An ancient food for modern times
Colostrum - an ancient food for modern times
COLOSTRUM IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
John Heinerman Ph.D
The following excerpts are from the booklet that Heinerman wrote in 1999. Heinerman is a medical anthropologist, who lives in Salt Lake City. He has written other articles and books. VHN is happy to provide this information as one man's view of the history of colostrum. As with all anthropological and archeological studies, conjecture and imagination based on a scientific and social background play an important role in understanding our past. VHN will publish these excerpts in installments based upon available space in our publication.COLOSTRUM IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
Part One Historical Evidence Colostrum was used in ancient times by different cultures for both nourishment and remedial purposes. In an apocryphal work entitled "The Book of Sirach" (written sometime between 300-275 BC), this "first milk" from a female animal who had just given birth, was ranked up there with wheat, honey, salt, water, fire and iron as being some of the "necessities of life." (R.H. Charles' The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of The Old Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976; I: 459). Among the Hebrews the term "halab" had as one possible meaning a reference to the "new milk" that animal and human mothers routinely produced for their newborns. "Halab" occurred more than forty times in the Old Testament alone, signifying that this form of "nature's perfect food" occupied an important position in the diet of these ancient people. (Rev. T. K. Cheyne and J. S. Black, Encyclopedia Biblica. London: Adam and Charles Black, 1902; 3:3088-89) [Ed note: In the New Testament (NIV),1 Peter 2:2 reads: "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,..." Several versions of this verse refer to the pure milk that newborns crave. This strongly suggests that colostrum's properties were well known in early Christian times. The reference to "newborns" as opposed to simply infants or babies, and the concept of a "pure milk" or special milk both suggest a metaphorical comparison of the value of the Word to the value of colostrum.] Colostrum in those times was derived primarily from cattle and goats, the latter being especially prized on account of its taste and richness (see Proverbs 27:27). The fresh colostrum was usually stored in leather skins which modern translators have referred to as "bottles " (see Judges 4:19).
On The Other Side of the Flood Scholars refer to the time before the Great Flood as the Antediluvian Era, and the people who lived in such a period of time as antediluvians. One of the most popular and reliable ancient histories, which briefly discuss these people, is Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus. (Two of the best translations are by the Englishman William Whiston and the Frenchman Arnauld D'Andilly; the former is more common, while the latter is more difficult to find.)
In recounting the well-known story of Cain and Abel, Josephus mentions that "Abel presented new milk [or colostrum], and the firstlings of his fold" as a sacrifice to God, while "Cain offered the fruits of his labors and planting." Interestingly enough, while Cain's produce was rejected as being unacceptable, Abel's offerings were highly approved of! Undoubtedly the inclusion of sheep colostrum must have had something to do with it!
Is Colostrum the "Food of Youth"?
We now come to another equally interesting discussion, which Josephus made concerning the extensive age of many of these antediluvians, which ran into the hundreds of years. He declared that their incredibly advanced age was true and that we shouldn't question it just because of "our present age and the shortness thereof"; nor should we be comparing the puny lengths of our brief lives "with the long life of those ancients.. .who were beloved of God, and newly created by him". Josephus attributed so many centuries of living to several factors.
First, most of those antediluvians were virtuous people and taught the principles of virtue to their children. Second, they kept themselves busy and their minds occupied with useful pursuits and "the sciences of astronomy and geometry, which they had invented." But the primary reason for such sustained longevity was due to "a kind of nutrient agreeing with their natures, and proper to prolong their lives" (D'Andilly translation) or "because their food was then litter for the prolongation of life" (Whiston version).
I prefer the Frenchman's rendering of Josephus' original Greek to that of the Englishman, for I think "a kind of nutriment is more singly specific than the plural implications which 'food' holds." It doesn't take much mental exercise to see that D'Andilly's reference to "a kind of nutriment" is a direct inference to colostrum, plain and simple! Since colostrum is so renowned for its "renewal" qualities, is it any wonder that people lived for many centuries in the Antediluvian Era?
This has to be the "Food of Youth" if anything ever was! IGF Factors for Body Renewal. In subsequent chapters you will learn more about some of the major constituents in colostrum. But for our discussion here I'll mention one group of them now; these are the Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), which represent a family of very significant peptides. One of them is designated as IGF-1. It is recognized as being a point stimulator of growth at the cellular, skeletal and muscle/nerve tissue levels. Bovine colostrum is extremely rich in this and related growth peptides.
