Beta Glucans Boost Immunity: Don’t Let Your Guard Down Yet... Winter is Far From Over

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I am sure most of you saw or read the news about the Swine Flu hotline - set up at the height of the pandemic - closing down, because of a decline in the numbers of people infected by the virus. One can be forgiven for thinking ‘Was Swine Flu ever a genuine pandemic threat, or was it all a lot of (very expensive) fuss about nothing?’

As much as I would like to sit and wave my finger and say: ‘I told you so’, Let’s not forget that many people lost their lives to Swine Flu. It’s impossible to predict when another more virulent flu-strain will strike... But considering we’re in the grip of the harshest winter in 30 years, it’s essential we take steps to keep our immune systems strong.

Beta-glucans: ‘Switching on’ your secret immunity

The fact is, you have a great deal of control over your immunity and there are many things you can do to strengthen and protect it.

While you may not be aware of it, lying dormant in your cells you have a type of immunity that makes vaccination seem like a backward science! When it’s properly activated this immunity can help protect you from the swine flu H1N1 virus and, in fact, every other virus, bacteria, fungus and allergen known to man.

This secret immunity and first line of defence against viruses and all other harmful invaders is natural…inborn…INNATE immunity. Yet instead of looking at ways to activate your innate immunity, which is made up of infection-fighting macrophages, NK cells and neutrophils, mainstream medicine has concentrated all its efforts on our second line of defence – ACQUIRED immunity.

You get this type of immunity only after your body has adapted to a specific threat and acquired antibodies against it. It means your body remembers a previous attacker and is ready if it visits again. Because acquired immunity can be stimulated by vaccinations, our first line of defence – innate immunity – has been largely ignored by scientists ever since. However, vaccinations are hit and miss as pathogens mutate all the time – if this happens then your antibodies from vaccinations are rendered useless, which leaves you vulnerable to infection.

The way many of us live – with a heavy reliance on processed foods and too much sugar in our diets – means that our innate immunity is, to a large extent, lying dormant. Fortunately, there are numerous safe and effective remedies you can take to ‘switch on’ your innate immune system, as you’re about to discover.

Beta-glucans: activate your innate immune system’s front line troops

Mounting research is revealing the extraordinary immune- boosting benefits of natural compounds called beta glucans – particularly 1-3, 1-6 beta-glucans, which are present in brewer’s yeast and are able to activate the innate immune system. They put your immune system on full alert and in a state of readiness, by harmlessly mimicking potential threats.

According to Dr Paul Clayton, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a former Senior Scientific Advisor to the UK government's Committee on the Safety of Medicines, “beta glucans are increasingly becoming an essential part of the right modern diet and have far reaching benefits ranging from skin care to virus protection”.

In terms of their ability to offer virus protection, beta- glucans get to work by activating macrophages – immune cells which engulf and destroy invading pathogens. Macrophages have receptors that specifically recognise beta-glucans, because they occur in the cell walls of many bacteria and fungi. This means that when you ingest beta-glucans your innate immune system thinks that an enemy is at the gate and it rises to the challenge.

As well as activating macrophages, beta-glucans also bind to receptors on neutrophils, the most abundant type of innate immune cell in the body. This appears to not only enhance their capacity to kill pathogens, but also their ability to detect proteins produced by invading bacteria and to locate them within infected tissues. This more rapid response to an infection results in faster microbial elimination and healing.

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Beta-glucans: A talented new-comer

Numerous studies have revealed countless health benefits linked to beta glucans:

Anti-viral: In a 2004 study that could not have foreseen the current swine flu H1N1 pandemic, South Korean researchers investigated the anti-viral effects of beta glucans against swine flu in pigs. Piglets were dosed with beta-glucans or with inactive culture medium for three days, before being exposed to the virus. Those receiving beta-glucans had significantly fewer lung lesions and a lower rate of viral replication. They also had higher levels of interferon-gamma and nitric oxide, showing increased immune system activity.

Lowering cholesterol: In a study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Centre in Maryland, beta glucans was concentrated into an oat fibre extract so it could be easily incorporated into a typical diet. Male and female participants with mildly high cholesterol were put on a maintenance diet for one week and were then given an oat fibre extract containing either 1 per cent or 10 per cent beta glucans. After five weeks of receiving the beta glucans extract, both groups showed a significant reduction in total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL – ‘bad’ cholesterol). What’s more, total cholesterol levels were significantly lower in the group who received the higher beta glucans extract diet than in those on the low beta glucans diet.

Cancer fighter: Lentinan, a type of beta glucan found in shiitake mushrooms, is believed to reduce tumour activity and lessen the side effects of cancer treatment. Researchers at Teikyo University’s Biotechnology Research Centre in Kawasaki, Japan, showed that lentinan has anti-tumour properties, suppressing the formation and development of tumours... In fact, beta glucans have been used as an immuno-adjuvant therapy (an immune system stimulant) for cancer since 1980, mostly in Japan.

Common cold: Beta glucans have been found to alleviate the symptoms of the common cold — or at least reduce the number of days people call in sick to work. The Montana Centre for Work Physiology and Exercise Metabolism, in the US, examined beta glucans’ ability to ease upper respiratory infections in a single blind, randomized trial in 2008.

The scientists chose fire-fighters as their subjects since they are regularly bombarded with smoke and fumes as they battle blazes and are more susceptible to respiratory problems as a result.

The participating fire-fighters were given either a beta-glucan-containing supplement or a placebo and were asked to write down any cold symptoms (runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, colour discharge) or flu symptoms (fever, headache, general aches and pains, fatigue and weakness, chest discomfort, cough). Fire-fighters who recorded having these symptoms for two consecutive days were classified as having an upper respiratory tract infection.

Participants who took the beta-glucan-containing supplement had 23 per cent less upper respiratory tract infections, compared to the group of fire- fighters taking a placebo. “The results are consistent with previous clinical research involving marathoners, individuals with high stress lifestyles and the general population,” wrote Brent C. Rudy, the director of the Montana Centre for Work Physiology and Exercise Metabolism.

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Sources:

‘Was swine flu ever a real threat?’ by Mark Honigsbaum, published online 02.02.10, telegraph.co.uk

‘The Immune-Enhancing Benefits of Beta Glucans’ by Rachel Grumman, published online, December 2009 issue of Life Extension Magazine, lef.org

‘Effects of yeast-derived ?-glucans on blood cholesterol and macrophage functionality’, Journal of Immunotoxicol, published Jan 2008 Vol. 5, No. 1 p47-57

‘In The Fight Against Swine Flu, Glucasan Could Be A Supplement Whose Time Has Come’ by Health Science Institute, published August 2009, vol.12, no.8