Our grandnephew has some health problems in the allergy/immune area. At his grandmother’s request, my wife has done some research on the internet about Ambrotose (apparently a brand name) and colostrum. She asked me to ask you folks about them.
Any Dopers have any personal experience with or knowledge about these products?
Colostrum?
You mean the stuff that nursing mothers make before the milk comes in?
Yeah, that’s the stuff. I’ve only skimmed what my wife pulled off the net, but apparently it’s touted as a health potion. It’s seems that bovine colostrum is what’s commercially available.
Ambrotose is a nutritional supplement of sorts that is marketed by Mannatech, a multi-level marketing company a la Amway and Herbalife. Need I say more?
Well, I will.
I has the misfortune of sitting next to a Mannatech cult member at a job several years ago–she actually was one of my staff. Psuedo-scientific pablum that convinced uneducated people is an MO of this company. They have also been associated with quacky advisors etc. So, try something else.
This site will tell you more:
http://www.ncahf.org/articles/j-n/mannatech.html
I applaud your concern and efforts to find out alternatives for you grandnephew. Keep looking and come back and ask about more stuff.
Yes, I agree with you here. These people have been pushing their product as a ‘cure’ for autistic spectrum disorders as well, be very wary The person in this link tried to get our local school involved as well, pretty aggressive marketing IMO. Fortunately they were exposed and nothing came of it, but the potential for damage to vulnerable people is great, if you read the “research” on this company’s products you will find it is pretty much all carried out by one person.
You could also try looking into a milk bank (human milk). If the problems are severe enough, you might be able to get him a prescription for human milk. The milk will be frozen, so the live cells will be lost, but then the same is true for bovine colostrum (not that you really want bovine immune cells anyway). The other problem is age of the child. Colostrum is designed to benefit infants in their first few days after their due date (colostrum-rich milk sticks around longer for preemies). Their stomach acids are very weak at that point, so they don’t break down the cells and compounds and can absorb them more easily. If the child is older, they won’t get the same benefit, because their body breaks down the compounds and kills most of the live cells. The milk bank idea is a long shot, but if he’s got a severe enough problem, there might be a doctor willing to study his case, and help you (him) out at the same time.
Keep looking. I’ve had good results from some alternative stuff for allergies and immune system, but it is way out there on the ‘hooey’ scale. I don’t believe in it, intellectually, but it has worked for me. Blame placebo, if you like. 
Thank you all for the info and suggestions. This is all helpful.
My horsecrap radar registered loud when I saw a reference to Ambrotose “enhancing cellular communication” (huh?). It’s nice to get some confirmation on my suspicions.
I don’t think any of us knew that milk banks existed. We’ll look into it.