Colostrum Supplements Are All The Rage — But Read This Before Buying Them

With promises to speed up your metabolism, improve your hair and aid your gut health, it’s easy to see why colostrum supplements are the latest wellness fad.

Colostrum is the early milk that mammals produce after having offspring, according to Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, the national medical director at One Medical. Colostrum is rich in antibodies, fats, proteins and nutrients, and it gives babies and calves passive immunity because they don’t yet have a developed immune system of their own, Bhuyan explained. Typically, birthing parents, whether they’re humans, cows or other mammals, naturally produce colostrum after giving birth. The internet’s current obsession is over bovine colostrum, which comes from cows.

Colostrum supplements also claim to do a lot for adults without newborns: In addition to promises around metabolism and gut health, they’re said to improve focus, immunity, skin, nails and energy levels. As a result, these supplements are gaining popularity from influencers and celebrities touting their purported benefits.

As with most wellness products, it’s hard to tell by simple social media ads what’s real versus what’s too good to be true. Below, experts share their thoughts on the big promises of bovine colostrum supplements.

Colostrum supplements have been shown to improve 1 aspect of gut health.

“I think the biggest benefits we see is, if someone has diarrhea and they take bovine colostrum, it can help shorten the duration of their diarrhea,” Bhuyan said.

When you have diarrhea, it’s likely that your gut microbiome is out of sorts, and taking bovine colostrum can help get the microbiome back in sync, Bhuyan said.

Amanda Beaver, a wellness dietitian at Houston Methodist Wellness Services, said that diarrheal