Maintaining a healthy gut is crucial for overall health and longevity in humans. A healthy gut contributes to thriving health, while an unhealthy one often leads to chronic disease and a low quality of life.
While there are many supplements on the market which claim to heal the gut, most do not have the science behind them or only have one mechanism of action.
While using multiple supplements can have merit, you can often save yourself money by investing in a supplement which will move the needle the most.
And when it comes to intensive gut healing, we believe that colostrum is the No 1 supplement people should consider.
In fact, many are starting to coin the phrase ‘colostrum therapy’ given how effective it can often be in overcoming your gut issues.
A Brief Summary Of What Bovine Colostrum Is
Often referred to as ‘first milk’, colostrum is a liquid that is produced by mother cows within the initial days after giving birth to a calf. It is not produced outside of this window which is why many call it liquid gold. It is a scarce resource.
Colostrum is unique in that it contains nutrients, immunoglobulins, peptides and growth factors, all of which have essential benefits for the calf.
To turn colostrum into a powder, the excess colostrum is collected before being dried at low temperatures. This ensures the colostrum maintains its incredible nutrient profile.
Once the calf has received its volume of colostrum, the remainder is then collected and quickly dried at low temperatures into a powder.
Why Then, is Colostrum Great for Gut Health?
Colostrum contains over 250+ bioactive and rejuvenating compounds, many of which have been shown to heal the gut via different mechanisms of action.
This means that colostrum heals the gut in multiple different ways and is not just limited by one mechanism of action. In this regard, colostrum has a synergistic impact on gut health which is why it has such a beneficial impact.
Some of the gut loving bioactives you will find in bovine colostrum include:
- Immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM, IgA)
- Secretory Immunoglobulin (SIgA)
- Growth Factors (IGF-1, IGF-2, TGF-β1, TGF-β2)
- Prebiotic Oligosaccharides
- Proline Rich Polypeptides
- Lactoferrin
- Lactoperoxidase
- Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines
- Sialic Acid
- Interleukins
- Interferons
- Lymphokines
- Lactalbumin
- Colony-Stimulating Factor-1
- Epithelial Growth Factor (EGF)
- Alongside Vitamins and Minerals
The Colostrum Research On Gut Healing
As was mentioned above, colostrum seems to heal the gut in multiple different ways. You can see this play out below in the literature below.
1. Bovine Colostrum Reverses Leaky Gut Syndrome
Leaky gut syndrome has been shown to be one of the main drivers of autoimmune disease and chronic illness in humans (1)(2)(3).
Colostrum in multiple studies has been shown to reverse leaky gut.
For example, in one study, just 500mg was shown to significantly reduce intestinal permeability (4).
While other studies have shown that it can reduce intestinal permeability by as much as 70% and 80% respectively following exercise (5)(6).
A study also looking at 70 ICU patients also showed that bovine colostrum reduced zonulin levels, which is a key marker for intestinal permeability (7).
2. Bovine Colostrum Promotes Beneficial Gut Bacteria
Colostrum also improves gut health by promoting the benefits of growth of good gut bacteria.
For example, one study found that colostrum promoted the growth of probiotic bacteria while inhibiting the growth of pathogenic e.coli (8). A similar study demonstrated similar results with colostrum leading to the growth of beneficial Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp (9)
While another study found that colostrum enhanced the presence of short fatty chain acid microorganisms, which play an important role in maintaining gut homeostasis (10).
Ultimately, researchers hypothesise that colostrum is able to shift dysbiotic bacteria (bad) towards eubiosis (good bacteria) (11).
3. Bovine Colostrum May Reduce Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Colostrum has been shown to reduce the symptoms of IBD.
While more research is needed in humans, one study did show that a colostrum enema improved the symptoms of ulcerative colitis including abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, bowel frequency, and stool consistency (12)
In multiple animal studies, colostrum has been shown to decrease intestinal inflammation, reduce bacterial adhesion, reduce inflammatory markers and ultimately reduce the clinical severity of IBD (13)(14)(15).
