In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, we investigated the effect of 8 weeks of supplementation with bovine colostrum (Intact™) on body composition and exercise performance (5 10-m sprint, vertical jump, shuttlerun test, and suicide test). Seventeen female and 18 male elite field hockey players, including players from the Dutch national team, received either 60 g of colostrum or whey protein daily. The 5 10-m sprint test performance improved significantly (p= .023) more in the colostrum group [0.64 ±0.09 s (mean ± SEM)] compared to the whey group (0.33 ± 0.09 s). The vertical jump performance improved more in the colostrum group (2.1 ± 0.73 cm) compared to the whey group (0.32 ± 0.82 cm). However, this was not statistically significant (p = .119). There were also no significant differences in changes in body composition and endurance tests between the 2 groups.
It is concluded that in elite field hockey players, colostrum supplementation improves sprint performance better than whey. However, there were no differences with regard to body composition or endurance performance.
Zandrie Hofman, Rolf Smeets, George Verlaan, Richard v.d. Lugt, and Peter A. Verstappen
