Colostrum is called “first milk,” because the thick, sticky, yellowish liquid is the first nourishment all newborn mammals receive in the first few hours upon birth.

Colostrum provides nutrition and bolsters immunity. Almost all essential nutrients such as protein, fat, lactose, lactoferrin, immunoglobulins, vitamins and minerals, and growth factors are present in colostrum in significantly higher concentrations than the regular mature milk that a mother will begin to produce.

Although a mother’s production stops shortly after birth, doctors say that bovine colostrum (BC) supplementation should be continued because BC is almost identical to human colostrum but even more rich in immune regulators and growth factors the newborn’s gastrointestinal (GI) tissues need to mature and become a strong barrier between the tummy and the bloodstream. Without full maturation, the baby may suffer leaky gut, involving food-particle leakage through the GI membrane, which leads to allergies and food sensitivities.

Here are five powerful reasons to make BC part of your children’s healthy living:

1. Overall immune health. Colostrum creates life-long immunity in the newborn and helps in maturing the GI tract of babies. Colostrum contains intelligent antibodies and white blood cells that retain all the intelligence of the mother’s exposures and transfer this intelligence to the baby’s cells. This is called passive immunity. Limited consumption of colostrum by newborns not only weakens their immune system but also predisposes babies to microbial infections. Breast-fed infants have a lower incidence of GI tract infections than infants fed formula or cow’s milk.

2. Prebiotic. BC is a source of oligosaccharides. Including BC in your baby’s daily diet helps to insure the growth of healthy beneficial bacterial colonies in her GI tract. Among their many immunomodulatory functions, oligosaccharides exert a selective pressure within the infant gut microbial niche, preferentially promoting the proliferation of specific bacteria including Bifidobacteria, notes a 2018 report from Frontiers in Pediatrics. Some studies show that babies with a high intake of oligosaccharides are at less risk for childhood asthma.

3. Helps GI tract mature into a protective barrier. BC is rich in epidermal growth factor and lactoferrin, which play critically significant roles in the growth and maturity of the GI tract in infants. Recent studies performed on piglets, serving as a model for human infants, have suggested that the epidermal growth factor of BC is responsible for the growth and maturity of the GI tract in infants, notes the February 2015 Journal of Biotechnology. Another study in piglets from the March 2016 issue of the Journal of Animal Science also demonstrated the growth promoting effects of bovine lactoferrin in the stimulation of intestinal cell proliferation, increased crypt depth, and villus length. (Crypts are moat-like folds of the epithelium around the villi, which are slender, vascular projections that increase the surface area of the GI membrane.)

4. Colostrum is an antibiotic. Lactoferrin is a glycoprotein with strong antioxidant, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, and anti-microbial properties. Lactoferrin induces the stimulation of T-helper-1/T-helper-2 cytokine immune response and secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines. It has been observed that lactoferrin can prevent gastric infections, necrotizing enterocolitis and late onset sepsis in children.

5. Colostrum prevents recurrent respiratory infections. BC has direct antimicrobial and endotoxin-neutralizing effects that suppress gut inflammation and promote mucosal integrity and tissue repair under various conditions related to tissue injury and illness. In one study to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of BC administration in preventing recurrent upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), diarrhea, and hospitalizations in children, 160 kids (aged 1-6 years) having recurrent episodes of URTI or diarrhea received BC for 4 weeks, according to researchers writing in 2016 in Medicine (Baltimore). The number of episodes of URTI, diarrhea, and frequency of hospitalization required for URTI and diarrhea occurring during the study period were assessed at weeks 8 and 24. “The mean… total number of infections was significantly decreased after BC therapy…. after 2 months [and] … after 6 months.” The total number of episodes of URTI, diarrhea , and number of hospital admissions “were significantly decreased after BC therapy. BC is effective in the prophylaxis of recurrent URTI and diarrhea as it reduces the number of episodes and the hospitalization due to these infections. Results of this study suggest that BC could be provided as a therapeutic option for children with recurrent URTI and diarrhea.”

BC And Babies

BC products are well tolerated, say doctors. Some patients allergic to dairy products may experience undesirable side effects, however. Overall, BC supplements can be safely used. But check with your health professional to make sure BC is safe for you and your children; each of us has an individual biochemical makeup that only a health professional can evaluate. Some parents add a little powder BC to their baby’s food. They can mix with yogurt, veggies, fruit. BC is also available as strawberry-banana wafers and in capsules.