The market is full of beta glucan products, some work, many don't. The only question we should all be asking ourselves: What is Beta Glucan? You maybe in for a surprise.
As we can see, the term "Beta glucan" is a general term that can lead to confusion in individuals looking to purchase an immune support product. Beta glucan can be found throughout nature, including oat, barley and mushrooms. It is very abundant. It is also found in bakers yeast. But the question remains; will it support or boost our immune system.
Many "manufacturers" of Beta glucan products simply dry the yeast, grind it up, and pill or encapsulate it. That legally qualifies for it to be labeled a Beta glucan product. Some call this process "micronization" and is nothing more then a marketing ploy to temp the buyers into purchasing their Beta glucan product. They will make the claim that if it is not "micronized" it will not work.
They claim that the macrophage, i.e. white blood cell, which is the first line of defense against threats, cannot engulf Beta glucan material that has not been "micronized" because the standard Beta glucan particles are "too big" for the macrophage to ingest.
In an independent test on cancer whole glucan material (not material, "micronized") was tagged using fluorescence microscopy. The material was orally fed to subjects tested. The results showed that whole glucan material was taken up by macrophages that migrate to the spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow. A double-staining with F4/80-PE-Cy5.5 (red) confirmed that all cells containing ingested whole glucan particulate were macrophages. To learn more on this important subject click here on how beta glucan works.
Some manufacturers who's products may actually contain Beta 1, 3-D glucan also push small dosage amount is all that is required to support your immune system. The claims around "10mg" is routinely used as their answer to the support problem. Go to PubMED, search the safe, effective human oral dose. You will find that human studies show grams of high-quality material, not trace amounts to be effective.
Manufactures and marketers alike use these terms because they do not want the public to catch on to what they are doing. Time and time again, independent tests conducted at some of the most prestigious universities and medical centers world wide have proven it is the Beta 1, 3-d glucan that provides the immune system support benefit, not beta glucan. Let me repeat that, universities and medical centers world wide have proven it is the Beta 1, 3-d glucan that provides the immune system support benefit.
So why are Beta glucan products so popular as an immune support supplement
Because these marketers and manufacturers are using the studies conducted on it 1, 3-d glucan linkage, NOT a Beta glucan complex. They are using a bait and switch tactic. In more technical terms Beta 1, 3-d glucan is called 1, 3 glucose linkage.
In some cases there maybe products that contain the 1, 3-d linkage however it will be in such a small amount it won't provide any immune system support benefits, or it will contain a large amount of impurities that it will render the products practically worthless.
Independent tests have shown that an effective Beta 1, 3-d glucan product needs to contain at a minimum of 80% pure 1, 3-d glucan with minimum amount of proteins and fats.
Fats have been shown to reduce the absorption of the Beta 1, 3-d glucan and proteins may cause adverse reactions.
Inferior products cannot accomplish the "turning on", i.e. boosting, of the glucan receptors because the Beta 1,3-d molecule is shielded and masked by these contaminants[3].
How do I identify a Beta 1, 3-d glucan product versus a Beta glucan product
There are a couple of well established easy to use methods we can use to identify a high quality product.
Method one is by reviewing the label.
For example, here is the typical label information found on a Beta Glucan product:
Label 1
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Notice that it does not contain any reference to Beta 1, 3-d glucan. It simply states "Beta Glucan complex"
Well, what's that? We don't have an answer for you and it would costs us thousands to preform the tests required to find out what was in the product. There are simply to many Beta glucan products available today to test.
Here is another one label:
Label 2
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This one states "Beta Glucan (1,3/1,6) 500mg", notice however it does not provide the percentage amounts of the individual glucose linkages.
How much 1,3/1,6 linkage is there in this product 10%, 20%, 30%, etc...
Now lets look at a label of a real Beta 1, 3-d glucan product:
Label 3
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Notice how this products label lists each and every glucose linkage and the term "Beta 1, 3-D glucan Complex".
It provides us with a definitive answer on what exactly what is in the product so we can make a informed decision on whether or not to purchase it.
Why would a high quality Beta 1, 3-d glucan product contain more then one glucose linkage
Further review of this label shows that the 1,3-d glucose linkage is not the only linkage present;
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1,3-linked glucose 86.6%
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1,6-linked glucose 2.7%
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2,3-linked glucose 5.8%
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3,6-linked glucose 1.9%
If the label does not specifically identify the active linkage be careful.
These other glucose linkages are present because the glucan molecule is a complex long chain polysaccharide. It contains many glucose linkages. The existence of these other linkages provide evidence of a proper 1,3-d glucose linkage.
