Colostrum Milk And Its Benefits

By Author: Sattvishtik
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Colostrum is the first form of milk or breast fluid produced by the mammary glands right after the birth of a new born. Humans, cows, and other mammals produce it before breast milk is released. It is a thick form of milk in yellowish colour. It has a higher percentage of fat and protein than regular milk. It has a high level of nutrients that helps the infant to grow. It has antibodies, which are proteins, this helps to fight infections and bacteria. Thereby strengthening the young one’s immunity. Ayurveda recommends giving the first milk to the baby within an hour of its birth. This builds a bond between the mother and the young one and, also helps in lactation.
Cow Colostrum:
The colostrum produced by a cow is called cow colostrum or bovine colostrum. This is the same as human colostrum. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, fat, carbohydrates, and proteins that help to fight disease, growth hormones, and digestive enzymes. Colostrum is full of nutrients and research has shown that it is beneficial and can be consumed in all phases of life. In Ayurveda, bovine colostrum is known as an immune enhancer and as an agent ...
... to repair the nervous system. With the advancement in medicine, bovine colostrum has become popular in recent times, and its usefulness as a food supplement.
The calf is given the colostrum as much as it needs on the first day. The remaining colostrum is pasteurized and dried. The powder is available in capsule form and as a supplement powder. It can be mixed with other liquids and consumed. The colour of bovine/cow colostrum is slightly yellow and it tastes and smells like buttermilk.
Benefits of Colostrum:
Bovine colostrum is highly nutritious as it has macronutrients and protein compounds. It also has fat, carbs, magnesium, and vitamins A, B, C, and E. Studies have proven that it is more nutritious than regular cow milk. Research shows the following benefits of bovine colostrum:
• It helps to strengthen the immune system and helps the body to fight disease-causing agents.
• It reduces the risk of upper respiratory infection.
• It boosts gut health.
• It helps to prevent diarrhea caused by a bacterial and viral infection.
• It also helps to treat fever, cough, and cold in children.
• It is claimed to reduce pain and side effects of chemotherapy.
Though there are numerous benefits of bovine colostrum, there are certain downsides to same. Not all the benefits are medically proven. The hygiene level to be considered while extracting colostrum is of utmost importance. If not, then humans will be exposed to Salmonella, harmful bacteria. Another question raised is whether the colostrum has been sourced ethically. It shouldn’t happen that the calf is deprived of the colostrum so that humans can have it.
Though cow/bovine colostrum is highly beneficial, one should also see from where it has been sourced. Many cattle breeders inject cows with antibodies and synthetic hormones. They feed them fodder grown using pesticides. It is done to earn more profits. All these enter the cow’s blood system and the colostrum will have traces of it. This will cause more harm to humans than good. The above downsides can be worked upon with the use of proper technology and research and an ethical approach towards sourcing colostrum.
The colostrum has great potential to improve the quality of life of adults as well as children. And if the colostrum is obtained from the purebred A2 Gir cow milk then the benefits manifest two-fold.
At Sattvishtik wellness farms, we believe that a Happy cow = Happy milk. We breed Indian A2 Gir cows at our farm. Keeping the good health of cows in mind, we have designed a nutritious diet for the cows which includes vitamins, proteins, and other nutrients to produce superior-quality milk. The wholesome diet includes nutrients from plants like Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Mulethi, and Jeevanti to name a few. The cows are freely raised in the natural environment best suited for them. We strongly believe in natural farming and hence have a zero chemicals policy. The fertilizers used for farming are cow dung and cow urine. Cows bred in a healthy environment produce high-quality colostrum milk. We ensure that we don’t deprive the calf of its rightful share of colostrum milk. We maintain a good hygiene routine when we retrieve colostrum. The colostrum milk from our A2 Gir cows helps to increase immunity and maintain good gut health.