Scroll by means of social media, and it received’t be lengthy earlier than you detect bovine colostrum dietary supplements—the most recent diet pattern that’s making massive claims and leaving us with even greater questions.

Constructed from the milk-like substance secreted in late being pregnant and the primary few days of breastfeeding, the liquid—usually reserved for infants and different child mammals like calves—is now being touted as virtually a magic bullet for adults. Firms declare a variety of well being advantages, from enhancing your pores and skin to regulating digestion, and a few even say it boosts your immunity and accelerates post-workout restoration. Sounds nice, positive, however does the analysis observe in line? We requested diet and lactation consultants to interrupt it down.

What precisely is bovine colostrum, and why are individuals so into it now?

In case you’re caught on the truth that colostrum is a precursor to breast milk, let’s clear one thing up: The stuff you see on the retailer comes from cows, not people. Mammals of every kind produce colostrum to fulfill the nutrient and developmental calls for of their offspring, Jennifer T. Smilowitz, PhD, lactation training counselor and assistant professor within the division of diet at College California, Davis, tells SELF. Normally, it’s bought dried and in capsule kind quite than as a liquid.

Colostrum is thicker and extra concentrated than the milk that comes later. It’s particularly wealthy in vitamins that scale back an infection dangers and intestine irritation in newborns, like prebiotics, in addition to enzymes and proteins with antibacterial and antiviral properties, like lysozyme and lactoferrin, says Dr. Smilowitz. That is vital, as a result of at start, an toddler’s intestine (each human and bovine) is barely permeable, which might improve their threat of an infection and irritation. “So colostrum fed within the first few days of life helps fortify the intestine,” she says.

Extra particularly, bovine colostrum additionally incorporates the identical useful vitamins in cows milk and extra, says Harbstreet. That features fat-soluble nutritional vitamins A, D, and E, plus vital minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, and magnesium. Some, like IGF-1, which helps bones and tissue develop usually, exist in larger concentrations within the colostrum.

The truth that it’s nice for intestine well being (albeit for infants) is a big a part of the rationale why it’s turn out to be such a wellness darling, Cara Harbstreet, MS, RD, of Avenue Good Diet, tells SELF. Scroll by means of social or stroll by means of a pharmacy aisle, and you’ll see that the give attention to higher digestion and regularity has by no means been stronger. Couple that with different claims like enhancing your exercises and your immune system—two different massive ticket subjects on a variety of of us’ minds proper now—and it’s not onerous to see why curiosity within the complement is spiking.

Which brings us to: Do bovine colostrum dietary supplements truly ship?

There are literally two vital questions right here: One, do the bovine colostrum dietary supplements available on the market have all of the useful components as precise bovine colostrum? And two, do the advantages of colostrum prolong previous its meant viewers (i.e, literal infants)?