Nature's First Food
Colostrum is emitted by the mammary glands during the first 24-48 hours after birth. This thick, yellow substance is rich in nutrients and other important substances including: Immune factors that protect against invading organisms and facilitate development of a strong immune system. Growth factors, essential for creation and maintenance of bone, muscle, nerves, cartilage and other essential functions. While colostrum is essential for newborns, adults can also benefit from colostrum. After puberty, production of immune and growth factors begins to decrease. By age 60, the body secretes little or no growth hormone and aging accelerates rapidly. The immune system also starts to decline so that by age 65 the function of the thymus and T-cells is reduced and the body's ability to respond to pathogens is cut in half. These declining growth and immune factors may be restored with supplements of bovine colostrum.
Colostrum's Immune Factors Balance Immune Response By boosting a weakened immune system
Colostrum's immune factors help prevent conditions such as colds, flu, diarrhea, sinusitis, asthma, allergies, herpes, viral bronchitis, candidiasis and ear infections. At the same time, it can help balance an overactive immune system in cases of autoimmune disease. Such conditions include fibromyalgia, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, scleroderma, and others. Immunoglobulins, or antibodies, are the most important and most prevalent immune factors in bovine colostrum. They work both separately and together to destroy antigens. Some circulate in the blood and lymphatic systems to neutralize toxins, viruses and bacteria. Others reside in the mucous membranes and act as a barrier against invading organisms. IgG, the most abundant immunoglobulin in bovine colostrum, is a key factor in the prevention and treatment of infectious diarrhea. It may also be used to support the immune system in conditions such as anemia, chickenpox, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, neutropenia and systemic lupus. Progressive Labs Colostrum contains 30% IgG. Most other supplements contain only 20%.
Colostrum's Growth Factors Are Important for Healing, Weight Management and Anti-Aging Effects
Growth factors are compounds whose primary effects are to: Promote healing by building, maintaining and repairing bone, muscle, nerves and cartilage. Stimulate fat metabolism. Regulate protein metabolism during fasting. Maintain balanced blood sugar levels. Help regulate the brain chemicals that control mood. Promote wound healing. Colostrum supplies the body with growth factors and stimulates the endocrine system to keep producing its own hormones. The growth and immune factors in colostrum work together to create potent anti-aging effects, including tighter skin, which results in reduction of wrinkles and regrowth of cells and organ tissues that normally decrease in size with age. Growth factors identified in bovine colostrum include Epithelial Growth Factor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Insulin-Like Growth Factors I & II and Transforming Growth Factors A&B. Epithelial Growth Factor (EGF) is instrumental in protecting and maintaining the skin. Although EGF alone can stimulate normal skin growth, it peforms best when combined with IGF-1 and TGF A&B. Together they repair cells and stimulate normal skin growth. Insulin-Like Growth Factors I and II (IGF-I & IGF-II) are the most abundant growth factors in bovine colostrum. They affect how the body uses fat, protein and sugar; stimulate the immune system; and promote cell repair and growth. Because every cell in the body has a receptor for IGF-II, it can help each cell actively heal or reproduce. IGF-I is one of the few substances known that can stimulate growth and repair of the important nucleic acids RNA and DNA.These healing properties make IGF-I a powerful anti-aging substance. IGF-I is of interest to athletes, body builders and in weight management programs because it can help burn fat and stimulate growth of lean muscle tissues. As its name indicates, IGF-I has properties similar to insulin and has improved blood sugar profiles in type II diabetics. There is also evidence that IGF-I helps lower LDL and raise HDL cholesterol levels, which can help prevent heart disease. Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) performs a helper function by increasing the binding ability of IGF-I by 60%-70%. Transforming Growth Factors A & B (TGF-A&B) stimulate proliferation of cells in connective tissue, assist in formation of bone and cartilage, help repair tissue and, according to one study, support the growth of the gut lining, which is important in leaky gut syndrome. Bovine Colostrum Is Richer in Immune and Growth Factors Bovine colostrum is 10 to 20 times richer in immune factors than human colostrum. It also contains more IGF than human colostrums. While human infants get about half of their immune and growth factors from their mothers through the placenta, calves do not. Bovine colostrum has to be extra-rich since it is the calf's only source of these important factors. Also, while humans produce only a small amount of colostrum, a cow generally produces about nine gallons. In a sense, cows are universal colostrum donors. The molecular structure of immune and growth factors in bovine colostrum is very similar to those found in humans.
