That’s when I decided to see my doctor.
I told him everything. The hope. The cramps. The bloating. The confusion. The failure.
He listened carefully.
Then he said something that changed everything.
“Martha, I’m honestly surprised so many people are taking cow colostrum. Most people can’t even digest it properly.”
I sat there stunned.
“What do you mean they can’t digest it?”
He explained it simply.
Human colostrum we take when we are born contains something called A2 protein. That’s what your body recognizes and knows how to process.
Cow colostrum contains A1 protein. It’s a different structure. And about 65 percent of people can’t break down A1 properly.
So when you take cow colostrum, your gut sees A1 as foreign. Something it doesn’t recognize.
And when your body doesn’t recognize something, it rejects it.
That’s when everything clicked.
That’s why the cramps felt like someone was pulling my intestines.
That’s why the bloating exploded overnight.
That’s why I felt worse, not better.
My body wasn’t broken.
It was doing exactly what it was supposed to do.
“So I’m not the problem?”
“You’re not the problem. The protein is.”
I felt relief. Then anger. “If 65 percent of people can’t digest cow colostrum, why is everyone taking it?”
He shrugged.
"Because cow colostrum is cheap. Easy to mass produce. Wildly profitable. The dairy industry has known about A1 versus A2 for decades. They just don't care. So supplement companies push it, influencers promote it, and people like you suffer."
I sat there processing everything.
"So what am I supposed to do? Just... give up on colostrum?"
"No. You just need the right kind."