Bovine colostrum is a health care product that is often marketed by merchants. The merchant grasped the psychological characteristics of parents who "hope that the baby can grow up healthy and strong", and sold colostrum products with the selling point of "promoting the growth and development of infants and young children, enhancing resistance, etc.". In fact, compared with human colostrum, bovine colostrum is not suitable for infants and young children, and it is not advisable to improve the immunity of infants and young children through bovine colostrum.
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What is bovine colostrum
Bovine colostrum refers to the milk of cows within 7 days after giving birth to calves, which is rich in protein, fat and some minerals, and the content is higher than that of human colostrum and ordinary milk, and the content of immunoglobulin IgG is 50 times that of human colostrum, and immunoglobulin IgG is the substance of bovine colostrum to improve the immunity of calves, and its passive immunity to newborn calves is very important.
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There are three major differences between bovine colostrum and human colostrum
Human colostrum is milk produced from a pregnant woman's breast starting at 7 months of pregnancy and secreted up to 5 days after the baby is born. Human colostrum is the most suitable nutrient for babies. In addition to human colostrum, the only colostrum that can be accepted by humans is bovine colostrum, because bovine colostrum has very similar components and functions to human colostrum, but the content of the two components is very different.
The nutritional content is different
Bovine colostrum has high levels of immunoglobulins and growth factors, but lactose and vitamin content are lower than those of human colostrum, resulting in unbalanced nutritional composition. Lactose can provide energy for the human body and human brain activity, which is very important for children's intellectual development, so for people, the nutritional structure of bovine colostrum is not as good as that of human colostrum.
There are different types of immunoglobulins
There are many types of immunoglobulins in the body, including IgG and IgA, and the fetus can get immunoglobulin IgG from the mother through the placenta, but not from the placenta. IgA is the main component of the body's mucosal defense system, and due to the large permeability of the neonatal intestinal wall, pathogens are more likely to enter the human body through the intestinal wall, so it is more important for neonates with immature immune function to obtain immunoglobulin IgA. Human colostrum has a higher content of immunoglobulin IgA, which has anti-infective effects, which can help infants and young children defend themselves against pathogens more effectively; Bovine colostrum has a high level of immunoglobulin IgG, but infants and young children are not deficient.
There are different types of proteins
The ratio of whey protein to casein in human colostrum is about 8:2, and the ratio in bovine colostrum is 2:8, which makes it easier for infants and young children to digest and absorb milk compared to bovine colostrum. For newborn babies, digestion, absorption and other functions are not yet fully developed, and early intake of more nutrients may cause a great burden on the liver and kidneys. Moreover, the proportion of casein in bovine colostrum is too high, which may also cause allergies in infants and young children.
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Bovine colostrum improves human immunity in controversy
Bovine colostrum is often said to improve immunity because it is rich in immunoglobulin IgG, which is the main substance for antiviral and antibacterial purposes. However, although bovine colostrum contains ingredients related to improving human immunity, there are different theories about whether it is suitable for consumption to improve immunity.
Immunoglobulins are specific
The immunoglobulin IgG in bovine colostrum has a very obvious effect on calves to improve immunity, but for humans, the effect is not necessarily obvious.
Immunoglobulins are easily destroyed
Bovine colostrum is subjected to a special process before it is made into a qualified product, in which the activity of the immunoglobulin IgG may be destroyed, and once its activity is lost, it is no different from ordinary protein. Therefore, whether bovine colostrum can really effectively improve human immunity remains to be further investigated.
Physical properties are unstable
The physical properties of bovine colostrum are unstable, and the composition is very different from that of regular milk, so it is not suitable for the production and processing of infant formula.
In short, human milk is the most suitable nutrient for infants and young children, and if infants and young children are exclusively breastfed, there is no need to supplement additional colostrum. Whether the immunity of infants and young children is low and whether it needs to be improved, parents should take them to the hospital to make sure, and do not buy and use health food on their own.
Content Sources:
People's Medical Publishing House published "Scientific Understanding of Health Food - Answering Your Confusion about Health Food"
Editor-in-Chief of the book series:
Zhao Jie, chief pharmacist and professor of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, an expert of the National Health Science Popularization Expert Database
Author of this article:
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhang Xiaojian
Li Jian, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shenyang Medical College
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