In each of these studies, researchers stated that colostrum could be used successfully to alleviate the clinical course of IBD.
4. Bovine Colostrum Helps Clear Endotoxin or Lipopolysaccharide
One of the most impressive features of colostrum is that research shows it can clear and reduce endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide).
Endotoxin is a substance that forms part of the wall of negative gram bacteria. When the cell wall ruptures endotoxin is released. Usually this toxin stays inside the gut and is a normal part of the gut microbiome.
However, when the gut is leaky or more permeable, it can enter the bloodstream and cause systemic inflammation. In fact, endotoxin has been found circulating in the brain demonstrating how it can even cross the from the gut, into the bloodstream and then cross the blood-brain barrier into the brain (16).
In one study, bovine colostrum reduced plasma levels of endotoxin by 67% (17). While another study showed a 50% reduction (18).
In two other studies looking at ICU patients and those recovering from abdominal surgery, colostrum was used to reduce endotoxin levels successfully (19)(20).
5. Bovine Colostrum Repairs Gut Damage After NSAID Use
Multiple medications have been shown to damage the gut. One of these is Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Colostrum has been shown to reverse the gut damage caused by medication use like NSAIDs.
In one study, colostrum reduced gut injury by 30-60% following NSAID administration (21).
A similar study found that following NSAID use, colostrum was found to promote the growth and healing of the intestinal villi (gut wall)(22).
Researchers also used this research to state that colostrum would have benefits for those suffering from IBD.
6. Bovine Colostrum May Tackle Gut Pathogens
Colostrum has been shown to take dysbiotic gut environments and turn them into more beneficial environments.
One of the potential ways it does this is by tackling gut pathogens.
For example, one study found that colostrum hindered the microbial adhesion of H.Pylori to its target tissue (23).
While another study found that colostrum inhibited the growth of pathogenic e.coli (24)
7. Bovine Colostrum Enhances Absorption of Nutrients.
Bovine colostrum also may help the gut more efficiently absorb nutrients.
In one study where cyclists supplemented with colostrum for 8 weeks, those taking colostrum improved their cycling time by 158 seconds. Scientists proposed that colostrum enhanced the function of the small intestine and the absorption of nutrients, consequently increasing the availability of essential nutrients to aid muscle recovery (25).
And yes, colostrum has also been found to significantly improve athletic performance. You can read about this here.
References
1. Christovich A, Luo XM. Gut Microbiota, Leaky Gut, and Autoimmune Diseases. Front Immunol. 2022;13:946248.
2. Paray BA, Albeshr MF, Jan AT, Rather IA. Leaky Gut and Autoimmunity: An Intricate Balance in Individuals Health and the Diseased State. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(24):9770.
3. Smyth MC. Intestinal permeability and autoimmune diseases. Bioscience Horizons. 2017;10.
4. Hałasa M, Maciejewska D, Baśkiewicz-Hałasa M, Machaliński B, Safranow K, Stachowska E. Oral Supplementation with Bovine Colostrum Decreases Intestinal Permeability and Stool Concentrations of Zonulin in Athletes. Nutrients. 2017;9(4):370.
5. Marchbank T, Davison G, Oakes JR, et al. OC-083 Clinical trial: influence of bovine colostrum on intestinal permeability in healthy athletes after heavy exercise. Gut. 2010;59(Suppl 1):A34.2-A35.
6. Davison G, Marchbank T, March DS, Thatcher R, Playford RJ. Zinc carnosine works with bovine colostrum in truncating heavy exercise-induced increase in gut permeability in healthy volunteers. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016;104(2):526-536.
7. Eslamian G, Ardehali SH, Baghestani AR, Vahdat Shariatpanahi Z. Effects of early enteral bovine colostrum supplementation on intestinal permeability in critically ill patients: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Nutrition. 2019;60:106-111.
