What is Colostrum?
Colostrum is nature's first food—a powerful, nutrient-dense fluid produced by all mammals in the final days of pregnancy and immediately after birth. Often called "liquid gold" due to its thick, creamy texture and golden colour, colostrum is packed with essential nutrients that protect and nourish newborns during their critical first days of life.
Nature's Perfect First Food
Newborn mammals are born with underdeveloped immune and digestive systems. Colostrum bridges this gap by delivering a potent combination of:
- Antibodies and immunoglobulins to strengthen immunity
- Growth factors to support development
- Enzymes to aid digestion
- Proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats for optimal nutrition
Mothers produce colostrum for only 3-4 days after birth, but this small window provides everything a newborn needs to thrive. It's highly concentrated and easily digestible, making it nature's most efficient superfood.
The Science Behind Bovine Colostrum
Research has revealed something remarkable: colostrum is non-species specific. This means humans can benefit from bovine (cow) colostrum long after infancy—throughout childhood, adulthood, and into senior years.
Studies show that bovine colostrum supplementation may:
- Support immune function
- Help the body resist illness
- Promote gut health and digestion
- Enhance overall wellbeing
Here's the good news: Cows produce far more colostrum than their calves need. After birth, a cow produces approximately 25 litres of colostrum over 72 hours. The first 5 litres go to the calf—ensuring its health and survival—while the remaining colostrum can be ethically collected for human use.
Colostrum the Healing Miracle (New Image International)
New Image ALPHA LIPID Colostrum - ALPHA LIPID LIFELINE
Your Gut: The Foundation of Health
Want to boost your immunity? Start with your gut. This vital organ houses at least 70% of your immune system cells, making it your body's first line of defence.
Colostrum's immune-boosting power comes from its exceptionally high concentration of antibodies—particularly IgA and IgG. These antibodies are proteins that fight harmful pathogens and support your body's natural defences. In fact, colostrum contains 100 times more antibodies than regular cow's milk.
These antibodies work to:
- Balance your immune response
- Nourish and protect your gut lining
- Create a natural defence barrier against illness
- Support optimal nutrient absorption
A healthy gut wall means your body can effectively fight off bugs and maintain peak performance.
Colostrum and Digestive Health
Your gut health determines your overall wellbeing. Colostrum supports digestive wellness in multiple ways:
Strengthens the Gut Lining
Colostrum stimulates intestinal cell growth, strengthens the gut wall, and helps prevent intestinal permeability (often called "leaky gut").
Acts as a Natural Prebiotic
Lactoferrin, a key component in colostrum, acts as a prebiotic—stimulating the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. It also increases the surface area of your intestinal lining, improving nutrient absorption.
Supports a Healthy Microbiome
Rich in immunoglobulins and natural antibodies, colostrum helps improve your gut microbiome—the trillions of microbes living in your digestive tract. It encourages the growth of probiotics (friendly bacteria) that aid digestion, produce essential vitamins, and regulate harmful bacteria.
When you supplement with colostrum, you're giving your gut the support it needs to maintain a thriving bacterial ecosystem—setting the foundation for better health.
Not All Colostrum Products Are Created Equal
To experience maximum benefits, your body needs to receive as much bioactive colostrum as possible. The challenge? Colostrum must survive your harsh stomach environment to reach your intestines.
That's where Alpha Lipid™ technology makes all the difference.
This exclusive coating protects colostrum particles as they pass through your stomach, ensuring the nutrients remain intact. Because the Alpha Lipid™ coating is both water and fat-soluble, it enhances the spread and absorption of colostrum throughout your body—delivering superior results.
Please send an enquiry via our contact page if you are interested in the capsules or tablets
Alpha Lipid™ Colostrum Products
Alpha Lipid™ Lifeline™
Combines colostrum and probiotics for powerful immune and digestive support. Each serving contains:
- Over 1 billion probiotics
- 1000mg of calcium
- Essential vitamins and minerals
Simply add to your morning smoothie for a delicious, convenient health boost. Calcium supports strong bones, while probiotics encourage healthy digestion and normal gut flora.
Alpha Lipid™ Colostrum Capsules
Perfect for busy lifestyles—all the benefits of colostrum in an easy-to-swallow capsule. Take them anytime, anywhere. You can even open a capsule and sprinkle the contents over breakfast or mix into yoghurt or milk for children under 2 (use half the adult dose and consult your healthcare practitioner first).
Alpha Lipid™ Colostrum Tablets
Tasty, chewable vanilla-flavoured tablets suitable for children over 2 years (to prevent choking). These tablets support your body's natural repair processes while delivering the immune-boosting benefits of colostrum.
Alpha Lipid™ Colostrum offers perfect protection for busy, active families who want to stay healthy and strong.
Why would I choose to take Colostrum?
- Can help lower LDL cholesterol
(and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease). - May play a role in reversing heart disease through immune system support.
- Assists immunity for everyday wellness.
- Supports gut health and digestive comfort.
- Supports healthy ageing.
- Supports healthy tissues and muscles including heart muscle.
- Support for your body's healing and repair processes: mucosal cell lining, heart tissue, blood vessels.
As always, if you are on any medications or suffer from chronic health conditions, speak with a health care professional before consuming any dietary or nutritional supplements.
How is Colostrom Harvested?
Once a cow has given birth, she produces approximately 25 litres of colostrum over the following 36 hours. The first five litres is given to the calf as this is vital for its survival and health. These five litres provide sufficient colostrum to ensure adequate nutrition to the calf and to safeguard herd quality. Subsequent production of colostrum and milk for the future is also maintained by this practice.
The remaining colostrum is collected, skimmed and flash-pasteurised at 72°C for 15 seconds. This is long enough to kill any pathogenic microbes but not long enough to damage the delicate bioactive elements of colostrum. The product is then low heat dried to maintain the bioactivity and leave a white powder.
Low heat drying was pioneered in New Zealand and results in a loss of bioactivity of less than 3%. After it is low heat dried, the colostrum powder is manufactured into powdered drinks, capsules and tablets.
Where is the Colostrum collected?
In New Zealand, cows enjoy open green pasture and are free roaming. Their care is maintained by strict government regulations and New Zealand farmers are recognised around the world for their superior farming techniques and standards. New Zealand colostrum is collected fresh and processed immediately. In some countries, colostrum is not so fresh because it is frozen prior to processing.
Once our colostrum is collected, it is stored in a sterilised stainless steel tank to be picked up for processing on the same day. The colostrum is then tested for purity and levels of bio-active ingredients. The colostrum used by New Image has earned wide respect and recognition for its quality. Only the highest quality colostrum is used, under strict guidelines enforced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA).
Collection:
New Zealand has over 5.5 million dairy cows. Each year the cows will give birth to calves within a 3 month period. During this period, a large quantity of fresh colostrum is collected and process without the need for refrigerating and defrosting.
Each year, New Image supplies as much as 1000 tonnes of colostrum blended powder product.
Stringent Manufacturing Process
Processing: Flash Pasteurization
90% of the activeness of Immunoglobulins G (IgG) is retained after pasteurization.