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Colostrum Enhances
Recovery, Boosts Immunity & Fights Overtraining.
Colostrum is the first milk produced by mammals for
their babies 24-48 hours after birth. Colostrum is a
"Swiss Army Knife" of bioactive factors, boosting
immunity and stimulating muscle repair and growth.
Clearly, colostrum is part of Nature's strategy to
ensure infant survival. Two major studies show colostrum
holds the promise of enhanced recovery and immunity for
serious athletes.
Athletes taking in just 20 grams of colostrum a day for
two weeks showed dramatic increases of two natural
substances that help endurance athletes recover faster
and avoid illness. First, IGF-1 increased which works
with growth hormone to burn fat for fuel and spare lean
muscle. Second, colostrum increased immunoglobulins -
internal warrior chemicals that help fight infections
and viruses.
Taking in even modest amounts of colostrum can help you
recover faster, while boosting immunity. Combined, these
two benefits enable your workouts to be more productive,
with less chance of injury or overtraining.
Colostrum Supplements Increase Anabolic and Immune
Chemicals Colostrum is the pre-milk fluid produced by
the mammary glands of all nursing mothers (both human
and animal). It is thought to promote growth in newborns
and protect them from disease by beefing up their immune
systems. A 1997 study by Mero and co-workers from
Finland found that colostrum supplements increased IGF-1
levels in strength speed athletes. IGF-1 is a highly
anabolic substance that works in concert with growth
hormone. In a new study, they gave male and female
athletes 20 grams of colostrum per day for 14 days. They
found large increases in IGF-1 and in important immune
system chemicals immunoglobulins A and G. Supplements
were more effective in female than male athletes. This
supplement may prove useful in promoting muscle growth
and protecting athletes from disease.
Colostrum extract
can be found in
CytoSport
Muscle Milk
and
Recovery products.
(Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (ACSM
annual meeting abstracts) 32: S117, 2000.)
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