Colostrum Colostrum Colostrum (known colloquially as beestings, bisnings or first milk) is the first form of milk produced by the mammary glands of mammals (including many humans) immediately following delivery of the newborn. Most species will generate colostrum just prior to giving birth. Colostrum contains antibodies to protect the newborn against disease. In general, protein concentration in colostrum is substantially higher than in milk. Fat concentration is substantially higher in colostrum than in milk in some species, e.g. sheep and horses, but lower in colostrum than in milk in some other species, e.g. camels and humans. In swine, fat concentration of
Milk Some studies suggest that milk consumption may increase the risk of suffering from certain health problems. Cow's milk allergy (CMA) is an immunologically mediated adverse reaction, rarely fatal, to one or more cow's milk proteins. Milk from any mammal contains amino acids and microRNA which influence the drinker's metabolism and growth; this "programming" is beneficial for milk's natural consumers, namely infants of the same species as the milk producer, but post-infancy and trans-species milk consumption affects the mTORC1 metabolic pathway and may promote diseases of civilization such as obesity and diabetes. Milk contains exogenous opioid peptides called exorphins which include