers of immune system activity, like the levels of different types of immune cells in the blood.

Again, this review only included athletes and very active people and there were just 239 participants in all 10 studies combined.

Protecting gut health

There is some evidence that bovine colostrum might help treat certain gut issues. Although human studies are few and far between and generally small, there are signs that bovine colostrum might help some people.

For instance, a study from 2002 — which recruited just 14 people — found that a bovine colostrum enema helped reduce gut inflammation (colitis).

To be clear, in this study, the colostrum was applied into the rectum, which isn’t how standard supplements are usually taken. These patients were also taking medication prescribed for colitis.

Some evidence suggests that bovine colostrum supplementation might reduce gut permeability in very sick people and athletes.

Bovine colostrum supplements might also reduce diarrhea in children living in Africa and healthy adults infected with E. coli. But these conclusions are from small, individual studies, which alone do not provide enough evidence to take colostrum supplements for health. 

In other words, there’s no good evidence that regularly taking bovine colostrum will improve your gut health. 

Effective ways to support gut health

At ZOE, we know that diet is the most powerful tool for supporting gut and overall health. 

For instance, in one of our studies, we tested our Daily30+ whole food supplement, which contains more than 30 plants.

Similarly, in a randomized controlled trial, we found that people who followed the ZOE program and ate a more plant-heavy diet experienced improvements in their gut microbiomes with more “good” gut bacteria.

Alongside consuming more plants, evidence is mounting that fermented food can support good gut health, too. And it also seems likely that they can improve overall health by supporting your immune system.

What should you do?

There’s no good reason for adults living in the Western world to consume bovine colostrum as a supplement. It’s cruel to rob newborn calves of colostrum, and it’s likely to impact their chance of survival, without improving yours. 

Bovine colostrum isn’t cheap and their marketing preys on common concerns, potentially putting the focus on this expensive supplement instead of the many more accessible ways you can support your health without dipping into your savings. They’ll be much more effective, too.

Plus, eating a variety of complex carbohydrates and good-quality protein helps to support sports performance with measurable outcomes.

So, while colostrum has clear benefits for newborn mammals, we know that a healthy diet is the most powerful tool for adult humans to stay healthy. If you’d like to learn more about how to eat for more healthy years, try these next:

Read:

• What is a plant-based diet, and what are the benefits?

• Why should you eat 30 plants a week?

• What healthy meals can you make with what’s in your cupboard?

Watch:

• Foods for every decade of life with Dr. Federica Amati

• The truth about protein on a plant-based diet

• Will fermented foods improve my gut health? With Sandor Katz and Prof. Tim Spector