If you want to be healthy, you must have an effective, balanced gut. Key points
are :

1. How healthy is the gut wall? Are there holes? Cell damage? Is it inflamed?
Many people suffer from gut wall damage (often called “leaky bowel syndrome”) causing a whole range of problems from poor energy to bloating and more severe health problems.

2. Are there sufficient immunoglobulin and other immune factors? These are the natural antibiotics that neutralise the pathogens that make you sick.

3. Are these sufficient supporting digestive aids such as friendly bacteria and digestive enzyme?

Pathogens Attack

Your health is constantly under attack. Disease-causing pathogens are everywhere you go. Pathogens are the countless bacteria, viruses, fungi and moulds that cause illness. You are exposed to billions of them every day. Our modern stressful lifestyles weaken our defenses, so it’s no surprise that people are constantly getting sick.

Pathogens make their way to your gut through your nose and mouth in air, saliva, the liquids you drink and the food you eat. Once inside the gut, to survive and replicate, they head for the gut wall, where they become attached. They then begin to multiply and cause illness. With all these pathogens in your gut, it’s no wonder that the gut is the focus of much of your immune system’s activities. It is populated with antibodies (immunoglobulins) and other immune factors that help fight disease.

Immune factors fight pathogens

Once a pathogen enters the gut, these antibodies surround it and bind onto its surface, so it is not able to adhere to the gut wall and make you sick. Instead, it merely passes harmlessly through the system and is expelled through the body. The more of these natural antibodies you have, the stronger your immune system will be.

Natural immunisation

One of the incredible things about the immunes system is that it ‘remembers’ all the pathogens you are exposed to. So next time you are exposed to a similar pathogen, your immune system ‘remembers’ it, and quickly makes antibodies to fight it off. This is the concept behind the vaccination or immunisation of children to key pathogens to form antibodies before exposure to the disease.

Your Immune system

Your immune system works by fighting off diseases before they can get a hold in the body and make you sick. It is incredibly complex and is made up of trillions of cells, on duty 24 hours a day protecting you from disease. Your immunity starts in your gut!

Chemical Antibiotics

The medical solution to killing pathogens is normally pharmaceutical antibiotics. Since penicillin was first used in 1940, antibiotics have been hailed as an answer to all our health worries – but this is not true. Points to note:

• Antibiotics only kill certain types of bacteria. They do not work on 
  viruses or many other types of pathogens.
  
• Antibiotics normally kill the good bacteria in your gut as well as the 
  bad.
  
• Bacteria are becoming immune to antibiotics at an alarming rate. So 
  much so, that the Centre For Disease Control states ‘antibiotic
  resistance is one of the leading problems facing the human race today’.

For these reasons and more, increasing numbers of people are looking for natural, but effective ways to remain healthy.

Like most people, you may need an immune boost. But where do you get a safe, natural immune boost? There is only one natural solution. That solution is colostrum – nature’s ultimate source of natural antibodies.

Colostrum

What is colostrum?

Colostrum is literally ‘nature’s first food’. It is the pre-milk that all female mammals give their new born baby in the first few days after birth. It is a highly complex cocktail of vital immune and growth factors that baby needs to protect it against the diseases it will be exposed to and to grow healthy and strong.

Colostrum is nature's source of immune and growth factors.

Good for baby, good for you?

Human babies acquire their immunity in the womb before birth, receiving immune factors via the placenta. Breast feeding then provides the additional protection, which is why breast-fed babies are generally healthier than bottle fed babies.

Cows must provide all of the immune and growth factors to their calves in the colostrum, as they don’t receive any of these in the womb. It is not surprising that cow’s colostrum contains up to 20 times more immune factors than human colostrum! 

And because colostrum is non-species specific, it can significantly benefit all other mammals, including humans.

Colostrum: nature’s immune defense

Why should you take Colostrum every day?

If you want to have a healthy body then you should know that colostrum:

• Is the best natural source of antibodies to kill or neutralise the pathogens
  that make you sick.
  
• Has the best natural source of growth factors to heal and protect your gut wall.
  
• Is a natural source of valuable immune factors
  
• Works symbiotically with other products to boost your immune system and make
  you healthier.

Colostrum is the only product specifically designed in nature for a mammal’s immune system and growth.

Immune options:

Nothing?
Like most pople you are probably ignoring the facts about the effects of pollution, stress and microbes.

Something?
A minority of people are taking action. They buy products such as multivitamins, herbs, propolis and zinc. This is positive action and these products will either strengthen your body or stimulate your immune system artificially.

You are encouraged to keep taking these products YET you can now appreciate that they contain no antibodies against the microbes that make you sick, provide no immune factors and cannot heal your gut. They are not designed in nature to boost your immune system; they were just the best solution until we found a way of mass producing colostrum: the only product produced in nature for your gastro-immune system.

The colostrum boom!

