Quick answer
No study has compared times of day for colostrum. In the two low-dose trials, people took 500 mg in the morning and 500 mg in the evening, 30 minutes before a meal, and a student trial used an empty stomach. Higher-dose trials split 20 g into morning and evening doses, some with meals.1,2,3,4
Key facts
- Both trials behind colostrum's graded benefit used a morning and an evening dose, each 30 minutes before a meal.1,2
- In one study, about 19% of cow IgG drunk after an overnight fast reached the end of the small intestine still active.5
- Exercise trials gave colostrum daily for 2 to 12 weeks before testing, not as one dose before a workout.4,6
- Processing and pasteurization are among the reasons colostrum products differ in activity.7
How trials timed their doses
In the two low-dose trials, people took one 500 mg dose in the morning and one in the evening, each 30 minutes before a meal, for 20 days.1,2
In the student trial, doses were taken on an empty stomach with water or a teaspoon of natural yogurt: morning and evening for 15 days, then mornings only for 30 days.3
Higher-dose trials split 20 g a day into 10 g in the morning and 10 g in the evening, in one trial with meals. Others gave 10 g each morning, mixed with water and milk.4
| Trial | Daily amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Athletes, 20 days | 1 g | 500 mg morning and evening, 30 minutes before a meal |
| University students, 45 days | 1 g, then 500 mg | Morning and evening on an empty stomach, then mornings only |
| Exercise training, 10 to 12 weeks | 20 g | 10 g morning and 10 g evening, in one trial with meals |
| Exercise training, about 8 weeks | 10 g | Each morning, mixed with water and milk |
No trial set one schedule against another. These are the times that were used, not times shown to work better.
Empty stomach or with food
In seven healthy adults who drank a cow immunoglobulin concentrate after an overnight fast, about 19% of the IgG reached the end of the small intestine still active. Other milk proteins are more than 90% digested by that point.5
That study gave the concentrate after an overnight fast. A 2021 review notes that casein and a trypsin inhibitor in colostrum may shield its proteins from digestion, but no trial has compared colostrum taken with and without food.5,7
Before or after a workout
In a crossover trial, 12 volunteers took colostrum or placebo every day for 14 days before a standard hard run, rather than as a single dose just before it.6
The longer exercise trials ran 8 to 12 weeks, again with daily doses, so none of them tells you whether a single dose just before training does anything.4
Most studies found that colostrum does not raise blood levels of the growth factor IGF-1, either in the hours after a dose or over 4 to 12 weeks, because it is broken down during digestion.8
Hot drinks
Processing, storage and pasteurization are among the reasons commercial colostrum products have differed up to six-fold in activity. Our label says to mix the powder into a chilled drink and drink it within 10 minutes, and we found no study of colostrum taken in coffee or tea.7
What's in ours
What’s in ours
- Colostrum: Bovine Colostrum (25% Immunoglobulin G), 2,300 mg per serving, from the label
Timing and medicines
The sources we use document no interaction between colostrum and any medicine, and no study has looked at spacing the two apart. If you take a prescription medicine, ask your pharmacist how to fit colostrum around it.
A milk allergy rules colostrum out at any time of day.
Questions people ask
Should I take colostrum in the morning or at night?
Both have been used. The low-dose trials gave one dose in the morning and one in the evening, and the student trial moved to mornings only after 15 days.1,3
Can I mix colostrum into coffee?
We found no study of colostrum in coffee. Processing and heat exposure are among the reasons products differ in activity, and our label says to use a chilled drink.7
See what we make
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Sources
- Hałasa M, Maciejewska D, Baśkiewicz-Hałasa M, et al. Oral Supplementation with Bovine Colostrum Decreases Intestinal Permeability and Stool Concentrations of Zonulin in Athletes. Nutrients. 2017;9(4):370. Opened 2026-10-01.
- Hałasa M, Maciejewska-Markiewicz D, Baśkiewicz-Hałasa M, et al. Post-Delivery Milking Delay Influence on the Effect of Oral Supplementation with Bovine Colostrum as Measured with Intestinal Permeability Test. Medicina (Kaunas). 2020;56(10):495. Opened 2026-10-01.
- Baśkiewicz-Hałasa M, Stachowska E, Grochans E, et al. Moderate Dose Bovine Colostrum Supplementation in Prevention of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Medical University Students: A Randomized, Triple Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Nutrients. 2023;15(8):1925. Opened 2026-10-01.
- Jones AW, March DS, Curtis F, Bridle C. Bovine colostrum supplementation and upper respiratory symptoms during exercise training: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2016;8:21. Opened 2026-10-01.
- Roos N, Mahé S, Benamouzig R, Sick H, Rautureau J, Tomé D. 15N-labeled immunoglobulins from bovine colostrum are partially resistant to digestion in human intestine. J Nutr. 1995;125(5):1238-1244. Opened 2026-10-07.
- Marchbank T, Davison G, Oakes JR, et al. The nutriceutical bovine colostrum truncates the increase in gut permeability caused by heavy exercise in athletes. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2011;300(3):G477-G484. Opened 2026-10-07.
- Playford RJ, Weiser MJ. Bovine Colostrum: Its Constituents and Uses. Nutrients. 2021;13(1):265. Opened 2026-10-01.
- Davison G. The Use of Bovine Colostrum in Sport and Exercise. Nutrients. 2021;13(6):1789. Opened 2026-10-01.
This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.