There's a supplement that is little known, but fast growing in popularity with athletes and those suffering from IBS. That's me. I'm blessed with what might be described as a very sensitive stomach. For instance, I only have to look at cashews and my stomach is bloated like a balloon for the next 24 hours. Not so comfortable.
So this supplement is called colostrum. Warning: what follows might sound weird. Very weird. But devoting two minutes to reading this article may just supercharge your performance levels, sort out any gastro-intestinal troubles and leave you stronger and healthier than ever before. Colostrum is mother's milk. Not human mothers, you'll be pleased to hear, (though all mammals do make colostrum), but in this case, the milk of cows that have just given birth.
So far, so weird.
What's cool about colostrum, and why increasing amounts of people are taking it as a cheeky add-on in their diet, is that it's absolutely chock-full of hormones. These hormones are designed to help newly-born calves grow quickly and adapt to the world, but guess what, they also help the human stomach become bulletproof in strength.
Look, I'm no scientist or nutritionist. I just know my own belly has reacted in an extraordinary way with this. I try a lot of new and crazy potions and supplements on my podcast Zestology in the quest for vitality and health, and it pays to be skeptical until I've really experienced the benefits of something. I was totally unsure about this one, bearing in mind most whey proteins leave me doubled up in the bathroom. (Attractive, right?). But with colostrum, almost the instant I started taking it, it worked. I expected balloon stomach, and what I got instead was a nice and settled tummy. It carried on that way. My digestion hasn't been this good in years.
Now the geeky stuff. Proline-Rich Polypeptides turn up in this stuff. That's good, apparently. They have been shown to be effective in the treatment of many health conditions, most notably neurodegenerative conditions (such as Alzheimer's - wow), viral infections, autoimmune conditions, asthma, and allergic conditions. Translation, take it when you have a cold, bad stomach, virus, or something more serious, and popping a few weird little capsules might help you recover more quickly. Apparently you can even use it as a miracle skin mask. Yeh, that's a step too far for me too.
With reputable companies the newly-born calves always get their fill BEFORE the colostrum is harvested as a supplement. So it might be worth you trying out colostrum.
I'm not selling anything. I'm not part of the colostrum marketing board, and I've deliberately not mentioned any company here (although make sure you go for a clean brand that doesn't contain any antibiotics and synthetic hormones). I'm just on a mission to get the best wellbeing info out to as many people as possible, and for me, colostrum has turned out to be one of nature's superfoods.