Colostrum and the Heart

Thousands of articles have been written on the health benefits of colostrum. Colostrum has been known to effectively help build the immune system and treat many ailments and diseases. Now, scientists are learning that colostrum can have huge health benefits for the heart. The following reflects the current state of scientific knowledge about what routine dietary supplementation with high quality bovine colostrum will do with respect to heart muscle physiology and function.

Colostrum Has a Growth Hormone

Growth hormone is present in bovine colostrum and has been shown to work in concert with IGF-1 in the functioning and repair of the heart muscle. Receptors for both growth hormone and IGF-1 are found on all heart muscle cells and scientific evidence indicates that growth hormone may act directly on the heart, whereas the effects of IGF-1 may be indirect and operate through separate hormonal pathways.

Research studies have also shown that both growth hormone and IGF-1 have stimulatory effects on heart muscle cells and it is believed that this occurs through the pathway by which the cells use calcium. It has also been shown that administration of growth hormone to patients with congestive heart failure can induce a marked improvement in heart function and clinical status. In this way,

No Cholesterol

Because Colostrum and milk comes from the same source, many people think that colostrum is part of milk. This common belief could not be further from the truth. It is true that colostrum and milk come from the same source, however they are fundamentally different. The fact is that colostrum and milk are two totally different substances. Colostrum comes first from the mother then milk comes second. There is a period of time when both milk and colostrum are mixed together. However, high quality colostrum has virtually no milk present. Bovine colostrum contains no cholesterol and can be used by patients with high triglycerides and high serum cholesterol. For this reason, those that have cholesterol problems should seek out the highest quality colostrum.