Mother’s Colostrum

Healthy Aging

How (and when) mother’s milk is good for us

It’s Mother’s Day, so what better week to talk about the perfect food that mammalian moms make for their newest newborns: colostrum? We have received a number of questions about colostrum, so below we cover how colostrum is different in humans and cows, and when it is optimal for our health.

Great! What is colostrum?

Colostrum is the first milk that moms make for their newborn babies. As described by Pribylova et al., human colostrum is rich in nutrients and immunoglobulin A, which helps protect babies’ gut immunity. Because other immune-supporting molecules readily pass from mom to baby during pregnancy, we enter the world with a decent immune system.

Does colostrum from cows and humans differ?

They do! As shared by Robbers et al., calves come into the world with basically zero immunity. This is because cows have an epitheliochorial placenta that does not allow immune-supporting molecules to pass across the placenta to the calf.

As such, Stelwagen et al. describe how cow’s colostrum is chock-full of proinflammatory immunoglobulins (especially IgG), proinflammatory cytokines (including IL-6 and TNFɑ), and white blood cells to effectively infuse newborn calves with a powerful bacteria-fighting arsenal.

Got it. How long do moms make colostrum?

Many people don’t realize how quickly colostrum comes and goes. Humans make colostrum for 3 to 5 days after giving birth. In contrast, cows pre-make just one big udder-batch of colostrum before giving birth, so that the colostrum is ready for the newborn calf during its first critical 6 to 12 hours of life. If calves don’t get enough IgG from colostrum, they will develop what is called failure of passive transfer (or FPT). Calves with FPT often fail to thrive short and long-term.

So, why is moms’ colostrum-making time so short?

The colostrum-making window is so short because colostrum’s primary purpose is to give a big post-birth immune boost to neonates before their gut linings mature… which happens within hours to days. As described by Vukavik, once the gut lining matures, neonates are unable to effectively absorb IgG and IgA.

Wait, if cows only make one batch of colostrum per calf, which is needed to help that calf survive, how are bovine colostrum supplements made?

Cow-moms can make a single 12 L batch of colostrum per calf. Based on a review by Robbers et al., the amount of colostrum needed by each calf depends on 1) the calf’s birth weight, 2) the quality of the colostrum (aka, amount of IgG), and 3) the method of calf feeding.

Since all three of these factors vary, the amount of colostrum each calf needs varies, too. In their extensive review, Renaud et al. concluded that calves getting more than 6 L of colostrum within the first 24 hours were the least likely to develop failure of passive transfer (FPT). That could potentially leave about 6 liters of “extra” colostrum per pregnancy.

So, does bovine colostrum have benefits for adults?

Despite the many studies with bovine colostrum, both Sienkiewicz et al. and Guberti et al., share that there is a lack of high quality studies and large scale epidemiological data to determine long-term health benefits of bovine colostrum supplements for adults. Playford et al. suggest that clinical trials have been difficult due the high variation of bioactive ingredients among different supplements, which can differ 6-fold. That said, here are a few interesting science shout-outs:

• A recent meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials led by Hajihashemi et al. showed that the urinary lactulose/rhamnose ratio significantly declined among people taking bovine colostrum supplements. This outcome supports that bovine colostrum supplements can decrease intestinal permeability (aka leaky gut).
• In a separate systematic review including 22 clinical trials led by the same author as above (Hajihashemi et al.), most studies reported no consistent benefit of bovine colostrum for gastrointestinal diseases.
• A non peer-reviewed study by Jensen on a popular bovine colostrum supplement showed that it increased cells’ production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as cytokine production. This is consistent with the purpose of colostrum to ramp up bacteria-killing responses in the gut.

In summary, while the jury is still out on how and when adults should use bovine colostrum to achieve clinically relevant benefits, colostrum is still nature’s incredible way to help moms (be they human or cow) induce a proinflammatory state in their babies to protect them against infections during their most vulnerable time in life.  Thank you, mom.