As our bodies grow older they tend to lose much of this IGF-1, as well as growth factor (GF) itself. The most obvious physical signs of such depletion are manifested in a thinning of the hair and skin, wrinkling of the face, pouches beneath the eyes, sagging cheeks, thinned lips, gingival retraction, thinned jawbones, loose skin folds under the chin, less muscled shoulders, dropping triceps, meager wrinkling of hands, less muscular buttocks, sagging inner sides of both thighs, floppy belly and fatty cushions above the knees.
But when doctors, who specialize in treating old age symptoms, administer both IGF-1 and GF to such elderly patients, most of these things eventually disappear! (Drs. Ronald M. Klatz and Robert Goldman, Anti-Aging Medical Therapeutics. Marina Del Rey, CA: Health Quest Publications, 1997; p. 12)
The Longevity Secrets of Russian Centenarians Part Two
The Longevity Secrets of Russian Centenarians From this evidence the logical conclusion can be made that colostrum's numerous growth hormones and anti-aging compounds will continually rejuvenate older tissue mass and create a look of fullness to otherwise wasting flesh. Back in 1979 when the Soviet Union was still intact, I had the opportunity to go there along with some other scientists for a period of almost two months. As invited guests of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, we were given special privileges and broad freedoms to pretty much go where we wanted in order to do our research, which just happened to be in the area of geriatric medicine, with a particular focus on longevity.
In company with other colleagues (and several translators provided for our group), I visited several Soviet republics (most notably Abkhasia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) where there were known to reside quite a number of centenarians. Many of those whom we met had verifiable ages well over 110.1 spoke with nineteen different men and women who ranged in years from 114 to 126. The majority certainly didn't show their extreme age in the same way that most very elderly Americans presently do. In fact, aside from some gray hair and occasionally wrinkled skin, virtually none of them suffered from any obvious wasting of muscle tissue. For the most part they looked as hale and hearty as a bunch of well-fed seventy-year-olds here in the States. Eager to know their "secret" for being so remarkably well-preserved, I investigated further and discovered several food items common to all: black rye bread, dark raw honey, green onions and garlic cloves and frequent helpings of fresh colostrum!
During every interview I always remembered to ask if anyone ever suffered from indigestion, heartburn, diarrhea or constipation. To my amazement not one of them did! I concluded that it undoubtedly had been the colostrum from assorted domesticated mammals, which has been responsible for their excellent state of health. (Years later I compiled much of this research data into a national best-seller, Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Anti-Aging Remedies (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.)
The 'Perfect Food' for Balanced Health
It was largely due to these first-hand observations with genuine centenarians in the former USSR that I later became convinced that colostrum was "a kind of nutriment" for the antediluvians. Josephus declared this to be "agreeing with their natures, and proper to prolong their lives." In my opinion, colostrum is, indeed, the "food of youth."
COLOSTRUM AND THE MEANING OF LIFE
Origins and Purposes
Of all the varied forms of life upon planet Earth, none are as unique or special as mammals. They are warm-blooded creatures. And except for egg-laying monotremes such as the platypus or spiny anteater, all other mammals give birth to live young. Land- based mammals include the horse, cow, sheep, goat, pig, camel, antelope, deer, cat, dog, wolf, bear, lion, tiger and so forth. Man, along with the monkey, ape and lemur belong to that class of mammals known as primates. Aquatic mammals include the whale, porpoise, dolphin, manatee, seal, sea lion and walrus.
Besides giving birth to live young, one other unique feature distinctive only to mammals is that all females have mammary glands, which secrete vital substances important to the health and well-being of their newborns. Immediately before and right after the delivery of the young, all mammalian milk secreted by females, whether land-based or water-dwelling, contains a thin protein-rich substance known as colostrum. This usually lasts for two to four days. The highly readable two-volume work, Milk: The Mammary Gland and Its Secretions (1961) by editors S. K. Kon and A.T. Cowie, explains in a very comprehensive way the tremendous importance of this pre-milk substance.
Colostrum is incredibly rich in essential amino acids, those protein building blocks that are a definite requirement for growth, development and protection against bacterial and viral infections. As explained in this monumental study on milk in general, life really couldn't go on for very long without the introduction of colostrum into the young bodies of mammalian newborns. Regardless of whether it be a colt, calf, lamb, kitten, puppy, human boy or girl, or infant whale or baby seal, every single mammalian offspring requires colostrum. Usually within 48 to 96 hours following parturition, the colostrum in most mammals has become transitional milk. Mature milk is then secreted some ten days after delivery.