Research has also been providing evidence that these, or other linkages found in a product provide for different health benefits.
For example high quality oat and barley glucan products contain a 1,4 glucose linkage. These products have shown to provide they may provide heart health related benefits such as the reduction of risk of coronary heart disease. However they have not shown any benefits related to immune system support. On the other hand, yeast derived beta 1, 3-d glucan has shown immune system support benefits and in preliminary studies has also shown health health related benefits. Two benefits (and many more) for the price of one.
Another thing you might what to consider is taking a look at the actual size and weight of the capsule itself. The picture below is a side-by-side comparison of a company claiming their product is "95%" pure. Their label states "500mg of Beta Glucan" However their capsules weighs in around 750mg.
Side by Side Comparison of Capsules
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The capsule at the right is from the label 2 bottle.
It weighs about 750mg versus the one at the right, which weighs 500mg. This 500mg capsule came from the label 3 bottle.
The question is, label 2 states that the capsule is 500mg, why does it weigh 750mg What is the additional 250mg Is it fats, proteins and other impurities Do you want to take a chance?
Once we locate what appears to be a high quality Beta 1, 3-d glucan product, how do we prove it to ourselves that it actually a high quality product?
Independent verification. The safest way to insure that the product you are purchasing contains what is actually on the label is through independent verification through a reputable 3rd party source.
There are two types of independent verification we need to understand; (1) product purity, and; (2) product efficacy. Efficacy is the ability to produce a desired amount of a desired effect. In a medical context it indicates the therapeutic effect of a product that is acceptable.[4].
Product Purity
Manufacturers will do just about anything to win customers over. Usually just by calling and asking some specific questions we can easily discover if their products are any good.
Once you start questioning them it becomes very clear, very quickly who you are dealing with.
Some questions you may want to ask when you call;
- Do you have a certificate of analysis and where can I get a copy
- Will you charge me for it
- Has the manufacture properly signed the Is the certificate
- What is the name of the lab carried out the independent testing
- Is the lab certified by a US government agency
- Is the lab reputable
We have found only one manufacturer that provides this important information It was one of the first ones and its still does today. They were one of the first to offer independent comparison graphs from a certified reputable lab to show potential customers the quality and purity issues commonly associated with Beta Glucan products. Now everyone is copying them, some are even stealing their graphs to promote their own inferior products.
Here is what a certificate of analysis looks like;
Manufacturers Certificate of Analysis
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Now, how can we prove that this is a "real" certificate
That's where it can get tricky. You have to locate other 3rd party sources that confirm the authenticity of the certificate.
Here is confirmation of the above manufacturers certificate;
University of Georgia Certificate of Analysis - page 1 |
University of Georgia Certificate of Analysis - page 2
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This study confirm the manufactures certificate. It was independently completed at the University of Georgia Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, "supported in part by the Department of Energy-funded (DE-FG09-93ER-20097) Center for Plant and Microbial Complex Carbohydrates." If another manufacturer claims to have a high purity Beta glucan product, can they prove it
This type of information, if available, can help help us make a educated decision on purchasing a high quality product.
Now that we have established the purity of the product our next objective will be to review the test results on immune system support. These types of tests should be conducted independently with no outside influences from the manufacturer.
Product Efficacy
Some manufacturers actually do carry out tests on their immune boosters and results are documented. However, do the results mean anything..
"Natural Killer Cells increase"
"Higher rate of immune response"
Increase of what and how much of an increase
How high was the rate
Did you know that saline solution also increases Natural killer cells
Just a side note....
Eating dirt also creates a immune response.
In order to determine if a product is actually effective at creating an immune response it has to be compared against other products that claim to promote immune response, at the same time using the same, accepted testing standards.
Further the immune system is a very complex mechanism and a wide variety of actions occur when the immune system goes into the attack mode. It's not just "natural killer cells" that respond, it is a host of other cells as well.
In order to have a valid test, that proves the product produces effective immune system support characteristics, a number of tests that document immune response are required to be carried out, not just one.
The graph below represents independent tests results, carried out at the University of Louisville, on the ability of various popular Beta Glucan products to increase phagocytosis.
A wide variety of biological reactions were utilized to identify the immune enhancing effects of the various products tested. The reactions tested were;
Is your product among them
The control (in blue) was saline solution. One product's material, Transfer Point Glucan 300 offered us the highest response rate of any immune support product and it is independently verified. As the results show, most of the other products offer the same response as saline solution, i.e. salt water.
For a more detailed analysis containing a much larger amount of immune support products click here. Will your immune system support product be among them