If colostrum is so important, why isn’t everyone taking it everyday? An obvious question and the answer is simple.

Colostrum has been used for centuries yet only on a small basis; a few local cows produce enough colostrum for a pudding or two. The commercial collection of collostrum was only pioneered in the 1990s.

Immune Milk?

The first mass dairy ‘immune’ product was an ‘immune milk’ from cows that had been vaccinated with select microbes so the cow’s immune system would naturally produce antibodies in the milk. This is a very expensive and unnatural process yet it does produce a unique immune product.

Special Ingredients

Bovine immunoglobulins once again are a group of bioactive molecules all of which work together to fight disease. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is simply a member of this mighty defence system. To date, IgG measurement has been used as a marker to designate overall immune strength and this is simply a small part of the immune defence system. The fact that IgG only constitutes approximately 70% of the overall total immunoglobulin present in colostrum should be noted.

The principal immunoglobulins that function as antibodies are IgG, IgA, and IgM. Also present in bovine colostrum and other biological fluids are IgE and IgD, although in a much-reduced amount. All these immunoglobulins function synergistically in such a way as to complement one another in their function to hunt down, fight and destroy invading pathogenic microbes. The immunoglobulin fraction in bovine colostrum is composed of approximately 70-80% IgG, 10-15% IgA, 10-15% IgM, while IgE and IgD are found in negligible amounts. The function of these Immunoglobulins (antibodies) is as follows:

IgG Predominate immunoglobulin in bovine milk colostrum
- primary function to identify and help destroy invading
pathogenic microbes.

IgA Predominate immunoglobulin also found in human milk and
colostrum 
- primary role as first line of defence 
- protects mucosal surfaces and prevents pathogens attaching.

IgM Primary role is first to fight 
- enhances phagocytosis (engulfment and digestion of bacteria) thereby destroying invading pathogens.

IgE Involved with the allergic reaction 
- involved with histamine associated allergic reaction. 
- involved with active defence against enteric parasites.

IgD Stimulates lymphocytes to produce antibodies

An important consideration is the stability of antibodies in the digestive tract. In a study conducted to ascertain the stability of bovine immunoglobulins to proteolytic digestion, it was revealed that the specific action of antibodies in the gastrointestinal tract is not adversely affected and that biological activity is retained.

In addition to antibodies, colostrum also contains many other substances which help promote good health in the form of growth, maturation and development. These include growth factors and immune factors.

Growth factors include Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), Trophoblast Growth Factor (TGF), Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF), and Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF). These factors function primarily in the growth, development, and maturation of cells, organs, nerves, muscle, and tissues. Growth factors are also involved with the healing and recovery process. Immune factors include Lactoferrin, Transferrin, Cytokines, Lyzozyme, Lactoperoxidase, and Transfer Factor. These factors have a wide variety of actions and include augmenting (helping) the action of antibodies and modulating (controlling) the actions of the immune system.

Growth factors include Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), Trophoblast Growth Factor (TGF), Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF), and Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF). These factors function primarily in the growth, development, and maturation of cells, organs, nerves, muscle, and tissues. Growth factors are also involved with the healing and recovery process. Immune factors include Lactoferrin, Transferrin, Cytokines, Lyzozyme, Lactoperoxidase, and Transfer Factor. These factors have a wide variety of actions and include augmenting (helping) the action of antibodies and modulating (controlling) the actions of the immune system.


Other points:

Side effects 
There are no known negative side effects associated with colostrum

All colostrum is not the same

These are various factors which affect the quality of colostrum products. One of the most important is the source. The best colostrum comes from cows that have been kept outside and are pasture-fed. Outside, the cows are exposed to far more microbes than those kept indoors and thus develop greater number of natural antibodies which are passed on through their colostrum.

Probiotics

The main function of the digestive system is to prepare food so it may be available to the body for use in energy, growth, and structural maintenance. Final digestion occurs in the intestine helped by literally billions of micro-organisms (probiotic bacteria). Food is metabolised and absorbed through the gut wall into the body. It has been recommended that adults should routinely supplement their diet with the leading form of good bacteria, Lactobacillus acidophilus. This is why this probiotic is included in BioColostrums Plus and should be taken everyday!

Health and disease starts with the intestine - a critical balance of good and bad bacteria is vital. This balance is affected by changes in diet, health status, age, immune status, stress, and even medication. The effects of imbalance can range from mild discomfort to severe conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and even cancers.

• Intestinal Health 
  
  Significant research has shown that probiotics are beneficial in the treatment of many types of diarrhoea, including diarrhoea associated with antibiotic treatment, travellers' diarrhoea, and childhood rotavirus associated diarrhoea. Probiotics have also been shown to preserve intestinal integrity and mediate the effects of inflammatory bowel diseases; including, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, and alcoholic liver disease. In addition lactic acid can improve intestinal mobility and relieve constipation, particularly in seniors.
  
