Could something as simple as dairy colostrum help keep the weight off? A UW–Madison researcher thinks so.
Karen Antunes, a PhD candidate in the UW-Madison Department of Nutritional Sciences, is working with the UW Dairy Innovation Hub to explore how colostrum — the first form of milk produced by cows after calving — might help restore gut health after antibiotic use and potentially reduce obesity risk later in life.
Antibiotics kill harmful bacteria — the reason people are prescribed the medicine. However, Antunes explains that antibiotics also wipe out beneficial gut microbes. She says for young people, it can make it harder to rebuild a healthy gut. The imbalance has been linked to a higher risk of obesity.
In her study, mice given bovine colostrum after antibiotics gained less fat on a typical “Western diet” than mice who did not receive the supplement. The colostrum also improved their gut health, including a reduction in “leaky gut,” a condition where the gut lining becomes more permeable.
“It was pretty successful, and the changes were significant,” Antunes says.
More research is needed in humans, but the early results are a promising step in understanding how dairy products might support long-term metabolic health, she says.
