During the hot summer months, microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses multiply rapidly. How can I take care of my gut's health?
Lactic acid bacteria are the most obvious option. This is because you need to fill your intestines with good bacteria to suppress the growth of bad bacteria. However, if lactic acid bacteria alone is not enough, colostrum is needed.
The concept of colostrum
Colostrum is a special milk that humans, cows, and other mammals secrete during the first 72 hours after giving birth. If calves are not fed colostrum immediately after birth, more than 95% of them will die from bacterial infections. This shows how important colostrum is for immunity.
Colostrum, unlike white-colored milk, has a light yellow color and contains a large amount of antibodies. Therefore, colostrum is said to be the best natural antibody that a mother gives to her baby.
Benefits of Colostrum
1. Boosts immunity
The natural antibodies in colostrum are immunoglobulins* and lactoferrin. Both play an important role in immunity.
*Immunoglobulins: Antibodies that bind specifically to specific antigens in the blood and cause an antigen-antibody response
**Lactoferrin: A protein found in most mammalian milk, which acts as an antiviral, antioxidant, etc.
In fact, there are studies that have compared colostrum with vaccines. In 2007, researchers at the University of D'Annunzio in Italy conducted an experiment on 144 healthy adult men and women aged 38~80 and 65 patients at high risk of influenza divided into 4 groups. After 3 months of comparative observation, the colostrum group was more than three times more effective at preventing influenza than the vaccinated group.
2. Prevents leaky gut syndrome
Colostrum is also good for leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut syndrome is a disease in which bacteria and toxins in the intestinal feces penetrate into the body due to loosening of the gaps between intestinal mucosal cells. When you are young and healthy, it is difficult for bacteria to penetrate because of the dense arrangement of intestinal mucosal cells, but when you are old, overworked, stressed, or have a bad intestinal environment due to chronic diseases, bacteria easily penetrate through the loose mucosa. It can be life-threatening by causing chronic fatigue and frequent colds, as well as allergic diseases such as atopy and rhinitis, and in severe cases, pneumonia and sepsis. The immunoglobulins in colostrum are the most effective in preventing leaky gut syndrome along with lactobacillus.
3. Inhibits germs
Lactoferrin in colostrum is an antimicrobial substance that binds to iron and inhibits the activity of bacteria. Bacteria need iron to multiply, and lactoferrin blocks that process.
According to a 2007 study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, lactoferrin in colostrum can be used in combination with Helicobacter pylori drugs to increase the effectiveness of treatment by 16%. This is because 206 patients infected with Helicobacter pylori were treated with drug therapy, lactoferrin, and lactobacillus combination therapy for 7 days, and the cure rate after 8 weeks was 76% and 92.1%, respectively. Importantly, lactoferrin and lactobacillus preparations were used in combination with the pharmacotherapy.
Which colostrum product should I choose?
Currently, various types of colostrum are marketed in the form of health functional foods. The most notable is the content of immunoglobulins called IgGs. This is because IgG plays the most important role among the many types of immunoglobulins. Naturally, the higher, the better. A product containing at least 30% is recommended.
The second thing to note is the milking time. Colostrum is said to milk calves for up to 72 hours after birth, but the fresher the colostrum immediately after delivery, the stronger the immune effect.
Finally, colostrum is not a drug. Since it is a food, there is no reason to worry about side effects as long as you follow the dosage and dosage. If you suffer from an upset stomach every summer, or if you are worried about your immune system due to a chronic disease, if your intestinal environment has deteriorated due to a lot of antibiotics, or if you are about to be treated with Helicobacter medication, it is recommended to take colostrum.
Comments (0)
There are no comments for this article. Be the first one to leave a message!