Posted: November 19, 2004

Science of Sport: Can Colostrum Help You Milk Out Every Last Drop Of Your Performance Potential?

By Owen Anderson, Ph. D. - Copyright © 2002-2004

Colostrum - the milk produced by a mammalian mother's mammary glands for the first 72 hours after she gives birth - contains a variety of essential nutrients, growth-promoting compounds, immunoglobulins (proteins which fight disease), vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. As you might expect, the stuff is nice for newborns, giving them a head start in life by stimulating overall growth and fortifying immune-system function. Many athletes hope that colostrum will give them a boost, too, arguing that colostrum is so rich in anabolic and energy-enhancing compounds that it should boost recovery during periods of difficult training. Some athletes even suggest that colostrum might have a direct, positive effect on performance.

The stuff is commercially available (of course, it is not human colostrum, but colostrum of the bovine variety, which has entered the sports-supplement marketplace), and scientific journals have recently been beefed up with several colostrum studies. In one very recent investigation carried out at the University of South Adelaide in Australia, 17 experienced endurance runners took in 60 grams of colostrum powder per day for eight weeks, while 13 similarly experienced harriers ingested 60 grams per day of a protein-powder placebo (1). At the end of eight weeks, members of the two groups completed two separate, highly demanding VO2max tests on the treadmill; each test involved 30 minutes of progressively faster running, with a 20-minute rest period in between (the runners performed the same tests just prior to the eight-week study period and four weeks into the investigation, as well).

After the eight weeks of daily colostrum, the amount of work completed in the second part of the VO2max test - and the top running speed achieved - was significantly greater in the colostrum group, suggesting that colostrum could spur quick recovery from high-intensity exercise - a nice feature for athletes carrying out interval workouts, for competitors participating in "heats" over the course of a day's competition, and even for individuals attempting to "hold on" during a race after sustaining a sizzling surge.

In follow-up work carried out at the University of Queensland and the University of Tasmania in Australia, 28 well-trained cyclists (VO2max equaled 61 ml/kg-min) participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in which 10 athletes (the placebo group) supplemented their diets with 60 grams of whey protein per day, nine athletes consumed 60 grams per day of bovine colostrum, and nine cyclists took in 20 grams of colostrum and 40 grams of whey protein per day. Both the colostrum and whey were taken orally (20 grams in the morning and 40 grams in the evening), and the dietary protocols were followed for eight weeks (2).

At the beginning and end of the eight-week period, the athletes reported to the laboratory, warmed up and stretched for 10 minutes, and then started cycling (on a bicycle ergometer) at self-selected cadences between 70 and 100 rpm. The power was initially set at 100 Watts for three minutes, but it jumped to 200 Watts for three minutes and then increased by 50 Watts every three minutes thereafter until exhaustion was reached. Oxygen consumption was monitored throughout the test, and VO2max was attained by each athlete.

Once exhausted, each athlete "cooled down" at an easy intensity on the ergometer for three minutes and then walked around the laboratory at a modest level of effort for an additional 17 minutes. After this 20-minute recovery, the test was completed again, with initial intensity once again set at 100 Watts for three minutes, followed by the progressive increase in intensity described above. Performances on these tests after supplementation were compared with performances prior to supplementation.

The Australian scientists also used another performance measure to track whether colostrum might be beneficial: Two days after their VO2max efforts, the athletes again reported to the lab, but this time they rode for two hours on their ergometers at an intensity of 65% of maximal heart rate (max heart rate was obtained during the VO2max tests). During these two-hour efforts, the athletes consumed food and drink ad libitum, using the same intake patterns they normally employed in their long workouts and races. Immediately after the two-hour rides, the athletes completed 207 kilijoules of work on the bikes as quickly as they possibly could. The amount of work performed during these intense blasts after eight weeks of colostrum supplementation was compared with the amount completed at the beginning of the eight-week study.

During the investigation, the three groups did not differ with regard to daily energy take - or with regard to carbohydrate, fat, or protein consumption. Training volume was also similar; each group averaged about 88 minutes of cycle training per day. As it turned out, neither of the dosages of cow colostrum had any effect on body mass, body composition, or max aerobic capacity over the eight-week study period. Supplementation was also unable to improve performances to any significant degree during the VO2max exams (the two all-out tests which were separated by a 20-minute recovery).

Things were different during the steep exertion which followed the two-hour ride at 65% of max heart rate, however. Members of the three groups took in the same amount of nutrients and fluid during their two-hour efforts, but the placebo group improved the time it took to complete the "performance ride" (the close-to-all-out effort in which the cyclists attempted to complete 207 kilijoules of work as fast as possible) by just 34 seconds (from 819 to 782 seconds), from pre- to post-investigation. Meanwhile, the 20-gram-per day colostrum consumers carved 158 seconds (!) from their performance-ride times (from 826 to 668 seconds), and the 60-gram-per day fellows cut away 134 seconds of fat (from 825 to 691 seconds). The differences between the two colostrum groups and the whey group were statistically significant.

Why did bovine colostrum improve the cyclists' ability to handle tough efforts at the ends of two-hour rides? There are several possible mechanisms. For one thing, bovine colostrum contains a very important compound called plasma insulin-like growth factor I, or IGF-1. IGF-1 spurs the passage of nutrients into cells and - as its name suggests - can stimulate growth. Bovine IGF-1 happens to be happily homologous with human IGF-1, and thus it is possible that colostrum's IGF-1 might boost energy levels within muscles, kick-start protein synthesis, and - in general - aid in the recovery process after strenuous workouts. However, blood concentrations of IGF-1 did not increase in this study, in contrast with the previous colostrum work carried out with runners.

