All-Life Colostrum 500 mg 120 capsules - colostrum with immunoglobulins, lactoferrin and proline-riche peptides | AOR

AOR All-Life Colostrum supports immune function within the upper respiratory tract.

Colostrum is occasionally and astutely known as ‘first milk’. It is produced in mammalian mammary glands in the latest stage of pregnancy and in the first few days after birth, and is quite simply the most important meal in one’s life. It is in effect a whole food that is minuscule in size yet extremely high in vital nutrients, growth factors and antibodies essential for the early development of newborn life.

Colostrum is responsible for triggering no fewer than fifty biochemical processes in a newborn’s body, which will provide the life-long foundation of the growth process and the immune system. Bovine colostrum is useful in the immune function within the upper respiratory tract.

AOR Advantage

AOR‘s 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.
Many manufacturers utilize spray drying, but spray drying substantially denatures colostrum. All-Life Colostrum is freeze-dried, ensuring the integrity of all vital components.

There are never any added antibiotics, hormonal growth promoter or other non-dairy proteins of animal origin used. The use of synthetic bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) is banned from the use in Canada so the product will not contain this hormone.

who can benefit from All-Life Colostrum?
Colostrum can be used by those seeking to optimize their immune system or improve their gastrointestinal health. Several studies indicate colostrum may benefit athletes by enhancing performance and boosting post-exercise recovery.

Whole-food based immune support
• ethically sourced bovine colostrum from North American milk cows
• helps to support immune function within the upper respiratory tract
• freeze dried to preserve protein structure.

how do the active ingredients function in All-Life Colostrum
Colostrum is a source of powerful immune enhancers known as immunoglobulins. Growth factors in colostrum include insulinlike growth factors and transforming growth factors and are believed to play an important role in the development of skeletal muscle, gastrointestinal differentiation, cell repair, and exerciseperformance-enhancement.
The lactoferrin contained in All-Life Colostrum is an an iron-binding protein that is activated by the inflammation response. A wide variety of functions are attributed to lactoferrin. These range from a role in the control of iron availability to immune modulation. Lactoferrin may further support immune function by promoting the growth of the good bacteria lactobacilli and bifidobacteria.

background reading
Why Colostrum, the "first milk" is so important
Newborn babies have weak, underdeveloped immune responses. They must rely upon a gift from their mothers during their first weeks of life for optimal immune function. Colostrum is a form of milk that is produced in the mammary glands of mammals prior to birth and shortly thereafter. It is a source of immunoglobulins, which supply passive immunity to newborns as a part of their initinial defense. Considerable evidence points to immunoglobulins as powerful immune enhancers. In fact, colostrum is so important to newborn calves that, if they do not receive it, most of these calves will die within three months of birth.

Immunoglobulin factors
These immunoglobulins (Ig) consist of structurally related proteins, also called gammaglobulins, all of which act as antibodies. These components of the immune system include IgA, IgE, IgG, etc., each of which is itself a “family” of more closely related proteins. In the new-born, immunoglobulins supply “passive immunity”, meaning that the mother’s immune response to pathogens, a response developed from her own exposure, is made available to the baby through colostrum.

Colostrum provides at least two more benefits to the immune system: “transfer factor” and lactoferrin. Transfer factor (TF) refers to a form of RNA (ribonucleic acid) which “transfers” the coding for cell-mediated immunity, meaning the immunity which depends upon T-cells (T-lym- phocytes), as opposed to the immunity based on the B-cells, which produce antibodies. Whereas the B-cells are very short-lived, the T (thymus-derived) immune cells are involved in immune modulation that persists for months or even years. As such, colostrum stimulates cell-mediated immunity.

Lactoferrin, a component of colostrum, is an iron-binding protein which is activated by the inflammation response. It is found in milk, but also in the tears, saliva and mucosal secretions of mammals. Early investigators believed that lactoferrin acted primarily by binding iron. However, new research demonstrates that lactoferrin may help make natural killer cells and other neutrophils more active.

An especially interesting discovery is that lactoferrin becomes more active after it has been digested by pepsin and acid proteases in the stomach. The peptide lactoferricin B is liberated from the larger lactoferrin molecule. Lactoferricin B, like lactoferrin, plays a role in supporting the immune system. In vitro tests confirm lactoferrin’s exposure to digestion in the stomach possibly increases the potency of lactoferrin via the liberation of lactoferricin B.

Finally, lactoferrin does not affect the probiotic bacteria (beneficial bacteria) lactobacillus; in fact, it may actually promote the growth of bifidobacteria, which is found in the large intestine.

Exercise enhancement
A recent study indicates colostrum may be useful to athletes and others that take part in high-intensity exercise. Researchers feel supplementation with colostrum could promote optimal recovery from exercise by affecting specific immune parameters. Other studies have shown growth factors such as IGF-1 from colostrum may enhance exercise performance and improve post-exercise recovery.

The issue of processing
All-Life Colostrum is collected from healthy cows grazed on pasturage (except in winter). Herds grazed on pasturage are exposed to a variety of organisms and thereby develop a more comprehensive immune response.

Immunoglobulins themselves are quite fragile and therefore need proper handling and processing. Two factors involving this collection and processing of colostrum determine the value of colostrum supplements. First, true colostrum can only be collected within 12 hours of calving for maximum activity. Second, only freeze-drying ensures that the different colostrum immunoglobulin fractions and growth factors retain their biological activity and are not denatured. Many manufacturers utilize spray drying, but spray drying substantially denatures colostrum. All-Life Colostrum is freeze-dried, ensuring the integrity of all vital components.