Beta Glucan: A Must for Cancer Prevention and Healthy Immune System

What is Beta Glucan?

Herbal experts will tell you that beta glucan is a polysaccharide, which of course, the average lay person will not understand at all. A simple definition of a polysaccharide is that is a complex carbohydrate, which means that it is a complicated combination of molecules. The actual chemical structure is not really important for the individual who is attempting to determine the effectiveness of a natural supplement, so this explanation is probably sufficient. Beta glucan is extracted from bakers yeast, and it has been around for centuries.

Ancients used yeast and derivatives from yeast for a variety of ailments and preventions, but, today, it is a known benefit in cancer prevention and immune system enhancement. It is therefore an important part of a total nutritional supplementary program for prevention of cancer, prevention of infections, bolstering the immune system during cancer treatment, reducing cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, and improving the entire process of digestion. Truly, it is a dynamic natural supplement which ought to be considered seriously in a planned herbal health program.

Initial Studies on Beta Glucan

The first studies on this supplement involved animal and human cells. The idea was to inject beta glucan into these cells and to see if the normal immune elements of the cells were enhanced. Indeed, they were enhanced, a fact which gave researchers great optimism. The other thing they found in this early research, moreover, was that quantity was not necessarily a factor.

Additional studies were conducted on cancer cells, and beta glucan appeared to have the effect of reducing the number and size of tumor cells. Again, the results were promising, and researchers were encouraged enough to begin studies involving humans. These have occurred in many countries throughout the world, only recently in the United States.

Subsequent Studies Show Additional Promise

Following the early studies just on cells, researchers began studies on animals. One study involved the deliberate growing of tumors in mice and the effects of beta glucan on shrinking those tumors. Again, the results were positive, and the next step would be to continue the research with humans.

The other aspect of the study was designed to test additional immune enhancing functions while the mice underwent radiation treatment for the tumors. As cancer patients undergo chemotherapy and radiation therapy, their immune systems are often significantly compromised, and other infections are always a danger. In this aspect of the study, it was determined that additional doses of beta glucan supplement served to fortify and enhance the immune system, reducing the incidence and severity of secondary infections often contracted because of a compromised immune system of cancer patients undergoing treatment. General results suggest that beta glucan benefits include the use as an adjunct treatment for cancer patients, both in reducing cancer cells themselves and in strengthening the immune system during traditional treatment.

Additional Beta Glucan Benefits

A wide variety of subsequent tests on the potential benefits of beta glucan supplement have occurred, producing the following effects:

1. Doses of beta glucan reduce the risk of upper respiratory illnesses which can occur following lost of prolonged exercise
2. Doses of beta glucan reduce the risk of repertory illnesses which can result from emotional stress and anxiety.
3. Beta glucan supplement can significantly reduce the risk of contracting a variety of bacterial and parasitic infections. When mice were given regular beta glucan doses and then exposed to a variety of infections, they showed excellent resistance.
4. In hamsters, beta glucan benefits include lowering of cholesterol. Studies are now continuing on humans.
5. The addition of beta glucan supplement into the diet of patients of Type II Diabetes helps to maintain appropriate blood sugar levels.
6. Beta glucan benefits extend to the assistance in the lowering of blood pressure of men with mild to moderate hypertension.
7. Beta glucan supplement appears to improve the entire digestive process, aiding in the elimination and flushing of the digestive and intestinal systems.

Dosage and Effectiveness

Recommended initial dose is one-to-two 250 milligram tablets a day. The important factor in the purchase of beta glucan is that it is in pure form and not containing yeast residues as well. Effectiveness is definitely affected by the presence of other elements.