Bovine colostrum is growing in popularity among online influencers and celebrities. It’s increasingly referred to as “liquid gold.” Be prepared for questions about this.
Bovine colostrum is the milk produced by cows during the first few days after giving birth, providing crucial nutrients to a newborn calf. It’s rich in vitamins, minerals, growth factors, proteins, and antibodies. In fact, antibody levels can be 100 times higher in bovine colostrum than those found in regular cow's milk. There’s also hyperimmune bovine colostrum, which is produced by cows that have been vaccinated for specific diseases – these cows produce antibodies that fight certain viruses and bacteria.
So why are people taking bovine colostrum? Much of the hype online focuses on gut and immune health. There are also a lot of claims that it improves skin health, hair growth, and athletic performance. But evidence demonstrating clinical benefits is limited. For example, small clinical studies suggest that it reduces diarrhea in patients with HIV/AIDS-related diarrhea. And taking hyperimmune bovine colostrum might help treat and prevent diarrhea in infants and children. But there isn’t any good evidence showing that it benefits athletic performance, skin health, or hair growth.
Given the limited evidence of benefit, help patients understand that the price of these often-expensive products may not be worth it – some trending products cost upwards of $100 for a 30-day supply. If patients still want to give it a try, it seems to be safe for most people. But remind patients that it’s an animal product, and there’s some concern about potential disease transmission to humans, although there are no reports of this happening to date. It’s also a milk product, so anyone with a milk allergy shouldn’t use it.
Check out our monograph to learn more.
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