8. Champagne CP, Raymond Y, Pouliot Y, Gauthier SF, Lessard M. Effect of bovine colostrum, cheese whey, and spray-dried porcine plasma on the in vitro growth of probiotic bacteria and Escherichia coli. Can J Microbiol. 2014;60(5):287-295.
9. Menchetti L, Curone G, Filipescu IE, et al. The prophylactic use of bovine colostrum in a murine model of TNBS-Induced colitis. Animals. 2020;10(3):492
10. Agradi S, Cremonesi P, Menchetti L, et al. Bovine Colostrum Supplementation Modulates the Intestinal Microbial Community in Rabbits. Animals (Basel). 2023;13(6):976.
11. Asbjornsdottir B, Miranda-Ribera A, Fiorentino M, et al. Prophylactic Effect of Bovine Colostrum on Intestinal Microbiota and Behavior in Wild-Type and Zonulin Transgenic Mice. Biomedicines. 2022;11(1):91.
12. Khan Z, Macdonald C, Wicks AC, et al. Use of the 'nutriceutical', bovine colostrum, for the treatment of distal colitis: results from an initial study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2002;16(11):1917-1922.
13. Chae A, Aitchison A, Day AS, Keenan JI. Bovine colostrum demonstrates anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activity in in vitro models of intestinal inflammation and infection. Journal of Functional Foods. 2017;28:293-298.
14. Chae A, Aitchison A, Day AS, Keenan JI. Bovine colostrum demonstrates anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activity in in vitro models of intestinal inflammation and infection. Journal of Functional Foods. 2017;28:293-298.
15. Menchetti L, Curone G, Filipescu IE, et al. The prophylactic use of bovine colostrum in a murine model of TNBS-Induced colitis. Animals. 2020;10(3):492
16. Brown GC. The endotoxin hypothesis of neurodegeneration. J Neuroinflammation. 2019;16(1):180.
17. Döhler JR, Nebermann L. Bovine colostrum in oral treatment of enterogenic endotoxaemia in rats. Crit Care. 2002;6(6):536-539.
18. Seifert J, Molkewehrum M, Oesser S, Nebermann L, Schulze C. Endotoxin inactivation by enterally applied colostrum of different composition. Eur Surg Res. 2002;34(1-2):68-72.
19. Eslamian G, Ardehali SH, Baghestani AR, Vahdat Shariatpanahi Z. Effects of early enteral bovine colostrum supplementation on intestinal permeability in critically ill patients: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Nutrition. 2019;60:106-111.
20. Bölke E, Jehle PM, Hausmann F, et al. Preoperative oral application of immunoglobulin-enriched colostrum milk and mediator response during abdominal surgery. Shock. 2002;17(1):9-12.
21. Playford RJ, Floyd DN, Macdonald CE, et al. Bovine colostrum is a health food supplement which prevents NSAID induced gut damage. Gut. 1999;44(5):653-658.
22. Cairangzhuoma, Yamamoto M, Muranishi H, et al. Skimmed, sterilized, and concentrated bovine late colostrum promotes both prevention and recovery from intestinal tissue damage in mice. J Dairy Sci. 2013;96(3):1347-1355.
23. Bitzan MM, Gold BD, Philpott DJ, et al. Inhibition of Helicobacter pylori and Helicobacter mustelae binding to lipid receptors by bovine colostrum. J Infect Dis. 1998;177(4):955-961. doi:10.1086/515256
24. Champagne CP, Raymond Y, Pouliot Y, Gauthier SF, Lessard M. Effect of bovine colostrum, cheese whey, and spray-dried porcine plasma on the in vitro growth of probiotic bacteria and Escherichia coli. Can J Microbiol. 2014;60(5):287-295.
25. Coombs JS, et al. Dose effects of oral bovine colostrum on physical work capacity in cyclists. Medicine Science Sports Exercise 34(7): 1184-8 (2002).