Summary: ARMRA uses the highest quality grass-fed and calf-first sourced bovine colostrum from family dairy farms in the USA to create a third-party tested and science-backed powerhouse for gut, immune, and performance support. After testing for almost a month, I can honestly say that I am a huge fan. I noticed a boost in my energy levels and reduction in my recovery time from weight training since becoming part of my daily routine. My digestion also improved, and I’ve been generally more regular and less bloated. I’ve even noticed a change in my skin! I know collagen is having a wellness moment, but ARMRA is all substance, no hype.
What I love:
- ARMRA is the real deal: Physician-founded, science-backed, and third-party tested, made with the best quality American-made ingredients.
- A little goes a long way — the scoop is tiny! No choking down tons of powder if you try dry scooping.
- It’s super easy to incorporate into any wellness routine, since all you have to do is add a scoop to any cold drink (or directly into your mouth!).
- If you’re into gut-first immune support, the 400+ bioactive nutrients have got you covered.
- Tons of reviewers swear their hair growth was noticeable after three months, so I’m looking forward to that! I have noticed my nails are stronger, even without taking my old biotin supplements.
Things to keep in mind:
- Cold drinks only! Unlike collagen peptides, ARMRA Colostrum™ should not be added to hot drinks, which can degrade its potency.
- It never totally mixes in, and the Unflavored one is not exactly “unflavored” at all. Even the website calls it “malty.”
- If you’re going to try dry scooping, only do so with ARMRA Unflavored. (Save the flavors for sipping.)
- ARMRA is in the midst of a packaging refresh. During this transition period, you may receive your ARMRA in packaging with either the current or new labeling. Know that it’s the same great quality (no change to the formulation or ingredient) and same benefits.
ARMRA is offering our readers 30% off your first subscription order with code GOODTRADE30
I had never heard of colostrum until I was pregnant and learning about breast milk. Since it’s having a real moment right now, you’re probably familiar with the stuff — but in case you aren’t, here’s the scoop: All mammals produce colostrum in the first few days after giving birth before their milk comes in. For any nursing mammal, it is the first form of nutrition they receive in their initial vulnerable days of life. Colostrum is packed with powerful nutrients we need to survive in those first days of life, many of which are not found in any other natural source. For this reason (and perhaps also for its sort of yellow-ish hue), it is often referred to as “liquid gold.”
“Colostrum is packed with powerful nutrients we need to survive in those first days of life, many of which are not found in any other natural source.”
My layman’s understanding of colostrum is that it is very good stuff that helps support newborns’ immune systems as they adjust to life outside the womb. And apparently, colostrum can do the same for fully grown adults, too!
What is colostrum, and what does it do?
Here’s my interpretation of how it all works (though you can read an infinitely more scientific explanation on ARMRA’s website): Our bodies have a few lines of defense against all the environmental threats we encounter simply by existing. As we breathe and swallow, we inhale and ingest all kinds of disruptors, such as pollutants and chemicals, that can wear down our defenses. Our exterior barrier is our skin, and the next line of defense is our mucosal barrier. Our mucosal barrier lines everything in our sinuses, lungs, and gut, creating a protective shield. The mucosal barrier can become impaired, however, allowing harmful particles to penetrate its defenses and compromise our health.
So just like we try to strengthen our skin barrier with nontoxic skincare, ARMRA can fortify our barriers by turning to a resource from our own biology: Colostrum, that 300 million-year-old bioactive food and liquid gold that nourished, protected, and vitalized us in our very first stage of life.
“ARMRA can fortify our barriers by turning to a resource from our own biology: Colostrum.”
Containing nothing but 100% of the best quality bovine colostrum, I wanted to see for myself if ARMRA lived up to the hype. Because there is a lot of hype.
I’ve only been taking it for about a month, but it has already made a huge impact on my daily life. I’ve actually noticed the change — everything from better poops to shorter recovery periods after heavy weight lifting days, and even an improvement in my mood and energy during a typically sluggish period in my cycle. My nails have even gotten stronger!
So is ARMRA the miracle product it claims to be? (Spoiler: Signs are pointing to YES.)
About ARMRA
ARMRA was founded by Dr. Sarah Rahal — a double board-certified pediatric neurologist after a health crisis that nearly took her life. During her time in a pediatric practice, she was alarmed by the high rate of chronic diseases she was seeing in her young patients. Through her research, Dr. Rahal discovered thousands of publications showing the powerful impact of bovine colostrum in human health: These studies showed the positive impact colostrum and its bioactives had on gut health, immune health, fitness performance and recovery, metabolism, and energy.
“Through her research, Dr. Rahal discovered thousands of publications showing the powerful impact of bovine colostrum in human health.”
Dr. Rahal’s work led to the development of ARMRA Colostrum™, using pure colostrum from grass-fed cows raised on family-owned U.S. dairy farms. (ARMRA also follows calf-first sourcing, meaning they only use excess, overflow colostrum after calves have been fully fed.) What makes ARMRA so unique is their proprietary Cold-Chain BioPotent™ Pasteurization Technology, which concentrates 400+ functional nutrients in colostrum, capturing them in their most natural and bioavailable form. It also removes unnecessary compounds like casein and fat, leaving a potent product that is ideal for human consumption.
With an unwavering belief in the evolutionary power of our bodies, ARMRA aims to restore our “original blueprint” for optimal health. Colostrum is an ancestral input that comes packed with all the good stuff (the website lists “protective antibodies, whole food prebiotics, strengthening peptides, free amino acids, trace minerals, immunoglobulins, tissue growth factors, antioxidants, adaptogens, mitochondrial regenerators, and other supportive compounds”) to help our bodies thrive.
