Oo, Baby! Five Benefits of Colostrum

Colostrum is a yellowish, thin milky substance produced by new mothers of every mammalian species in the first days after they give birth, before their breast milk comes in. It is enormously rich in immune factors and growth factors, and packed with nutrients. We don’t need to stalk new mothers in hospital and replace their babies with ourselves, however -- sources from goats and cows are almost as effective as human colostrum. Today we are looking at five of colostrum nutritional supplement's most significant benefits.

Warding off colds, flus, irritable bowel syndrome and diabetes

Research by Immuron, an Australian company, is showing promising early results that suggest that hyper-immunized colostrum nutritional supplements (which are available when the cow has been immunized against certain pathogens), could help prevent diseases like irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes and even the gastrointestinal consequences of AIDS.

Athletic ability

Double blind studies at the Australian Institute of Sport by trainers (as reported on science program Catalyst) have shown that athletes who take colostrum increase their muscle strength by 5-10% over those taking a placebo, recover faster, and also miss fewer days of training due to minor illnesses like influenza.

Gastric diseases

Colostrum has been found by some studies to be especially effective against gastric diseases, especially bugs like Escherichia coli, salmonella, helicobacter pylori, and others such as clostridium and staphylococcus.

Potential stress effects

Some studies have suggested that colostrum can also have an effect on the brain for natural treatment of depression and low moods -- lambs that were tube fed colostrum as compared to saline (directly into their stomach, so taste was not a factor) reduced their distress bleating. The effects of colostrum can be seen in the hypothalamus, the insular cortex and amygdale.

Proteins and Vitamin A

Vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant, and this natural source is one of the best ways to ensure you have enough of it. Protein is one of the most useful ingredients in milk itself (the fat we can live without!), meaning that colostrum nutritional supplements has a high concentration of what we want from milk, but not what we don't.

5 Kids That NEED Nutritional Supplements -- 3 That Don't

The debate over children's vitamins and minerals has raged over the past 15 years, since figures about the widespread use of children's vitamins have come to light. Not all kids need multivitamins, or even supplements of some minerals. However, there are some situations where the modern convenience of vitamins and minerals in pill, powder and liquid form really are necessary. We look at five types of kids who need nutritional supplements, as well as three types of kids that shouldn't necessarily have them.

1. The lactose intolerant child

Calcium is an essential mineral during childhood, when teeth and bones are being formed … and also when their strength is being tested by falls off fences! If your child gets an upset tummy from drinking milk or eating dairy, like many do, then calcium supplementation is appropriate.

2. The rainwater kid

If your family lives on well water, you must be enjoying the delicious taste of water straight from the ground! However, well water is not fluoridated, so cavities are a risk. Fluoride nutritional supplements can be inexpensive alternatives to fluoridated bottled water.

3. The hydroponic garden kid

Growing our own vegetables is becoming more common, with hydroponic bench-top setups making plenty of veggies tasty and easily accessible. However, if many of your vegetables come from hydroponic sources then you and your kids will be missing out on important minerals that usually come from the soil.

4. ADD kids

There is increasing evidence to show that an omega-3 rich diet can help with attention deficit disorder. If you want to support your child's brain naturally, omega-3 supplements like fish oil are a quick and easy way to do that.

5. Bedridden kids

If you have a chronically ill child, then the last thing they need is a vitamin deficiency to play further havoc with their health. We normally get Vitamin D from sunshine -- if your child doesn't get 10 minutes of sunshine a day for a few days, then vitamin D supplements may be appropriate.

Kids that don’t need nutritional supplements:

• Kids that don’t like some fruits or vegetables -- they'll get plenty of nutrients from others, or from juice, without nutritional supplements
• Children that have fluoridated water for drinking -- excess fluoride can cause tooth staining.
• You have a fussy eater aged over 4 -- kids over 4 are old enough to learn that if they don't eat their vegetables, they don’t eat anything.

Natural Goes Mainstream

Here’s something you simply can’t ignore…

As advocates of the natural health movement, we’re always on the lookout for pertinent information that supports our agenda. Well, you can imagine how our ears perked up when we read this article posted by Fox News. And because we’re always interested in getting natural medicine to go more mainstream, this one goes way up there on our “that’s WAY UP” list!

The following news report was written about Reiki Therapy…

At one of the top U.S. trauma hospitals, a nurse circles a patient's bed, humming and waving her arms as if shooing evil spirits. Another woman rubs a quartz bowl with a wand, making tunes that mix with the beeping monitors and hissing respirator keeping the man alive.

They are doing Reiki therapy, which claims to heal through invisible energy fields. The anesthesia chief, Dr. Richard Dutton, calls it "mystical mumbo jumbo." Still, he's a fan.

"It's self-hypnosis" that can help patients relax, he said. "If you tell yourself you have less pain, you actually do have less pain."

Alternative medicine has become mainstream. It is finding wider acceptance by doctors, insurers and hospitals like the shock trauma center at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

People turn to unconventional therapies and herbal remedies for everything from hot flashes and trouble sleeping to cancer and heart disease. They crave more "care" in their health care. They distrust drug companies and the government. They want natural, safer remedies.

"Herbals are medicines," with good and bad effects, said Bruce Silverglade of the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Fifteen years ago, Congress decided to allow dietary and herbal supplements to be sold without federal Food and Drug Administration approval. The number of products soared, from about 4,000 then to well over 40,000 now.

Ten years ago, Congress created a new federal agency to study supplements and unconventional therapies. But more than $2.5 billion of tax-financed research has not found any cures or major treatment advances, aside from certain uses for acupuncture and ginger for chemotherapy-related nausea. If anything, evidence has mounted that many of these pills and therapies lack value.

Yet they are finding ever-wider use…

There’s much more to this story yet to come…stay tuned for our next posting to learn more about Reiki Therapy and its use at mainstream hospitals!