Boost Your Immunity This Winter!!!!!!
As the clocks change over this WINTER, we’ll begin to layer up our clothes, stare at our watches in disbelief when the sun goes down, and become that much more aware of the cooler winter months are here.
They say change is good, and a change in season is the perfect time to alter your diet and lifestyle for the better.
Temperatures are dropping, the days are getting shorter, and we are all doing our best to stay healthy
Good nutrition, getting your fill of essential immune defending vitamins and minerals, ensuring you’re having adequate sleep, actively reducing stress, looking after your gut, and reducing inflammation will all help prepare your body for the fight against those nasty winter invaders.
IT's time for another, more effective plan of action! A healthy gut is the bedrock of a strong immune system.
Colostrum in BGUT – A powerful fighter against infections
More recently, colostrum has been investigated as an immunological agent for its ability to reduce the effects of gastrointestinal infection, especially in individuals who are immuno-compromised.
Colostrum has also gained recent popularity as a sports supplement for improving muscle gain, performance and recovery time.
Bioactive Components in Colostrum:
1.Immunoglobulins: Immunoglobulins (Igs) are glycoproteins that form an important part of the immune system. They are special immune cells (activated by B lymphocytes) produced by the body in response to the host being exposed to foreign substances (antigens) such as infectious microbes. The Igs are directed specifically to the antigen that induced their formation.
The two predominant Igs in colostrum are:
- IgG
- IgA
immunoglobulins work to:
- neutralise toxins or viruses
- prevent adhesion of pathogens to host cell surfaces e.g. intestinal epithelium
- bind the bacteria
- enhance the ability of host immune cells to remove pathogens (opsonisation)
- damage the micro-organisms themselves e.g. in conjunction with complement cells
2.Growth Factors:Growth factors have the ability to stimulate the growth of various cells. Some of their biological activities include the stimulation of growth of chondrocytes, fibroblasts, epithelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and the promotion of cell differentiation (Xu and Wang, 1996).
The main growth factors found in bovine colostrum are:
- IGF (insulin like growth factor) 1 and 2
- TGF (transforming growth factor) b1 and b2
- EGF (epithelial growth factor).
These growth factors are relatively stable to both heat and acidic conditions; hence they survive milk processing and gastric acid to maintain biological activity. They exhibit muscle and cartilage repair characteristics and promote wound healing with implications for trauma and surgical healing (Uruakpa et al 2002).
3.Lactoferrin:Lactoferrin is an iron binding glycoprotein. It is a natural antioxidant with antibacterial, antiviral and immune-stimulating properties. Lactoferrin also plays a role in the activation of phagocytes and immune response
Some of the biological roles of lactoferrin may be dependent on its iron-binding activity. It is thought that lactoferrin competes with pathogenic bacteria for iron, so that its ability to bind iron tightly renders the iron unavailable for bacterial growth.
4.Lactoperoxidase:Lactoperoxidase is an enzyme which catalyses the oxidation of thiocyanate ions, together with hydrogen peroxide, to reactive intermediates with anti-microbial and antioxidant properties (Perraudin and Reiter, 1998). This enzyme may be partially activated by forming a complex with lysozyme, and it may also have an additive effect with lactoferrin (Pakkanen and Aalto, 1997).
Summary
Colostrum products offer several advantages over traditional therapeutic products (Kandiah, 1999):
- Oral delivery,Relatively biologically stable in the gastrointestinal tract
- Not significantly absorbed or trans-located into the systemic circulation
- Able to target bacteria as well as their toxins and can prevent and treat viral and parasitic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
- Pathogen-specific, unlike conventional broad spectrum antibodies which tend to disrupt the natural, beneficial gastrointestinal flora
- Polyclonal, enabling them to bind to multiple sites on the pathogen or associated toxin.
NATURALLY STRENGTHEN UR IMMUNE SYSTEM DURING WINTER WITH "BGUT" @ Quest Biotech Colostrum rich Pre & Probiotic "
