A wellbeing tip from the herd
Healthy cows lead to discovery of immune system formulation
MOST of us are searching for ways to strengthen our immune systems, and while a herd of cows doesn’t automatically spring to mind as the first place to look, it does offer a remarkable tale.
This is the story of a unique mixture that began life helping herds of cows. As with many discoveries it began accidentally 100 years ago with a young farmhand named C.W. Bloomhall, who lived on a family farm in the state of Iowa, USA.
He noticed that cows fed with fermented milk and table scraps along with their usual grain seemed healthier than the rest of the herd.
Years later, he decided to put that theory to the test and created a special fermented yeast culture. Just as he had hoped, it seemed to act as an immune modulator in livestock and could possibly keep the livestock healthy.
The Bloomhall family went on to become the largest and most respected producer of animal health products worldwide.
But the story doesn’t stop there. With the development of science, in 1998 it was recognised that the factory workers who made this special fermented feed took less sick leave than was usual.
The special fermentate they worked with is today called EpiCor® and is the first immune ingredient to win a Scientific Excellence Award in the USA.
It has been the subject of ten research studies to date, with further research ongoing.
Now available in the UK through a science-backed health supplement company based in Cambridge, EpiCor® is the key ingredient in a wellbeing supplement.
Miriam Ferrer PhD, head of product development at the company, explains how the supplement works: ‘EpiCor® is made by a carefully controlled process that creates a nutritious whole food fermentate containing proteins, fibre, polyphenols, vitamins, amino acids, trace minerals, beta-glucans and other metabolites.
‘These nutrients are things we know are involved in the immune system.’