Colostrum can relieve sport-related gastric upset

A group out of Aberystwyth University, Wales, have recently published a paper on the effects of colostrum on gastric upset encountered in intense exercise/ sports.  In this study they showed that under extreme performance (high stress, prolonged exercise like long distance running) that taking colostrum for 14 days very significantly reduced gut permeability.  This is a cause of gastrointestinal symptoms including cramps, diarrhoea, nausea and bleeding commonly reported by long distance runners.  The subjects took 20 g per day of 15-20% IgG colostrum powder for 14 days prior to the event.  They have shown that this seems to be the optimal lead up time as well as it takes about 14 days to return to the normal unsupplemented state.  The study was a cross over design so that subjects were evaluated both with and without colostrum and the statistics show it did not matter if they were in one group or the other for timing of colostrum it still showed the same effect

This is another benefit of colostrum usage for athletes that participate in sports that require demanding physical stress and where they perform at or near their limits for extended periods of time.  Previously we reported other research from this group (Dr. Glen Davidson) that illustrated how colostrum supplementation improves immunity under the stresses of athletic performance.  Based upon the body of their research to date, they believe that colostrum may aid in improving heat tolerance in extreme heat stress situations. This will be a focus of future research.  All of these results seem to point to a strong reason to use colostrum as a daily supplement to protect good health if you are under stress.

T. Marchbank, G. Davison, J. R. Oakes, M. A. Ghatei, M. Patterson, M. P. Moyer, R. J. Playford , “The nutriceutical, bovine colostrum, truncates the increase in gut permeability caused by heavy exercise in athletes” Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, 300#3: 477-488, 2011.