colostrum powder anyone??

[muffinman]

anyone used this, i have heard very good things about it, there was a thing on tv a couple years ago about it, athletes trialed it and some had 14% increase in muscle mass, dont know over what period of time,

thought would be really to good to mix with protien shake, i like to add vege protien powder to my shakes as well, will buy some colostrum and keep updated.

[Growth]

Havent actually used this myself, i remember when i saw a story on the news a while ago i investigated, i think i came across a few medical journals that had done tests and reported no significant increase. Also from what i read on other boards at the time was it wasnt worth the money.

The problem with trying it is how will you measure any mass change over and above normal protein powder.

However i did a bit of searching and came up with this journal abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... t=Abstract

"The whey protein group experienced a significant increase (P < 0.05) in body weight (mean increase of 2.11 kg), whereas the colostrum group experienced a significant (P < 0.05) increase in bone-free lean body mass (mean increase of 1.49 kg). There were no changes in any of the other parameters measured. Thus, supplementation with bovine colostrum (20 g/d) in combination with exercise training for 8 wk may increase bone-free lean body mass in active men and women."

So make of that what you will.

[muffinman]

interesting, it dosnt cost much so if i dont find any change at all then its not a major loss

[frogie2001]

I HEARD THAT COLLUSTRUM IS PRETTY MUCH ALONG THE SAME LINES AS GLUTAMINE (USED TO BE). THAT IS IT PRETTY MUCH COMES FROM NATURAL FOODS BUT ISN'T PROMOTED. IT IS FOUND IN LACTATING ANIMALS, AND IS USED FOR YOUNG ANIMALS TO GROW FASTER, EG CALVES, LAMBS, BABIES ETC, WHILE THEY ARE FEEDING. SO THE THEORY IS THERE AT LEAST

I HAVE USED IT BEFORE BUT DIDN'T REALLY GET THAT MUCH FROM IT, I JUST HAVE A GLASS OF MILK A DAY AND A MULTI AND RECKON THAT IT DOES SIMILAR :? . YOU MAY FIND A DIFFERENT RESULT THOUGH. KEEP US INFORMED

[muffinman]

yeah when it comes from the animal for the baby its a yellow fatty looking substance, if the baby dosent get this it will die, just normal milk for the first two weeks is not enough to sustain it. have heard the nutrients in it are through the roof.

[Pseudonym]

I tried it once when my local supps store had it on a "reduced to clear" special. I don't remember what I thought of it so it can't have been that spectacular.

I think I recall the store owner (who didn't rate it all that highly either) saying that it could be effective, but you really needed some quite high dosages. Don't quote me on that one though - the memory's a bit fuzzy, so some further research might be needed.

[waldo]

As an ex-bodybuilder/weightlifter turned cyclist (that's right, I don't lift many weights these days), colostrum has an application. For endurance type people colostrum can help boost the immune system, which is great during winter when you are banging out 400k per week in the rain and cold. So as an immune system booster it may work in a similar way to L-Glutmaine.

For the BBs, it's high in immunoglobulins, and insulin-like growth factor1 (IGF-1). Great! IGF-1 is going to be good for extra growth, but the biggest application is however for overtrained athletes.

[waldo]

Oh, and products like CytoSport's Muscle Milk have it added, otherwise Balance do a pure colostrum. It's pretty cheap, and if you are prone to getting sick over winter, it may help prevent!

[frogie2001]

waldo

what sort of dosages is required to get any of these benefits though? If we go by the quantity / weight ratio that the intended recipient receives (infant) it would have to be pretty hi?

[waldo]

waldo

what sort of dosages is required to get any of these benefits though? If we go by the quantity / weight ratio that the intended recipient receives (infant) it would have to be pretty hi?

As I'm four weeks away form becomming a Dad for the first time, I have a little more insight at the mo! Pretty much all the infant gets from a mother's breast for the first three days of his life is colostrum (hence the name Mother's Milk). In large quantities too, but that drops away very quickly as the mother begins to lactate properly. A baby also loses weight in the first week owing to the fact that the mother can't produce the volume of milk. So the colostrom is there basically for immune function and initial growth factors.

The normal dosage is 1.5g, that is for the Balance colostrum, but for larger framed guys, probably a dose of twice that amount is needed. There are capsulated products around, they seem to have dosages of 500mg-1.5g, so it seems that is the consensus from the supp. companies.

[deegee]

I think this falls in the works for some but not others category. also I would not expect to see great gains from this unless you are very lucky, with diet and everything in check it will probably be just another hyped product.

congrats there waldo I guess you are on standby for any day now

[waldo]

Thanks dude, standby it is! I suggested Arnold as a name, but the missus made me sleep on the couch and tried to burn my copy of Pumping Iron!

[Flex]

From what I know about colostrum, unless your immune system is severely compromised, you aren't really going to get much benefit from it.

