Colostrum Helps Athletes Burn Fat ... Build Muscle
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Athletes and those who work out and exercise regularly and seriously are always looking for ways to enhance their performance and get better results. According to both clinical research and anecdotal evidence, colostrum may be the most potent natural substance yet discovered that helps athletes get the results they want. In fact, many body-builders and exercise experts say that colostrum is the most effective muscle-building agent they have ever used without resorting to illegal (and dangerous) steroids.

Writing in Iron Man Magazine (a journal for serious bodybuilders), Daniel Shawn states that the IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) found in colostrum ". . . has a strikingly more anabolic effect than any known com-pound, even steroids."

IGF-1 is able to "promote muscle growth by itself", writes Steve Schwade, Associate Editor of Muscle & Fitness, in their May, 1992 issue. "Bovine colostrum has a higher concentration of IGF-1 than human colostrum", he continues, "and its structure is virtually identical. Human IGF-1 and bovine IGF-1 differ by only three amino acids in the 67-amino-acid chain that makes up the IGF-1 molecule. Because of this similarity, bovine IGF-1 is just as potent as the human form."

Schwade goes on to quote current research showing that colostrum slows protein breakdown, and ". . . stimulates glucose transport in muscle." This means that muscles make more efficient use of the fuel available to them.

When it comes to fat metabolism, the growth factors in colostrum "shift fuel utilization from carbohydrate to fat. This doesn’t mean you can eat more fat. But it does mean that your body will burn more fat, including fat made from the carbohydrate and protein you eat, producing fuel more efficiently.", continued Schwade. Schwade's summary: "The bottom line is that the growth factors (in colostrum) speed protein synthesis and slow protein catabolism (protein breakdown), leading to an increase in lean muscle mass without a corresponding rise in adipose tissue."

Again, Daniel Shawn from Ironman Magazine : "Plain and simple, IGF-1 is the end-all and the be- all of anabolic peptide growth factors. Where can you get it? Colostrum.

" Olympic Boxing Gold Medallist Ray Mercer started using colostrum after he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and his heavyweight match against Evander Holyfield was cancelled. However, Mercer says that not only did colostrum help him recover from Hepatitis C, but it "gave me more energy, I’m pressing more weight, and my gut problems are gone."

Recently, more studies have been performed with athletes. Writing in Nutrition Science News in May of 1996, Edmund Burke, Ph.D., reports on research involving the Finnish Olympic Ski Team. "The athletes worked out extremely hard and their blood creatine-kinase levels were monitored over a seven day period. Creatine-kinase is a critically important muscle-cell enzyme that has been shown to be a marker of muscle-cell damage if detected in the blood. Thus, when blood creatine levels rise, it is often a sign of significant muscle damage. Compared to team members who drank placebos, the athletes who consumed a colostrum drink showed roughly one half the blood creatine-kinase levels four days after acute exercise." They also said, subjectively, that they were less fatigued and that their performance seemed to have improved.

In the same article, Burke goes on to say that colostrum also "improves athletic performance through the gut." Colostrum enhances assimilation of nutrients through the intestines and thus increases the efficiency of carbohydrate and amino acid uptake. Also, the growth factors in colostrum help "seal" the gut from ulceration which reduces the efficiency of uptake. So what happens when taking colostrum is that more of the nutrients from the food you eat can be utilized as fuel for exercise, whether of the cardiovascular or muscle-building variety.

The benefits of colostrum are great news for those of us who exercise regularly but who haven’t been seeing the results we want.

See you in the gym!

FITNESS BENEFITS OF COLOSTRUM
By Donald Henderson, M.D.

Athletes have searched for years, sometimes at great risk to their overall well-being, to find the "miracle" drug or supplement that will help them enhance their performances.

The ideal answer would be something that allows the body to use or boost its own internal powers, designed by Mother Nature, to help us build energy, muscle and cardiovascular endurance.

I believe we may have that answer, and my supposition is strongly supported by both clinical research and anecdotal evidence. Its bovine colostrum, perhaps the most potent natural substance available that helps athletes enhance their performance and get better results. Many bodybuilders and exercise experts say that colostrum is the most effective muscle-building agent they have ever used without resorting to illegal and dangerous steroids.

The fitness effects of colostrum were recently documented again in new studies out of Australia, which showed the significant fitness gains, including improved stamina and shortened recovery time, for athletes of the national football and cycling teams who took colostrum.

Colostrum is the first mammary-secreted nourishment that any mammal, including humans, gives its newborn for the first 24 to 48 hours of life. It contains numerous immune-system compounds and growth factors, which trigger at least 50 processes in newborns, ranging from the development of the immune system to the growth of all body cells. Medical evidence also shows that adults can get the same tremendous wide-ranging benefits that colostrum offers newborns.

The key is the growth factors found in colostrum. They have been shown to tone muscles, "melt" body fat, return elasticity to the skin and increase bone density.

In May, 1996, Edmund Burke, Ph.D., reported the research results of colostrum use with the Finnish Olympic Ski Team. Results showed that the athletes who drank a colostrum drink were less fatigued and showed improved performances, compared to the team members who drank placebos.

Another Finnish study showed that sprinters and jumpers who took bovine colostrum increased serum IGF-I concentration during strength and speed training.

Besides its amazing fitness effects, colostrum contains powerful immune factors (Immunoglobulins, Cytokines and Interferon) that work to restore potent immune function. Colostrum also contains PRP (Polyproline-Rich-Peptides), shown in medical studies to help regulate an under- or overactive immune system, and Lactoferrin, which has been proven in numerous research studies to be a potent, broad-spectrum natural antibiotic and antiviral agent.

Colostrum is the only natural source with the perfect synergy between the immune factors and all of our body’s growth factors in perfect combination, as nature intended. Colostrum is completely natural, free of side effects, and is an excellent alternative to hundreds of drugs, including performance-enhancing stereoids. The benefits of colostrum are great news for everyone from the professional athlete to the weekend warrior.

Dr. Donald Henderson is a graduate of Florida Medical School and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. He is currently Chief of Staff at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, a partner in private practice, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology at UCLA School of Medicine.