  
• Immune System 
  
  Research suggests that probiotics can enhance both the specific and non-specific immune response through increasing local levels of cytokines, increasing natural killer cell activity and having a positive effect on the immunoglobulins.
  
  
• Lactose Intolerance 
  
  The body of evidence has shown that lactic acid bacteria can alleviate symptoms of lactose intolerance. They provide bacterial lactase to the stomach and intestine thereby improving the function of lactose digestion.
  
  
• Allergy
  
  Probiotics have a beneficial effect on the mucosal barrier function thus reducing the allergic reaction. In addition it has been shown that probiotics have a very positive influence on the treatment and management of other allergic conditions such as eczema, asthma, and hayfever. 
  
• Cancer
  
  Research has shown that probiotic consumption may reduce the risk of colon cancer by reducing the incidence and number of tumours.

Other products which will help colostrum be more effective and enhance gastro-immune health are multi-vitamin/mineral formulas and prebiotics.

Science

Many people treat dietary supplements with scepticism. The reason is that too many companies make unsubstantiated claims about their products. Colostrum is unusual in that over 5,000 scientific trials and studies have been carried out, yet the product is still relatively unknown, because it has only been produced commercially very recently.

Colostrum and kids

Every child should take colostrum everyday because:

1. Sickness protection. Every parent knows that growing children are constantly catching illnesses at school, kindergarten and playgroups. Colostrum's immunoglobulins and immune factors help strengthen the immune system and prevent disease, leaving your child free to grow strong and healthy. Every parent also knows that there is nothing worse than a sick child; they suffer and so do you!

2. Faster growth. Colostrum contains growth factors that will help your child to grow and develop into a healthy adult.

3. It has no harmful side-effects, only positive benefits.

Many parents of teenage children say that the growth factors and growth hormones seem to have a stabilising effect on their children. The teenage years are difficult as rapidly changing bodies adjust. Testimonial evidence claims that the colostrum has helped with every condition from acne to emotional distress (it should be noted that colostrum has a calming peptide taken as a treatment for anxiety in some countries).

Delay aging

Aging slows us down. It affects our health, our appearance and ultimately our quality of life. Extensive research shows that colostrum is unique because it is the only substance that offers anti-aging hormones in perfect balance, the way nature intended. This is why there are no negative side-effects from taking colostrum, even in large doses.

Hormones keep you young

The aging process is linked to rapidly declining levels of hormones, especially Growth Hormone (GH). The production of GH in our bodies starts to decline from puberty onwards. By the time we reach 61, our levels of GH are only 20% of what they were at age 21. This is why most of us are beginning to show the symptoms of aging by the time we reach our forties.

Some of the symptoms of Growth Hormone deficiency include

• Wrinkled skin and greying hair
• Decreased mobility and energy levels
• Loss of lean muscle
• An increase of fat
• Diminished healing ability

Studies show that replenishing GH to normal levels reduces all these symptoms. However, artificial GH supplementation is often 'unbalanced' and not considered to be 100% safe.

Colostrum: the natural hormone replacer

Colostrum appears to work similarly to GH with none of the known unsafe side effects. When colostrum is taken as a supplement, skin appears more youthful, age and 'liver' spots are reduced, bone mass, density and lean muscle mass increases. Fat levels decrease and sexual function is improved, Energy and disease resistance levels increase, and hair begins to regain thickness and colour.

Colostrum also contains other vital growth factors, such as EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor), which demonstrates the highest ability to stimulate skin regeneration and wound healing. It also contains IGF-1 and IGF-11 (Insulin-like Growth Factors I & II), which are important in reducing fat deposits because they tell your body how to store and use food for energy. IGF-1 also accelerates our healing process, balances our blood glucose and reduces the need for insulin. It also increases muscle mass and strength, and assists in bone growth and repair.

As well as growth factors, colostrum is packed with other vital ingredients that help maintain, regulate and restore the body's systems.

• Antioxidants, associated with an improvement in cognitive abilities and memory, mop up free radicals in your body which contribute to conditions including cancer, heart disease and strokes.
  
• Anti-inflammatories help the body to heal, and fight ailments such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Colostrum and sports

Across the world, professional sports people and committed amateurs are discovering colostrum for increased performance. From the world’s greatest cross-country skier to table tennis champions, colostrum is becoming one of the few natural supplements they are prepared to take. Cleared by the Olympic Drug committee, it is not surprising that many of Australia’s record breaking 2000 Olympic games team take colostrum daily.

Ironically, top sports people train their bodies to such a level that they produce their immune systems so are more likely to get sick. Thus the immune factors in colostrum protect them and help them recover from illness faster.

The more specific benefits come from the growth factors in colostrum. They dramatically improve recovery times, improve muscle mass and heal gut damage from anti-inflammatory drugs.