Firstly bovine colostrum is for bovines - i.e. cows - hence it isn't the same as human mothers milk colostrum -

The studies on colostrum that point to it being effective for enhancing the immune system and reducing infection used a special colostrum derived from cows immunized in a way that caused them to produce unusually large amounts of a specific antibody in their colostrum. This is not present in commercially available colostrum. And most of the studies were done on kids with diarrhea - probably not the target market for sports nutrition companies.

Unless the immune enhancing fractions or immunoglobulins are present in high enough concentrations, colostrum is not likely to be effective. The majority of the antimicrobial effect of both bovine colostrum and one of its chief antibiotic components - lactoferrin (also found in whey) - are destroyed by gastric secretions and by the digestive enzyme, trypsin. The main reason colostrum is only present within the first few days of mothers milk is because after this time the baby develops bacteria and enzymes that render the colostrum useless - hence the reason human colostrum wouldn't do an adult much good either.

There are a couple of studies to show that it may help increase lean muscle mass - but only at daily doses of 60 grams - as opposed to the 1 or 2 gram serves suggested by supplement companies. If you can afford to use 60g of colostrum a day you're either very rich or insane - at around $200 a kilo retail it would cost you about $15 a day using a cheap powdered one - and even more if you were using capsules. And just imagine having to swallow sixty 1000mg capsules.

There are a few studies around that show it may be effective for treating various infections - but again this was at doses of up to 60g per day. The supplement companies don't like to tell you this however as no one in their right mind would spend $15 a day on a protein powder that works only slightly better than a good whey protein.

In saying that though, Waldo may find this study done on cyclists interesting - although you'd need a big bank account to really notice the effects:

Dose effects of oral bovine colostrum on physical work capacity in cyclists.

Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Jul;34(7):1184-8.

PURPOSE: There is interest in the potential long-term use of dietary supplementation with bovine colostrum to enhance exercise performance. The purpose of the present study was to determine the dose effects of bovine colostrum on cycling performance. METHODS: Forty-two competitive cyclists were randomly divided into three groups and required to consume either 20 g/d bovine colostrum + 40 g whey protein concentrate (wpc), 60 g of bovine colostrum, or 60 g of wpc (placebo). CONCLUSION: Oral bovine colostrum supplementation at 20 g or 60 g/d provided a small but significant improvement in time trial performance in cyclists after a 2-h ride at 65% VO2max.

So - Colostrum may be of benefit if you are really pushing your immune system or if you are kid with diarrhea - personally I'd save my money for something else. Or wait until the price comes down so that you can chop it back like whey protein.

[waldo]

Found this article from the Herald a wee while ago, and will endeavour to find the Massey University study too.

Colostrum boost for snifflers

 

07.06.2004

 

Colostrum - the fluid produced by cows during the first 48 hours after giving birth - may boost the immune systems of top athletes.

The fluid passes on the immunities of a cow to her calf when it first suckles after birth, but Massey University researcher Christine Crooks says the effect can also work when humans drink the milk.

Her study shows that colostrum supplements boost immunity levels in marathon runners.

She said such supplements could provide an answer to one of nature's curious ironies - why ultra-fit long-distance athletes were more prone to colds than the average weekend jogger.

A key factor appeared to be a fall in the levels of secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) - the body's first line of defence against infection - after intense bouts of exercise.

Ms Crooks looked at male and female runners aged 25 to 58 years, all of whom trained for the 2002 Rotorua Marathon.

The athletes were running an average 43km a week, with a top-end range of 105km. Half were given drinks made with powdered colostrum - which sells for $1000/kg in export markets - and half a similar drink without colostrum.

The research, sponsored by Fonterra's health division, found that levels of s-IgA in the colostrum group were almost double those of the control group.

The runners' s-IgA levels were measured before supplements were given, monthly during the study and two weeks after the marathon.

Diet, training and health records were also kept.

Fonterra's health platform manager, Liz McMaster, said the research suggested that colostrum might enhance athletes' immunity and help to prevent upper respiratory tract infections that runners often report, typically about 14 days after marathon-type race events.

Fonterra has been paying farmers $168/kg for 0.75 per cent strength colostrum.

Other studies have shown colostrum can also boost growth and healing in humans, specifically in muscle and skin tissues.

- NZPA

[Flex]

While I don't deny the results of this test I wouldn't exactly call it an independant test - Fonterra paying for a lab study on one of their products that can sell for up to $1000/kg overseas - that's just asking for trouble. If I had a product with that much earning potential do you think I'd choose a lab that was going to give me a negative result. Me thinks not. And sadly the study doesn't appear to have been published so we'll never see just how much was being used to get the results and what size the group was. I'm not denying it has applications for immune enhancement - I'm just saying that this study isn't the best example.