Colostrum for AIDS

Colostrum stimulates and strengthens a weakened immune system and those who take it on a regular basis, have a heightened ability to resist and fight infection, which is exactly what the HIV-positive or AIDS patient needs.

Colostrum activates or "turns on" the immune system in the newborn and it can do the same thing for the AIDS patient-or anyone, for that matter. It contains over 40 different immune factors, which work in harmony to support a stronger defense
mechanism. This is so critical for the AIDS patient, who dies-not from HIV-but, rather, from secondary infections which the immune system is no longer able to control.

One of the immune components in colostrum falls into a category called immunoglobulins. These are "functional antibodies," ready to combat a host of bacterial pathogens. In this way, colostrum can actually be a sort of secondary immune system for the AIDS patient.

Colostrum and colostral components can also be effective in reducing viral populations. A 1995 study conducted in the Netherlands indicated that the immune factor, lactoferrin, is one of the best ways to reduce viral levels in the body. It inhibited HIV replication in certain body cells and was able to completely
block cytomegalovirus infection. This same study concluded that bovine (cow) lactoferrin was up to

2.5 times more effective than human lactoferrin. Several other immune factors contained in colostrum have been shown to have anti-viral activity as well. In fact, a 1990 study reported in the Journal of Tropical Pediatrics identified a "non-specific virus-neutralizing activity" in non de-fatted colostrum.

Fights Wasting Syndrome

One of the most serious problems with AIDS is something called "wasting."
It is brought on by chronic diarrhea and results in a loss of vital nutrients and fluids. It also depletes the supply of intestinal antibodies, leaving the patient even more vulnerable to dangerous pathogens.

A 1992 study showed that out of 37 immuno-deficient patients with chronic diarrhea, 72 percent experienced significant improvement with the use of immunoglobulins from colostrum. Another study stated that colostrum immunoglobulins have been able to treat diarrhea-causing infections associated with AIDS, where no other treatment was effective.

Wasting occurs when the AIDS-infected body begins burning muscle for fuel. Here again, colostrum can help. The growth factors, contained in colostrum, also play a big role in supporting AIDS patients. Treatment with insulinlike growth actor-1 (IGF-1) and growth hormone (GH), both contained in colostrum, produce an increase in muscle mass, preventing the severe weight loss associated with wasting. If colostrum were used for no other reason than to reduce the diarrhea-induced wasting and to prevent the loss of muscle mass, it would greatly enhance quality of life for those who suffer from AIDS. However, in my experience,
colostrum can do so much more than this.

Volume 7, Number 6/ The Doctors' Prescription for Healthy Living 35

Prescription for Use of Colostrum by HIV & AIDS Patients

Work with your doctor should you begin to use colostrum and you are HIV positive or have AIDS. We generally recommend that consumers use a traditional first-milking colostrum. The best product that we know and recommend is Immune Tree first milking colostrum. We usually recommend purchasing the largest bulk containers possible at health food stores because we consider colostrum more like a food or food concentrate, rather than a dietary supplement to be taken in pill form. Of course, Immune Tree colostrum products can also be purchased as capsules and also in a product called Flex which should work well with HIV and AIDS patients.