Colostrum Supplements: What It Is, What the Research Says & Which to Buy
Colostrum is the first milk a cow makes after giving birth, rich in IgG antibodies. Small trials found fewer cold symptoms in athletes in hard training and less gut leakiness after hard exercise. We found no trials for skin, hair or general immunity. Our pick: Vitamatic Bovine Colostrum Powder, $0.67 per gram of IgG.
By Erin Rose Updated October 20, 2026 How we score
Costs are brand prices per gram of IgG (October 18, 2026).
What to buy
Vitamatic Bovine Colostrum Powder is our pick. It states at least 50% IgG, the antibodies that set colostrum apart, and costs the least per gram of IgG of any colostrum that states it.
Vitamatic Bovine Colostrum Powder
$0.67 per gram of IgG
Where to go next
- Best colostrum: every product we scored, ranked by cost per gram of IgG.
- Colostrum dosage guide: how much to take, and a calculator for the IgG in any label.
- Third-party tested colostrum: which products are on a public testing list.
What colostrum does
Colostrum is the milk a cow makes in the first days after giving birth. It has far more antibodies than regular milk, mainly IgG, plus lactoferrin and growth factors (Playford 2021). The research is small, and a 2021 review found it too weak to support most uses (Guberti 2021).
| Goal | Evidence | What trials found |
|---|---|---|
| Colds in athletes | Some | A review of 5 small trials (152 people) found fewer cold symptoms in athletes during hard training. It covers athletes only. |
| Gut leakiness after hard exercise | Small, mixed | Taken around one hard workout, it limited the rise in gut leakiness. But an 8-week trial in runners found more leakiness, not less. |
| Gut leakiness from NSAIDs | Small | Taken with NSAID painkillers, it reduced the rise in gut leakiness in small trials. |
| Infectious diarrhea | Not store colostrum | Trials used special colostrum from cows vaccinated against one germ. Store colostrum is not that product. |
| Skin, hair, general immunity | No trials | We found no trials. Ads for these point to the athlete and gut studies instead. |
Does IgG survive your stomach?
Some of it does. In people with an ileostomy, about half of the IgG they swallowed reached the small intestine intact and still working (Warny 1999). That supports an effect inside the gut. It does not show that the IgG gets into your blood.
How long does colostrum take to work?
No trial gives a set time. Each one measured results over its own period:
- Hard exercise: around a single workout.
- NSAID painkillers: during the course of the drug.
- Runners in training: 8 weeks, with the opposite result.
How much to take
Most labels suggest 1 to 3 g a day, about one scoop. The trials used 20 to 60 g a day. The dosage guide shows how to count the IgG.
No product’s serving comes close to the trial doses, and labels do not explain the gap. Taking more scoops, or picking a powder with more IgG in each gram, closes some of it.
Is colostrum safe?
For most people, yes. It is milk. A few things to check:
- Milk-protein allergy: skip it. People with a milk allergy have reacted even to colostrum creams (Porcaro 2019).
- Pregnant, a weak immune system, or taking medicines: ask your doctor first.
- Testing: a product on an outside testing list has been checked for what the label says. See third-party tested colostrum.
Want one on a public testing list? Codeage Bovine Colostrum Powder is on NSF/ANSI 173, which checks that the tub holds what the label says. Its label does not state the IgG.
Codeage Bovine Colostrum Powder
NSF/ANSI 173
Questions people ask
Can I take colostrum if I am lactose intolerant?
Usually, yes. Colostrum is low in lactose, so most lactose-intolerant people handle it. A milk-protein allergy is different: skip colostrum if you have one.
Is ARMRA better than other colostrum?
We cannot tell, because ARMRA’s label does not state its IgG. Our pick states at least 50% IgG, so you know what you get. More on ARMRA.
Sources
- Playford RJ, Weiser MJ. “Bovine Colostrum: Its Constituents and Uses.” Nutrients. 2021. PubMed 33477653
- Guberti M, et al. “Bovine Colostrum Applications in Sick and Healthy People: A Systematic Review.” Nutrients. 2021. PubMed 34202206
- Jones AW, et al. “Bovine colostrum supplementation and upper respiratory symptoms during exercise training.” BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2016. PubMed 27462401
- Marchbank T, et al. “The nutriceutical bovine colostrum truncates the increase in gut permeability caused by heavy exercise in athletes.” Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2011. PubMed 21148400
- Buckley JD, et al. “Bovine colostrum supplementation during running training increases intestinal permeability.” Nutrients. 2009. PubMed 22253980
- Playford RJ, et al. “Bovine colostrum is a health food supplement which prevents NSAID induced gut damage.” Gut. 1999. PubMed 10205201
- Mitra AK, et al. “Hyperimmune cow colostrum reduces diarrhoea due to rotavirus.” Acta Paediatr. 1995. PubMed 8652974
- Warny M, et al. “Bovine immunoglobulin concentrate-Clostridium difficile retains C difficile toxin neutralising activity after passage through the human stomach and small intestine.” Gut. 1999. PubMed 9895380
- Porcaro F, et al. “Anaphylaxis to cutaneous exposure to bovine colostrum based cream.” Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol. 2019. PubMed 29549703