Okay but what does it taste like? And how can you tell it’s working? And do you have to dry scoop? 😅
ARMRA Health Revival, Unflavored Jar |$110
ARMRA Vine Watermelon Travel Sticks | $50
So I’ll be honest: I probably put ARMRA in my cart and then took it out almost a dozen times before finally getting to try this stuff. The price tag is tough! But one of our editors who swears by ARMRA and puts it in her daily smoothie promised me that the jar lasts forever. I was skeptical, but when I finally took the plunge and saw how teeny tiny the serving size was, I breathed a sigh of relief. After a little over a month, it seems like I’ve barely made a dent in the jar at all!
The products arrive quickly in simple recyclable packaging. The instructions are straightforward: Mix into any cold beverage up to four times daily. I started with the watermelon because, well, I am a baby, and I was sort of nervous about the unflavored one. “Unflavored” to a health and wellness brand and “unflavored” to me are rarely in the same zip code, and I wanted to ease in.
The flavored product includes the same high quality bovine colostrum, but also has malic acid, organic natural watermelon flavoring, organic stevia leaf extract, and dragon fruit for color. It is a pleasant light pink and has a tart aroma. I was expecting that too-sweet stevia aftertaste but it never came — the watermelon flavor was fresh and a little sweet, but also zippy and bright. It tasted like candy, but without that sugary mouthfeel. I loved it!
“My one gripe is that I could not, no matter what I tried, get the powder to fully dissolve.”
My one gripe is that I could not, no matter what I tried, get the powder to fully dissolve. Nary a frother nor spoon could crack the code. I tried adding it to water, I tried mixing wet into dry, and I even tried making a roux by mixing a small amount of water into the powder first until it was a smooth paste and then adding more water gradually. No matter what, there was always a little clumping.
Luckily, the stuff tasted like a Pixie Stick, so chewing it wasn’t exactly a deal breaker.
Realizing that it was never going to fully dissolve did make me quite nervous about the unflavored one, so I decided to try my editor’s method and add it to a smoothie. I have been putting collagen peptides in my smoothies for years, and I usually run into a similar dissolvability hurdle unless I use a milk frother on it in a small amount of coconut water first. But I wanted to see how the colostrum would fare by simply dumping it in with the rest of the smoothie ingredients first.
I was delighted and surprised to see that it completely disappeared! No weird little pockets of powder at all! I am a notoriously slow drinker, and so my smoothies often separate a little as the morning wears on, but that never happened with my ARMRA batches.
The brand recommends “dry scooping,” which is essentially just taking your little scoop of colostrum and shooting it directly into your mouth. This maximizes contact with the mucosal surfaces of the mouth and esophagus, which can have added benefit. But y’all, I couldn’t do it. I am just not hardcore when it comes to animal product food stuffs, and as I’m entering my 40s, I’m accepting this about myself.
The brand also suggested sprinkling it on yogurt or mixing it into food — anything that isn’t hot. I will say that I tried a watermelon seltzer in my experimentation to get the travel sticks to dissolve, and the drink absolutely exploded. (It was delicious, though!)
I felt pretty happy with my watermelon waters and colostrum smoothies, so I decided I didn’t need to experiment too much more with any other method.
The first few days, I stuck with one scoop, and then I increased my daily intake to two scoops for the rest of the week. At first, I didn’t notice much beyond an additional sense of urgency to my morning poop. It wasn’t until after the first two weeks of consistently taking it daily (and at that point increasing to the full four scoops) that I started to notice the effects, starting with my nails.
“It wasn’t until after the first two weeks of consistently taking it daily (and at that point increasing to the full four scoops) that I started to notice the effects, starting with my nails.”
I had forgotten to clip my nails like I usually do over the weekend, but by midweek, I noticed that my longer nails seemed really healthy and strong. I decided to shape them with a file and see how long I could go before they started to peel, break, or show signs of weakness. It ended up being a game of chicken, because my nails stayed strong — finally, almost two weeks after missing their usual clipping routine, I couldn’t take the length anymore and cut them. They were noticeably tough!
I also noticed that after a particularly tough weights workout, my second-day soreness never really came. I realized that the waistband on my favorite pair of shorts was sitting quite comfortably during the first day of my period, when I’m usually struggling with bloating. My skin has been looking brighter too, and though it’s always hard to tell so soon, I’m willing to put money on my hair getting thicker by the day.
“I realized that the waistband on my favorite pair of shorts was sitting quite comfortably during the first day of my period, when I’m usually struggling with bloating.”
Since my jar is still full, I’m locking into my ARMRA four scoops a day. I’m confident it’s going to help my body perform at its best!
My final thoughts
I am not going to sugarcoat it: $100 for a small jar of powder is not a fun purchase. And it’s certainly not in everyone’s budget.
“ARMRA nourishes and strengthens our natural systems on a cellular level, so our bodies can be the miraculous performers they were made to be.”
ARMRA supports our bodies by helping them get back to what I call Beauty Base Zero — that foundation of an ideal environment where it can function not just well, but at its best. ARMRA nourishes and strengthens our natural systems on a cellular level, so our bodies can be the miraculous performers they were made to be.
If you are interested in a top-to-bots overall health supplement and you only invest in one — ARMRA is it.
THIS STORY IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR FRIENDS AT ARMRA.
Stephanie H. Fallon is a Contributing Editor at The Good Trade. She is a writer originally from Houston, Texas and holds an MFA from the Jackson Center of Creative Writing at Hollins University. She lives with her family in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where she writes about motherhood, artmaking, and work culture. Since 2022, she has been reviewing sustainable home and lifestyle brands, fact-checking sustainability claims, and bringing her sharp editorial skills to every product review. Say hi on Instagram or on her website.
The post Why ARMRA Colostrum™ Is My No-Hype Supplement Of Choice appeared first on The Good Trade.