An ironic twist of creation, however, makes humans dependent upon colostrum later in their adult lives; whereas no other land or aquatic mammal will require it as they grow and mature. This later need for more colostrum in man is due in large part, believe it or not, to his extremely complex system of living arrangements and the various stresses which such a sophisticated life style obviously imposes. It would be fair to say, based on what we know about mammalian colostrum in general, that without it, newborn life of any kind would have a very short existence as measured in a few days or weeks at the most.
Zoologists, with whom I have spoken concerning the role of colostrum in Mammalia, have been unanimous in their belief that it defines the physical and mental development of life after birth better than any other substance in those first critical days upon arrival.
Neanderthal Strength Due to Colostrum?
During the end of the ice age and when a wide variety of large mammals such as the saber-toothed tiger, woolly mammoth and giant sloth were roaming the planet, an exceptionally robust regional variant of archaic Homo Sapiens emerged. These were the Neanderthals, and they were unlike any other human being before or since their time. Discovery of one of their skeletal remains in 1856 in the Neander Valley (Neanderthal in German) near Dusseldorf gave them their famous name by which they've become known. They've managed to intrigue the world ever since.
The Neanderthal race lived during times when the climate was cooler in their habitat. They hung out mostly in Western Europe, but some did manage to wander as far as Palestine. Neanderthals had big brains in keeping with their larger body size. However, expanded cranial capacities didn't necessarily equate to higher IQs. Besides bigger noses, larger jaws, stronger teeth, denser bones and more closely compacted muscle tendons, the women had wider pelvises and birth canals; 20% bigger than their modern American counterparts. Neanderthal females were capable of delivering heavier babies, averaging 12 to 15 pounds ? after nearly a year's gestation! Furthermore, according to the book In Search of the Neanderthals (New York: Thames & Hudson Inc., 1993) by paleoanthropologists Christopher Stringer and Clive Gamble, Neanderthal bodies were built "unbelievably strong". What they didn't make up for in height (averaging 5 feet usually), they certainly compensated for in very tough and lean body mass. This short and stocky physique is somewhat reminiscent of that modern Inuit (formerly Eskimos), albeit more extreme. In fact, as both authors have correctly noted, we seem "very puny" in comparison to these physically overbuilt and super-strong human beings.
Such facts, of course, raise the question as to how they managed to get this way in the first place. There is enough evidence to suggest that they may have had frequent access to a variety of mammalian colostrum throughout much of their limited life spans. Neanderthals were definitely not vegetarians, as many of their common hunting sites have demonstrated. The great variety of animals they hunted included bison, giant deer, red deer, pig, ibex, antelope, wild sheep, musk ox, gazelle, wild goat and woolly mammoths.
It appears from the great frequency of bones in certain locales (up to 90%) that these people had a definite preference for aurochs, or giant primitive cattle, and reindeer. Scientists who've specialized in studying such things have interpreted these large skeletal remains in different ways. Some anthropologists (including myself) are of the opinion that these aurochs and reindeer were kept for other food purposes besides their basic meat value. Several Icelandic studies have reported that reindeer colostrum is one of the richest in the world in terms of nutrients.
The same could also be inferred for auroch colostrum, though they have been extinct for several thousand years. A few evolutionary biologists have also bought into the "colostrum feeding" habits of these Neanderthals, even going so far as to insist that these people regularly consumed the pre-milk substance whenever it became available. And some paleontologists think that the fairly consistent combination of lean red meat and mammalian colostrum may have contributed to the extreme bone mass density and incredibly strong striated muscle tissue for which these people were so famously known. Additionally, the bone marrow, brains, hearts, livers, kidneys, stomachs and other choice internal parts were highly desired and consumed with obvious relish. All of these organs are intensely concentrated with key trace elements critical to human health needs.
Muscle Growth & Energy Output
Mammalian colostrum, especially that obtained from long- since-extinct giant primitive cattle, was an obvious backup choice. Its various growth components helped to build thick stout bones, tough muscle sinews and fuel a very rugged and robust human engine in general. In fact, had it not been for a variety of mammalian colostrum, these and similar Paleolithic races (such as the Cro-Magnon) would surely have perished well in advance of when they actually did.
The Meaning of Life
Quite frankly, life can be absolute boredom without frequent physical activity of some kind. The Neanderthals were more into survival than we are, but certainly had their own peculiar leisure pastimes. In any event, they were always expending great amounts of physical energy. In order to do so confidently and normally, it seems without a doubt that they turned to mammalian colostrum quite often to make such demanding actions possible.
