Armra is a dietary supplement made from colostrum, which is the milk produced by female mammals prior during pregnancy and after birth. It’s more nutrient-rich than regular breastmilk, and Armra describes their supplements as “Your Revival of Health” and suggests that their products can “build back” the immune barrier.
But is colostrum safe to take as a supplement? Does it have proven health benefits in clinical research? Do Armra’s supplements contain any unhealthy additive ingredients? And how do real users describe the effects and taste of Armra products?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we overview research studies on colostrum to determine if it’s safe and effective for improving human health, review every ingredient in Armra’s supplements and share real, unsponsored user reviews of Armra.
Can Colostrum Actually Improve Health?
Most of the clinical trials we can find on the use of bovine colostrum (this means colostrum sourced from cattle which is the type used in Armra) relate to its therapeutic use to treat diseases rather than everyday, preventative use.
A meta-study published in the Nutrients journal analyzed results from over 90 clinical trials on colostrum supplementation, and concluded that bovine colostrum can help treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and infectious diarrhea.
Another systematic review from the Nutrients journal examined the effects of bovine colostrum supplementation in both sick and healthy patient populations.
In both populations, bovine colostrum supplementation was found to reduce intestinal permeability. This is important because intestinal permeability, which refers to the widening of tight junctions in the digestive tract, can cause food proteins to enter the bloodstream which can cause food allergy and inflammation.
Bovine colostrum does appear to be a safe and well-tolerated dietary supplement, at least in healthy patients. A 2022 clinical trial tested the effects of bovine colostrum supplementation over a 12 week period, and the researchers concluded that the supplement “has a good safety and tolerability profile and can be used as a daily nutritional supplement safely”.
Overall it does appear from clinical research that colostrum can improve health in both sick and healthy populations, and that it doesn’t cause any severe side effects. It’s a nutrient-dense, whole food. We would recommend that patients with any pre-existing conditions speak with their doctor before supplementing with bovine colostrum.
A popular health influencer named Thomas DeLauer shared some of the potential health benefits of colostrum in a video that's been reviewed over 80,000 times and is less than 6 minutes long:
Is Armra Likely to Work?
Armra sells bovine colostrum supplements in a flavored and unflavored version. The ingredients for the unflavored version are shown above.
The unflavored version has zero inactive ingredients, so this is the Armra product we would recommend to consumers set on purchasing from the brand. The flavored version has a few inactive ingredients we recommend avoiding including citric acid, which has been shown in a medical review published in the Toxicology Reports journal to cause whole-body inflammation in a small subset of patients.
The colostrum dose of 1 gram (g) per serving appears relatively low. The meta-review we cited in the previous section on colostrum supplementation in sick and healthy patients analyzed data from 26 clinical trials, and only 2 of these trials used a dose as low as 1 g daily.
The active ingredient in Armra is listed as “Proprietary Immune Bioactives from Bovine Colostrum.”
The Science page on Armra’s website describes the brand’s process of creating their proprietary ingredient: “We remove unnecessary compounds from bovine colostrum like casein and fat, and enhance the concentrations of essential bioactives.”
Casein protein may be inflammatory to the gut according to a medical review published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This suggests that Armra may be less inflammatory than regular colostrum, but we await clinical trial data before concluding so.
Armra does not appear to have been studied in any clinical trials published in peer-reviewed medical or scientific journals.
We do not recommend Armra supplements and would recommend that consumers interested in colostrum supplementation choose a grass-fed, whole colostrum brand instead of this product. Until Armra publishes clinical studies in peer-reviewed medical or scientific journals proving that their “Proprietary Immune Bioactives” are superior to the same dose of colostrum, we do not see any logical reason to purchase this product.
We Tried Armra – Our Take
As the author of this article, I wanted to try Armra myself to give my take on its taste and effects.
I ordered the unflavored colostrum sticks. One major plus is that they are actually entirely unflavored (since I'd imagine unprocessed colostrum doesn't taste great), so the drink mixes just tasted like water with a slightly thicker consistency.
I didn't notice any particular effects as a result of supplementation with Armra, but this is marketed as an immune system support product and I did not get sick while taking it.
I'm generally healthy and don't get sick otherwise, so it's challenging to parse out whether Armra benefited my body in any specific way.
Overall, I would not purchase this product again given my age and health status, but if I were older or if I were prone to regularly getting sick, I would definitely consider purchasing this product as I consider it to be a healthier alternative to commercial "immune support" products that are often laden with unhealthy additives.
Real Armra User Review
This YouTube review from a health creator named Fit Healthy Momma includes an unboxing of Armra, and the creator shares her thoughts on the benefits of the supplement:
Armra Real Customer Reviews
Armra is sold on Amazon which is a more objective resource for customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion.
The brand’s powder packets have been reviewed over 250 times, with an average review rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars at the time of writing this article.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Tonya Scott” who claims that the supplement had gut health benefits:
“I’ve just started taking but I do feel my gut health improvement. Maybe I will give an update in a couple months. I’m only on week one. TMI …I’ve noticed stools are way more formed and no more dry rabbit pellet like stools.”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “brendan seaver” who claims to have experienced no benefits:
“Crazy to me that these companies peddle the most insane junk science to people. Decided to give this a go, and of course not a single difference in my life. Do not waste your money.”
Our Clean Gut Health Picks
MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ is our top fiber pick because it's certified organic, provides 7 g of fiber per serving and costs under $1.85 per serving at the time of updating this article.
MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ contains 100% soluble fiber, which was described as "one of the most important nutrients for the gut microbiota" in a clinical review published in the Molecules journal.
Bulletproof Express 3-in-1 Probiotic is our top value probiotic supplement, because it costs only $1.20 per serving at the time of updating this article.
Probiotics "can improve in the immune, gastrointestinal...health systems in healthy adults" according to a 2019 medical review.
VSL#3 is our top premium probiotic pick, because this probiotic supplement has been studied in 25 clinical trials, and a 2020 meta-study on VSL#3 concluded the following:
"...many studies demonstrated that VSL#3 has a beneficial effect on obesity and diabetes, allergic diseases, nervous systemic diseases, AS, bone diseases, and female reproductive systemic diseases."
All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy or unsafe.
