Colostrum Powder

People buy colostrum for two quite different reasons, at two very different doses, so our naturopaths start by working out which one applies to you.

A good fit if

• Your gut lining is the reason, and you're happy to take a powder at the doses used in trials rather than capsules
• You train hard. Intense exercise is known to make the gut lining more permeable
• You want a low daily dose through cold and flu season, which capsules give you easily
• You're comfortable with dairy, because colostrum is concentrated dairy protein
• You're after endurance rather than strength. Endurance is the only performance measure that improved in trials

Check with us first if

• You're lactose intolerant. Colostrum is a dairy product and lactose levels vary between products, so check the nutrition panel.
• You're buying for a child over 12 months. The evidence in children is weak, and in one trial a fortified colostrum did no better than plain fortified milk powder for growth.
• The product makes a cold or respiratory claim. Those products carry a second age warning (adults only, or not under 2 years without medical advice), and the stricter one applies.
• You're comparing products by IgG percentage. No trial we've seen linked results to IgG content, and there's no known minimum effective level.
• You're looking at goat, sheep or camel colostrum. None of these is a permitted ingredient for listed medicines in Australia, and the one camel trial we found showed no effect.
• You're hoping for a whole-body immune boost. In trials, the only antibody that rose was the one in saliva, and antibodies in the blood didn't change.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before starting.

• Bovine colostrum powder. Best known for: Spray-dried whole colostrum, and the only form Schedule 1 recognises as an active ingredient. Absorption: In the trials it acted on the gut and gut-lining markers, rather than by absorbing intact protein into the blood. Typical use: The only format that can practically reach the 25 to 45 g a day used in the gut, sports performance and recovery trials.
• Colostrum capsules and tablets. Best known for: The same powder, in portions, commonly 400 mg to 3,000 mg each in Australia. Absorption: Never compared with powder in any trial we hold. Typical use: It easily reaches the 0.5 to 1.0 g a day of the triple-blind cold trial, and the 3.2 g a day of the antioxidant trial. It cannot reach 25 g a day without an unrealistic number of capsules.
• Chewable colostrum. Best known for: Powder in a chewable base, so it spends longer in your mouth. Absorption: We hold no trial of a chewable form. Typical use: The idea that longer time in the mouth helps is reasoning based on the saliva and mouth-lining findings, not evidence. Treat it as a preference.
• Colostrum with added lactoferrin. Best known for: Adds isolated bovine lactoferrin, which is its own separate permitted ingredient with no required warning. Absorption: Lactoferrin was studied at 200 mg a day for inflammation, and at 35 to 833 mg a day in infant formulas. Typical use: Lactoferrin's own evidence doesn't carry over to colostrum: it cut respiratory infections in babies and children and did nothing in adults.
• Bovine whey immunoglobulin-rich fraction. Best known for: A whey fraction concentrated in immunoglobulins. It isn't colostrum, despite how it reads on a label. Absorption: We hold no human trial of it. Typical use: Allowed in medicines taken by mouth only, and carries the same under-12-months warning as colostrum.
• Non-bovine colostrum (goat, ovine, camel). Best known for: Sold as an alternative, with no Schedule 1 entry of any kind. Absorption: Not established. Typical use: The one camel colostrum trial we hold found no effect on either of its main goals. Don't treat these as swaps for bovine.
• Colostrum sold as a food rather than a listed medicine. Best known for: Many Australian colostrum powders have no AUST L number at all. Absorption: Unchanged. The difference is in the regulations, not the body. Typical use: A food is regulated under the Food Standards Code and may not carry a therapeutic claim. That's why two similar-looking tubs can say very different things.

Reference values. There isn't one. Colostrum isn't a nutrient, so it has no Australian recommended intake and isn't covered by the NHMRC figures.

Typical supplemental range. Doses in the research vary widely, so the right amount depends on why you're taking it. The lowest was 0.5 to 1.0 g a day, taken for 107 days in a placebo-controlled trial on colds. A trial on antioxidant markers used 3.2 g a day for six months, and an immune trial that found no effect used 6.4 g. Every trial that showed a benefit for the gut lining, endurance or recovery used 25 g, 38 g or 45 g a day. Australian capsules usually hold 400 mg to 3,000 mg, so two 400 mg capsules a day gives you 0.8 g. That's within the range of the colds trial, but well short of the others.

Upper level. Australia's permitted ingredients list (Schedule 1) sets no daily maximum for bovine colostrum powder, and we haven't found an established upper limit for people. The only safety reference comes from animals: a 90-day study in rats found no harmful effects at 4,200 mg per kilo of body weight a day, the highest dose tested. That study used a colostrum extract (ultrafiltrate) rather than whole powder, and it isn't a guide to dosing for people.

Worth knowing. The most common way colostrum gets oversold is quoting a result from a 20-gram trial next to a 400 milligram capsule. So match the format to your reason for taking it. Many Australian labels list an IgG percentage, but no trial we've seen compared results by IgG content or set a minimum effective level. A higher percentage is a product specification, not proof it works better. What suits you depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Bovine colostrum, the first milkings after calving: the only meaningful dietary source of concentrated colostrum bioactives, and it isn't sold as a retail milk
• Human colostrum: the equivalent for a human infant; a preterm meta-analysis found no difference between bovine and human colostrum on any outcome
• Ordinary cow's milk and dairy: the same proteins at far lower concentration; lactoferrin can be extracted from either milk or colostrum

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• Cow's milk protein allergy. Colostrum is concentrated casein and whey, and allergic reactions to casein are a known concern. Don't take it at all.
• Children under 12 months. The label must warn that it isn't suitable except on the advice of a health professional.
• Children under 2 years, where the product makes a cold or upper-respiratory claim. A second required age statement applies.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. The monograph advises against use, because safety and effectiveness information is lacking.
• Lactose intolerance. Colostrum is a dairy product, and how much lactose is left varies from product to product.
• Vegans and anyone avoiding animal products. All colostrum is bovine.
• General side effects. Mild nausea, wind, loose stools, an unpleasant taste and skin rash happen now and then.
• Premature babies. A 2025 review concluded colostrum cannot be recommended for them on current evidence.
• No serious medicine interaction is documented, but that means none has been recorded, not that none exists.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.