Containing both broad spectrum and specific factors, Colostrum assists the body in combating bacterial, viral, fungal and allergenic marauders. Colostrum is the only food that augments the body with the immune factors needed to fight infection: Immunoglobulins, Leukocytes, Cytokines, Lactoferrin, Interferon and PRP. PRP (Polyproline-Rich Peptides) is the paramount legislator of the thymus gland, which is charged with producing cells to thwart viruses and antigens. PRP harmonizes the immune system, preventing the body from actually attacking itself, as is seen in diseases like MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Epstein-Barr, and Allergies.

AOR All-Life Colostrum Growth Factors
A variety of growth factors (including epithelial growth factor [EgF], insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1], transforming growth factors A&B [TGF-A&B], and growth hormone [gH]) are present in Colostrum. Newborn calves and babies rely, in part, on these peptides to promote their early growth and development. For better or for worse, however, it is unlikely that adults using Colostrum supplements will absorb these growth factors, because the adult human stomach is far too acidic to allow for intact absorption. While some studies do exist to document improved anabolism in Colostrum-supplemented athletes, IGF-1 and other growth factors are unlikely to explain these benefits.

Why Bovine Colostrum?
Procuring Colostrum from human sources is quite simply unrealistic. Dairy cows are the only animals that meet all of the required criteria for transferring Colostrum to humans. Bovine Colostrum can be used to promote passive interspecies immunity because Colostrum from cows is accepted by virtually all other mammals. The key immunoglobulins in cows are identical in molecular combination to humans and are not species specific, but are transferable from one species to another.

In fact, research has demonstrated that bovine Colostrum is much richer in immune factors than human Colostrum. Furthermore, scientists have discovered that bovine Colostrum contains special inhibitors that allow the substance to pass through the stomach and still remain active as it enters the bowel. It is very important that Colostrum be gathered during the first twenty-four hours after birth, as the digestive inhibitors are only present during this period. The International Institute of Nutritional Research stated in a published report that "bovine Colostrum offered tremendous possibilities for providing unparalleled support for the immune system that may be the deciding factor in the body's war against illness and aging." 

North America: The Best Colostrum Source
A great deal of misinformation is out there regarding the sourcing of Colostrum. Some supplement companies claim that only New Zealand-sourced material can provide pure, high-quality Colostrum supplements - a claim that just doesn't wash. Certainly, Colostrum should come from cows which are free-range fed, not exposed to synthetic growth hormones (rBGH/ BST), and which are not routinely treated with antibiotics. Further, the raw Colostrum should be processed under cGMP conditions, and chemical solvents should not be used. In these respects, many North American Colostrum products are found wanting - but that doesn't mean that no Colostrum from North American meets these stringent criteria. In fact, some North American suppliers offer Colostrum which is produced and processed using methods identical to those in New Zealand-sourced material.

And there are good reasons to prefer a North American source, provided that the sourcing and processing is up to snuff, because there is one key difference between the Colostrum used in our product and that from New Zealand: namely, the superiority of the Colostrum produced at more extreme latitudes. Harsher winter conditions cause cattle to produce greater levels of immune-supporting compounds than they do in more temperate zones. As a result, Colostrum sourced from many North American locations contains significantly more immunoglobulins (Igs) than are typically present in New Zealand Colostrum. Since the point of taking a Colostrum supplement is precisely to boost our levels of such immune-supporting peptides, this makes colder-climate Colostrum the clear choice for supporting health.

The Importance of Cold Processing
Still other companies will make claims about the processing of Colostrum which leave one bemused, because they contradict themselves. Arguing with these people is like confronting a defense lawyer who defends a client by saying, "My client's dog didn't bite you, and besides you deserved it; and in any case, my client doesn't own a dog." Such companies will claim, in one breath, that Colostrum should not be freeze-dried, or heat-treated, or extracted using chemical solvents. But one of these methods must be used to dry the material in order to make it into a powdered supplement!

Given these choices, the best Colostrum supplements are always lyophilized (a form of freeze-drying). It is simply false to claim that freeze drying causes protein denaturation; in fact, the exact opposite is the case! It is heat, not cold, which causes protein denaturation; freeze-drying is in fact the preferred way of drying everything from in backpacking foods to samples used in scientific studies for exactly this reason. Lyophilization protects more of the immune-enhancing proteins from denaturation, and guards intact more of the essential components of Colostrum, than does drying using either heat long drying periods.

It's a difficult supplement market, and making a high-quality Colostrum supplement is not easy. High-quality North American Colostrum, derived from livestock raised under the best conditions and processed using the most rigorous quality control conditions, is the clear choice for purity and potency - from the dairy all the way to you.