Nonetheless, colostrum's IGF-1 may have produced somewhat more subtle effects. For example, there is good evidence to suggest that IGF-1, when present in the gut, stimulates increased absorption of nutrients from the small intestine (3). Thus, it is possible - although not proven - that the colostrum-fed athletes might have enjoyed higher muscle glycogen levels, compared with the placebo cyclists, and that these higher glycogen concentrations could have led to better performances during the intense trials which followed the two-hour rides at 65% of max heart rate.

The news about colostrum has also been good in a variety of other scientific investigations. For example, in research carried out at the Sports Science Laboratory at the University of Delaware, active male and female subjects took in either 20 grams per day of colostrum powder or else the same amount of good-old whey protein while engaged in both "aerobic" and heavy-duty resistance training at least three times a week (4). In this study, body composition was assessed via dual x-ray absorptiometry analysis, and the colostrum group experienced a significant increase in bone-free lean body mass. This increase averaged 1.5 kilograms (about 3.3 pounds), and the whey-protein group was unable to match the upswing in lean tissue.

In a separate piece of research completed at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland, 19 adult male and female athletes consumed 20 grams of colostrum per day for two weeks, while 11 similar athletes took in 20 grams per day of a maltodextrin placebo (5). For the colostrum group (but not the placebo athletes), blood concentrations of IGF-1 increased significantly over the two-week period, and salivary levels of an important immunoglobulin called IgA also rose. No measures of performance were taken in this study.

This recent Jyvaskyla research corroborated a study carried out several years earlier by the same group (6). In the previous research, nine male sprinters and jumpers underwent three randomized experimental training treatments of eight days, separated by 13-day periods. During these three treatments, the power athletes took in either 0, 25 ml, or 125 ml of liquid colostrum per day (the "0" group substituted liquid milk whey for colostrum). After two weeks, blood IGF-1 was significantly increased in the 25-ml colostrum group (compared with whey), and serum IGF-1 was enhanced even more in the 125-ml treatment.

The bottom line? The colostrum studies, carried out by a variety of different, independent laboratories, are consistently positive in some way, with two studies demonstrating an improvement in performance with colostrum supplementation and several others detecting an upswing in either lean body mass or blood levels of an important anabolic compound called IGF-1. Thus, it appears that colostrum is worth trying.

If you are interested in giving colostrum a fair shake, the commercial possibilities are nearly endless, as you will soon learn by punching in the word "colostrum" on your favorite internet search engine. If you desire "100% pure New Zealand colostrum," for example (not the 95% pure stuff which ordinarily comes from the land of Lydiard), you might give Metafood's Colostrum a try online at http://www.metafoods.com/offers/gtc/ (or at Metafood's toll-free number - 1-800-282-7809). Metafoods offers a no-questions-asked full refund if you don't suddenly begin running like Peter Snell; their colostrum product is said to be "flash-pasteurized," and two bottles of their 500-mg, 120-count, "V-Caps" will set you back just $29.97.

If you absolutely must have goat colostrum instead of the more-common cattle nostrum, visit the modestly named www.primaldefense.net site, at which you may purchase GOATEIN IG caplets, with 100 mg of goat colostrum per caplet. Unlike most goats, the friendly GOATEIN Capricorns are "not fed pesticides," and the caplets are "pre-digested," saving your stomach and duodenum unnecessary work. It may get your goat, though, to note that you would have to swallow 200 GOATEIN IG caplets per day to achieve the 20-gram daily intake pattern utilized in those scientific studies which linked colostrum with beneficial effects on performance or physiology. Since a single bottle of GOATEIN IG contains just 150 caplets, and since a bottle sells for about $31 US, you will have to lay out approximately $41 (29 pounds) per day to enjoy a faster interval workout or a slimmer physique. The toll-free phone number in North America for GOATEIN is 1-877-673-0224.

If you long for not just any colostrum but want to stock up on the stuff which emerges from the mammary glands within the first six hours after birth, then the Synertek web site, aptly named www.firstmilking.com, is for you. Taking colostrum which appears in the initial six hours is actually an interesting idea, since research has shown that there are fairly substantial changes in colostrum quality during the 72-hour period following birth. Most notably, the levels of immunoglobulins and overall protein concentrations in colostrum drop appreciably after six hours, while - of potential concern to individuals who are lactose-intolerant - lactose levels begin to rise. Another potential advantage of the Synertek colostrum is that it may be ingested in capsule form - or chewed as a lozenge. If during the late stages of a 100-K bike race or a marathon you feel as though you are going to be exercising until the cows come home, a few lozenges deftly placed under your tongue might have you charging toward the finish line like an angry bull. Then again, each lozenge contains just one-fifth of a gram of colostrum, so it would take 100 such tablets to attain the proven dose of 20 grams per day. BTW, we are not poking fun at the idea of using colostrum to boost your performances and recovery - but rather pointing out that colostrum consumption will be extremely pricey for the average athlete. The stuff is "as good as gold" in more ways than one. ©

By Owen Anderson, Ph. D.

Copyright © 1998-2004 by Running Research News

References

(1) J. Sci. Med. Sport, Vol. 5, pp. 65-79, 2002
(2) Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Vol. 34(7), pp. 1184-1188, 2002
(3) Gastroenterology, Vol. 111, pp. 1501-1508, 1996
(4) Nutrition, Vol. 17(3), pp. 243-247, 2001
(5) Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol. 93 (2), pp. 732-739, 2002