Tennis star Venus Williams, who was recently diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, isn’t the first woman to face a diagnosis involving an autoimmune
condition. Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disease that is typically characterized by inflammation in the tear ducts and salivary glands.
Many people will have a very mild form and experience dryness of the eyes and mouth, fatigue, joint pain and myalgias (or muscle pain). Many people
will have that and nothing else. But a small proportion of people will go on to have multi–organ system disease that behaves a little more like lupus (another autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune cells start to attack healthy tissues, particularly in the joints).

Some of the commonest modern health challenges women face include these and other autoimmune and immunodeficiency conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma. Perhaps it is a sign of our toxic polluted environment. Perhaps it is diet and stress or our all too sterile environment— or all these factors. But one thing we now know is that first-milking colostrum is a wonderful way to support your immune health—especially among those facing such immune challenges.

One of the reasons true first-milking colostrum has been used so successfully by persons with immune system disorders is that it is a particularly rich
source of bioactive immune factors that intuitively act to either rev up or quiet down the immune system. The many immune factors in first-milking colostrum work together to provide incredibly valuable immune-support benefits. First-milking colostrum provides immunoglobulins (A, D, E, G and M), which are some of the most important to immune function. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) neutralizes toxins and microbes in the lymph and circulatory system. Meanwhile, IgM destroys bacteria; IgE and IgD are highly antiviral. Lactoferrin, also present in first-milking colostrum, is an antiviral,
antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, iron-binding protein with therapeutic effects in cancer, HIV, cytomegalovirus, herpes, chronic fatigue syndrome,
Candida albicans and other infections. Many drug manufacturers have even tried to isolate and synthesize individual immune factors found in colostrum, including interferon and gamma globulin. But there is no question that for many women, the whole intact immune complement as
found in first-milking colostrum is a more natural, healthy way to support their health and well-being.

Help for Underactive or Overactive Immune Systems

First-milking colostrum may be used for both an underactive as well as an overactive immune system. An overactive immune system has been implicated in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma, asthma, and allergies. An overactive immune system literally attacks the body’s own tissues as if they were an enemy. (An underactive system is impicated in increased risk for infectious conditions, cancer and bacterially related heart disease.) Unfortunately, the drugs doctors prescribe for overactive immune systems are sometimes so powerful that they reduce the immune system to one that is now deficient, setting the state for cancer. Look at the warnings for drugs used with rheumatoid arthritis, for example, and an elevated cancer risk is one of the hazards of their use. 

Unlike drugs, first-milking colostrum benefits both conditions because it is more correctly thought of as an immune system “normalizer” or “modulator.”
Its health-giving immune factors work intuitively. The end result is immune balance. This is thanks in part to quality first-milking colostrum being a rich source of an immunologically active normalizing hormone called proline-rich polypeptide. Also known as PRP or colostrinine, the thymus gland. In a 1979 study published in Immunology, it was shown that proline-rich polypeptide from colostrum could either stimulate or suppress the immune response. Proline-rich polypeptide causes the body’s immune cells to produce cytokines. Cytokines are proteins that regulate the duration and intensity of the body’s immune response. They also are responsible for cell-to-cell communication; boost T-cell activity; and stimulate the body’s production
of immunoglobulins. When it comes to overactive immune system function, PRP “has been demonstrated to improve or eliminate symptomology of both allergies and autoimmune diseases (MS, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and myasthenia gravis),” notes Dr. Rona.

Proline-rich polypeptide “inhibits the overproduction of lymphocytes and T cells and reduces the major symptoms of allergies and autoimmune
disease: pain, swelling and inflammation.” Help for lUpUS Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is one of the most complex and vicious autoimmune diseases and can attack almost any cell in the body. Once one is diagnosed, the disease is usually controlled based upon symptoms, most frequently using corticosteroids. However, it can suddenly fulminate and frequently is terminal based upon end-stage renal disease that results from the formation of immune complexes that block the kidneys. Patients suffer from periodic outbursts of pain associated with inflammation in an organ and are frequently lethargic with low energy due to an associated hemolytic anemia.

Routine use of high-quality first-milking colostrum can help. Besides PRP, colostrum is also rich in thymosins and growth factors such insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). Thymosin alpha and beta chains are known to regulate the thymus, the seat of the immune system. As we age, the effect of these hormones substantially diminishes and the thymus shrinks.Restoration of thymic control of the immune system is very important in helping to control the immune system of SLE patients.

Help for mUltiple Sclerosis

Previous virological and immunological studies have suggested that multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease triggered by a virus infection.
In a study published in 1984, a specially produced colostrum was orally administered every morning to 15 patients with MS at a daily dosage of
100 milliliters for 30 days.2 A measles-neg ative antibody control colostrum was orally administered to five patients. As a result, among seven high-symptom patients, five recipients improved and two remained unchanged. Among eight low-symptom patients, fivepatients improved and three remained unchanged. Among those receiving the placebo, two patients remained unchanged and three worsened. No side effects were observed in colostrum recipients. “These findings suggest the efficacy of orally administered anti-measles colostrum in improving the condition of MS patients.”

The Doctors Perscription

First-milking colostrum is obtained from dairy cows within the first six to eight hours. This is important to know. True first-milking colostrum is produced just before the actual birth of the calf and can only be collected for a short period of time, without being diluted by the subsequent production of milk. At the time of birth, potency is at its peak. The active elements such as immune factors, growth factors, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents are at their highest concentrations. However, in less than 12 hours, the concentration of these components is only half of what it was at the time of birth. What this means is that the sooner the colostrum is collected, the less diluted it is with milk, and the greater the concentration of beneficial factors. “At Anovite, we collect colostrum once,” notes Dr. Anthony Kleinsmith, one of the world’s leading colostrum experts. “Our product is comprised only of first-milking colostrum. It is never diluted with transitional milk—never adulterated—never fractionated.” First-milking colostrum comes in capsules,
powder, chewables and lozenges. The usual dosage is six capsules or chewables daily. If using powder, take ½ teaspoon twice daily with water. First-milking colostrum is widely available at natural health centers nationwide.