Historical Evidence
Colostrum was used in ancient times by different cultures for both nourishment and remedial purposes. In an apocryphal work entitled "The Book of Sirach" (written sometime between 300-275 BC), this "first milk" from a female animal who had just given birth, was ranked up there with wheat, honey, salt, water, fire and iron as being some of the "necessities of life." (R.H. Charles' The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of The Old Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976; I: 459).
Among the Hebrews the term "halab" had as one possible meaning a reference to the "new milk" that animal and human mothers routinely produced for their newborns. "Halab" occurred more than forty times in the Old Testament alone, signifying that this form of "nature's perfect food" occupied an important position in the diet of these ancient people. (Rev. T. K. Cheyne and J. S. Black, Encyclopedia Biblica. London: Adam and Charles Black, 1902; 3:3088-89) [Ed note: In the New Testament (NIV),1 Peter 2:2 reads: "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,..." Several versions of this verse refer to the pure milk that newborns crave. This strongly suggests that colostrum's properties were well known in early Christian times.
The reference to "newborns" as opposed to simply infants or babies, and the concept of a "pure milk" or special milk both suggest a metaphorical comparison of the value of the Word to the value of colostrum.] Colostrum in those times was derived primarily from cattle and goats, the latter being especially prized on account of its taste and richness (see Proverbs 27:27). The fresh colostrum was usually stored in leather skins, which modern translators have referred to as "bottles " (see Judges 4:19).
On The Other Side of the Flood Scholars refer to the time before the Great Flood as the Antediluvian Era, and the people who lived in such a period of time as antediluvians. One of the most popular and reliable ancient histories, which briefly discuss these people, is Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus. (Two of the best translations are by the Englishman William Whiston and the Frenchman Arnauld D'Andilly; the former is more common, while the latter is more difficult to find.)
In recounting the well-known story of Cain and Abel, Josephus mentions that "Abel presented new milk [or colostrum], and the firstlings of his fold" as a sacrifice to God, while "Cain offered the fruits of his labors and planting." Interestingly enough, while Cain's produce was rejected as being unacceptable, Abel's offerings were highly approved of! Undoubtedly the inclusion of sheep colostrum must have had something to do with it!
Is Colostrum the "Food of Youth"?
We now come to another equally interesting discussion, which Josephus made concerning the extensive age of many of these antediluvians, which ran into the hundreds of years. He declared that their incredibly advanced age was true and that we shouldn't question it just because of "our present age and the shortness thereof"; nor should we be comparing the puny lengths of our brief lives "with the long life of those ancients.. .who were beloved of God, and newly created by him."
Josephus attributed so many centuries of living to several factors. First, most of those antediluvians were virtuous people and taught the principles of virtue to their children. Second, they kept themselves busy and their minds occupied with useful pursuits and "the sciences of astronomy and geometry, which they had invented." But the primary reason for such sustained longevity was due to "a kind of nutrient agreeing with their natures, and proper to prolong their lives" (D'Andilly translation) or "because their food was then litter for the prolongation of life" (Whiston version).
I prefer the Frenchman's rendering of Josephus' original Greek to that of the Englishman, for I think "a kind of nutriment is more singly specific than the plural implications which 'food' holds." It doesn't take much mental exercise to see that D'Andilly's reference to "a kind of nutriment" is a direct inference to colostrum, plain and simple!
Since colostrum is so renowned for its "renewal" qualities, is it any wonder that people lived for many centuries in the Antediluvian Era? This has to be the "Food of Youth" if anything ever was! IGF Factors for Body Renewal In subsequent chapters you will learn more about some of the major constituents in colostrum. But for our discussion here I'll mention one group of them now; these are the Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), which represent a family of very significant peptides.
One of them is designated as IGF-1. It is recognized as being a point stimulator of growth at the cellular, skeletal and muscle/nerve tissue levels. Bovine colostrum is extremely rich in this and related growth peptides. As our bodies grow older they tend to lose much of this IGF-1, as well as growth factor (GF) itself. The most obvious physical signs of such depletion are manifested in a thinning of the hair and skin, wrinkling of the face, pouches beneath the eyes, sagging cheeks, thinned lips, gingival retraction, thinned jawbones, loose skin folds under the chin, less muscled shoulders, dropping triceps, meager wrinkling of hands, less muscular buttocks, sagging inner sides of both thighs, floppy belly and fatty cushions above the knees. But when doctors, who specialize in treating old age symptoms, administer both IGF-1 and GF to such elderly patients, most of these things eventually disappear! (Drs. Ronald M. Klatz and Robert Goldman, Anti-Aging Medical Therapeutics. Marina Del Rey, CA: Health Quest Publications, 1997; p. 12)
As mankind evolved into civilized societies, some of the practical health knowledge from prehistoric times carried over. The use of colostrum as a therapeutic agent for different medical problems was one of these. Of course it went by other names, but the healing integrity of the substance remained the same. From the world's oldest known surviving medical text we know that colostrum was frequently employed by surgeons when treating different types of wounds in 2800 BC.
