What is colostrum and do you recommend it?
Sally’s response:
Colostrum is the first milk of mammals. Like human colostrum, colostrum from cows is rich in immune factors, antimicrobial fatty acids, vitamins and minerals—all necessary to protect the calf from infection and insure adequate growth during infancy.
Colostrum has a long history of use in the practice of medicine, especially in Ayurvedic medicine, and has been successfully used to treat a host of chronic diseases including allergies, autoimmune diseases, respiratory ailments, digestive disorders, diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, gout and depression. In fact, colostrum is said to be the perfect anti-aging food and has been used in expensive spas for years.
A friend of mine from Turkey recounts that her mother always obtained colostrum in the spring—often at great trouble and expense—from a farmer in the countryside. She then lined up all the children and gave them a cupful of this tonic to drink. The immediate result, says my friend, was that they all fell asleep. The colostrum was said to help keep them healthy throughout the year.
There are many brands of dried colostrum available. Look for products that come from pasture-fed cows, have not been defatted and have been dried at low temperatures.
Even better, why not consume the real thing? If you have access to farm-fresh milk, ask your supplier to give you some colostrum in the spring, when the cows calve. The product from the first five milkings is considered colostrum.
photo: Ecuador: Spinning Dreams ©Betty LaDuke | Artist Betty LaDuke works with Heifer International to end world hunger by offering families in need long term solutions that work. One of the cornerstones of Heifer’s approach is “Passing on the Gift”, a cycle of sustainability where people share the offspring of their animals along with their knowledge, resources, and skills to create a circle of self-reliance that reaches around the globe.
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