For today’s Dear Mark, I’m answering a reader question about whether colostrum supplements are worth trying. Get your hands on it right away.
Beloved,
A friend of mine has been taking powdered colostrum for several months now. He swears it will help him thrive in the gym. I was training for the trip of the century this summer and he said I should start using colostrum to strengthen my legs. Since he mentioned it, I feel like I’ve seen more fitness genres talk about it on social media. I want to take yours before withdrawing. Thank you Mark!
Ah yes, your phone hears you talking about colostrum. Now, your social media feed is full of posts about colostrum and you want to know if it’s legit or just an empty promise.
As you probably know, colostrum is the “first milk” that mammals produce in 2-3 days after birth. Compared with regular milk, colostrum is especially rich in antibodies, enzymes, growth factors and other nutrients All designed to protect babies and kickstart their immune and digestive systems. If you were breastfed at birth, you received colostrum from your mother. The colostrum that you buy as a supplement is almost always bovine (cow) colostrum, usually in powder or capsule form.
Because of all the good stuff colostrum contains, it is a hot topic of research for medical applications and promoting athletic performance. I will highlight some interesting findings in both areas here.
Does bovine colostrum enhance athletic performance?
Athletes are always looking for that advantage. I can understand why colostrum, which contains protein, growth factors like IGF-1, and lots of vitamins and minerals, looks promising.. After all, those compounds support muscle growth, bone health, and general fitness. It’s also why some athletes seem to have tried drinking breast milk as a performance enhancer. (Breast milk, although it also contains many nutrients, is not the same as colostrum.)
However, just because a product contains beneficial ingredients does not mean that our bodies can use them as desired. In this case, the adults are unlikely to be able to absorb the IGF-1 in bovine colostrum. Calves can absorb it because their intestines are more permeable, but we can’t.
That’s not to say there aren’t any benefits for athletes. I am merely pointing out that just because something seems above face value like it Candlestick Bringing certain benefits does not necessarily mean it will. That’s why we have research studies.
Before moving on to the research, remember when we ask, “Do X Supplements increase athletic performance?” We also need to ask, “Compared to what?” In this case, researchers often compare colostrum with whey protein. This is very meaningful. The benefits of whey protein are well known. Classifying whey versus colostrum in a single study design allowed us to see whether a specific effect was due to overall protein consumption or whether colostrum confers an additional advantage.
So what do the studies show?
Colostrum for athletes: Data
It was a mixed bag of results, partly due to differences between study designs and relatively small study groups. In terms of positive results:
- Older adults supplement with colostrum (60g/day) or whey protein and do resistance training three times per week. After eight weeks, both groups experienced increases in upper-body strength, muscle mass, cognitive function, and muscle thickness. The group using colostrum also improved leg pressure and reduced bone resorption.
- Twenty-two healthy adults drank colostrum (20g/day) or whey protein for eight weeks. All participants did resistance training at least three times a week. They were instructed not to change their normal diet or exercise routine. Participants in the colostrum group gained an average of 1.5kg lean mass according to the DEXA scan results, while the whey protein group stayed the same.
- Drinking 60 grams of colostrum per day for 9 weeks improved the lactate buffering of the blood of female rowers (which can delay periods of fatigue and aid in recovery after exercise), but it did not enhance it. performance in the rowing test.
- When male and female elite field hockey athletes drank colostrum (60g/day) for eight weeks, their sprint performance improved significantly compared with athletes taking whey. However, there were no significant differences in endurance performance or body composition.
While these studies are promising, many studies show no specific benefits of colostrum over whey. A comprehensive literature review by the folks at Examine found no advantage for colostrum in terms of VO2max, anaerobic running capacity, exercise heart rate, or lactate threshold.
That’s my lesson In terms of performance, the benefits of colostrum are more or less equal to whey protein. It may have a slight advantage in some cases, but based on the studies done to date, colostrum doesn’t seem to be the next miracle food supplement. I also don’t see any downside to experimenting with it other than cost. At worst, you’ll get the same benefits with a whey protein supplement.
Health benefits of colostrum supplementation
Where can colostrum shine? keep athletes healthy. In particular, immune factors in colostrum – particularly lactoferrin and IgG – may confer protection in humans. The (surprisingly extensive) research probably deserves a separate post, but I will briefly cover a few areas that are specifically relevant to athletes.
First, colostrum may help counteract the increased susceptibility of athletes to upper respiratory tract infections due to immunosuppression caused by overtraining. A 2016 review of five studies concluded that colostrum supplementation reduced the risk of upper respiratory tract infections by 38%, at least in the athlete populations studied.
Second, endurance athletes in particular appear to be predisposed to intestinal problems. Colostrum can be helpful. I have had readers tell me that they have had great success with using colostrum to address IBS type symptoms. There is also evidence that colostrum reduces intestinal permeability that often accompanies exercise in the heat.
If you are an athlete who is taking an NSAID for pain so that you can continue running on the road or on the field, supplementing with colostrum may help offset some of the damage you are doing to your mucous membranes. his intestines. However, I cannot stress that a better course of action would be to modify your exercises and find other ways to reduce or manage pain where possible.
Colostrum supplementation recommendations for cows: Dosage and duration
Obviously for maximum absorption you want to drink colostrum on an empty stomach. If you are using powdered colostrum (not a capsule) mixed with water, some of the colostrum will be absorbed directly by mouth, which some believe benefits immunity.
There is no standard dosage from what I can tell. The studies I looked at gave participants somewhere between 10 and 20 grams per day on the low end and 60 grams per day on the high end, but I’ve heard of people taking much more. I don’t see a clear risk with higher doses (but talk to your doctor, etc.).
Risks from bovine colostrum?
I can’t say anything except maybe if you are dairy intolerant. Colostrum contains some casein and lactose, so be careful if you are sensitive to them.
Key point
For athletic performance, the main benefits of colostrum may come from protein, which means you’ll do just as well as taking whey protein. However, I see no reason not to try colostrum if you’re interested. Research on other health benefits of bovine colostrum is intriguing. If I was dealing with a persistent upper respiratory infection or symptoms of intestinal permeability, I would ask my doctor about colostrum.
If you’ve had a good (or bad) experience with bovine colostrum in the past, I’d like to know about it. Tell me in the comments.
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