The famous Egyptian language scholar, James Henry Breasted, translated the remaining fragments and included his own scientific commentaries in a two-volume work entitled The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1930).
The papyrus was so named after the young American Egyptologist, Edwin Smith, who saved the document from ultimate destruction by purchasing it in several different pieces from some 19th century tomb robbers. Based on a single reference to it in another later medical papyrus (Ebers), Breasted believed that the Smith Papyrus was anciently called "Secret Book of the Physician," and was around in the latter part of the Old Kingdom period of ancient Egypt. Other Egyptian medical papyri invariably contained elements of magic and mysticism among their numerous remedies, but not so with Smith's document. It was unique because of its strict scientific discipline and no prayers to any Egyptian gods could be found in it at all.
In all, 48 cases were preserved in this treatise, beginning at the top of the head and proceeding downward to the thorax and spine, where the document unfortunately breaks off. The surgeon writing up each case must have had background experience with embalming, for his methods of stitching, bandaging, splinting and casting surely reflect the knowledge of someone who worked in funeral preparations at one time.
The Smith Papyrus contains different "one-of-a-kind" items that no other Egyptian medical papyri have: Taking a patient's pulse is mentioned 2,500 years before it appeared in Greek medical treatises. For the first time in recorded human speech, the word "brain" occurs. That word never surfaced again until some 2,000 years afterwards in Greek medical documents. At least 2+ millennia before the Greeks, Egyptian surgeons understood the heart to be the governing force in the cardiac system. Muscles, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels were known to the Egyptians in 2800 BC. It wouldn't be until around 400 BC that the Greeks would discover these things for themselves. Medical schools existed at least 2+ millennia longer in Egypt than they did in the time of the Greek "father of medicine", Hippocrates.
In the Egyptian medical system of 2800 BC there was always a clear distinction between doctor and surgeon. (The Smith Papyrus was exclusively for surgeons!) Colostrum Following Surgery The most common injuries reflected in this medical treatise are fractures and broken bones. Little wonder, when consideration is made of the tens of thousands of mechanics and workmen employed on the vast public works projects such as temples, palaces and pyramids, where accidents must have been plentiful indeed!
Therefore, it isn't difficult to understand why there are 33 cases of injured bones among the 48 cases mentioned in this treatise. After resorting to surgical measures, the ancient surgeon's two favorite remedies for an injury were "fresh meat" and "new birth milk." (Cows were abundant in Egypt as suggested by the 41st chapter of Genesis.) The repaired injury was first rinsed with "new birth milk" or colostrum, after which a piece of "fresh meat" was applied, but only for the first day. It was bound on and then usually followed by an application of lint saturated with ointment composed of a little "new birth milk", melted animal fat and honey, which was also held on with elaborate bandages.
The treatise suggests that "new birth milk" or colostrum be given to the patient internally to prevent tetanus from occurring in cases of serious injury to the skull. Some of the other interesting material medica mentioned in The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus are a decoction of willow (essentially salicin from which aspirin was first derived), employed as a disinfectant; an ammoniac application for allaying inflammation; and for astringent purposes, a solution containing salts of copper and sodium.
In a 1983 issue of Endocrinology (112 (6) 2215-7:13-18), doctors specifically mentioned that the oligo- and polysaccharide compounds in colostrum bind many types of bacteria and prevent them from attaching to or entering the body through the mucosal membranes. Talk about a deja vu experience! The surgeon author of Smith Papyrus had "already been there, done that, and moved on" numerous times to other patients some 4,800 years ago from our present time! Editor's Note: Dr. Heinerman's book contains references to the physical and treatment possibilities of colostrum.
CNR is studying the publication of the complete text as a booklet for sale in upcoming months. To reach Dr. Heinerman for personal health questions or to order any of his 57 different health books, enclose with your inquiry an SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) for a response.
