The Health Protecting Power of Beta Glucans
- Nancy Trott, BCNP, CHN
- Apr 7
- 5 min read
Looking to create a health protecting immune system? How about improved blood sugar management, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, managing weight, or ensuring a healthy and happy gut? Then you will want to explore beta glucans as an important component of your organic whole foods health-style!
What are Beta Glucans?
Beta glucans are naturally occurring compounds, that are a type of soluble fiber. They are gut and immune system allies that offer many health benefits, from promoting healthy cholesterol and blood sugar levels, to supporting and strengthening the immune system.
Beta-glucans are a sugar (glucose) polymer found in the cell walls of certain plants, fungi, yeasts and bacteria. The benefits of beta glucans are due to beta glucan being a type of prebiotic, soluble and fermentable fiber.
Prebiotic fiber feeds your gut microbiome, increases the amount of beneficial bacteria that live there, stimulates immune cells, increases nutrient absorption making for a healthier gut microbiome and a healthy immune system overall.
Soluble fiber is a fiber that partially dissolves in water and turns into a gel-like substance. While traveling through the digestive tract, soluble fibers have benefits including slowing the digestion process, slowing the absorption of glucose which helps to prevent spikes in blood sugar, absorbing cholesterol particles, and also stimulates immune cells.
Is the Source of Beta Glucans Important?
The source of beta glucans is important in relation to the effects on the body. Beta glucans are found in the cell walls of certain types of plants and some yeasts, bacteria, fungi, and algae (e.g. chlorella, spirulina). Mushroom sources of beta glucan, shiitake, reishi, turkey tail and maitake for example, are shown to be beneficial for immune support[1], whereas grain sources, oats, rye, barley for example, are shown to be beneficial for managing cholesterol[2].
Some top sources of beta glucans include oats, barley, rye, yeast (e.g. nutritional yeast), mushrooms (e.g. reishi, shiitake, maitake, and turkey tail), algae (e.g. chlorella and spirulina), and seaweed (e.g. nori).
Highlighting Health Benefits:
Beta glucans have been studied extensively and are known to have anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, anti-allergic, and anti-osteoporotic effects in the body.[3] Beta glucans are further linked to a number of potential health benefits, including:
Helping the immune system to function optimally by:
Activating immune cells including macrophages, monocytes, and neutrophils, which are specialized white blood cells that actively engulf and destroy bacteria and tumor cells. Macrophages also assess immune system threats and send chemical messages to other white blood cells to respond[3];
Enhancing natural killer (NK) cells, which destroy cells that have become cancerous, or infected with viruses[3];
Increasing secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels, which is a protective substance that lines nasal passages, throat, and airways[3];
Helping to decrease inflammation - studies are showing that beta glucans may help downregulate autoimmune inflammation in conditions such as psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis[4];
Helping to strengthen and support a healthy and robust gut microbiome:
An imbalance in gut bacteria can lead to an overgrowth of potentially harmful microorganisms and disrupt overall health. As a soluble fiber, beta glucan ferments in the lower digestive tract and balances the gut microbiome[5].
Acts as prebiotics. Beta glucans act as food for good bacteria, stimulating the pre-existing good bacteria to multiply in the gut. This process helps relieve gas, bloating, and abdominal pain symptoms[5].
Helping support heart health by:
Helping to lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Beta glucans are indigestible and don’t breakdown on their way through the gastrointestinal tract (GI), so when they capture excess lipids, like cholesterol, it is carried all the way through the GI tract and excreted out of the body[2];
Helping to improve blood sugar management by improving blood glucose control (slowing the transit of food through the digestive system allows for glucose/sugar to be absorbed more gradually), which helps protect against type II diabetes and insulin resistance[6];
Helping with weight management as soluble fiber increases the feeling of fullness after eating (satiety), and beta glucans have been studied to aide in reducing obesity and metabolic syndrome[7];
Decreasing fatigue, as it helps restore and heal the immune system[1];
Worth noting, beta glucan has been approved as a drug in Japan, Australia, South Korea, and Taiwan as an immunoadjuvant therapy for cancer for the last 30 years.[8]
Meal Ideas
Explore these links for wonderful meal ideas to add good amounts of beta-glucans into your health-style:
• Forks Over Knives: https://www.forksoverknives.com/
• Food Revolution Network: https://foodrevolution.org/?s=oats&submit=Search
• Food Matters: https://www.foodmatters.com/search/?q=shiitake
Are There Any Concerns or Cautions?
Beta glucans are generally considered to be well tolerated and have a strong record of safety, with clinical studies showing low to no adverse effects of beta glucans in food or supplemental forms[3]. However, it is important to consider the following:
Allergies and sensitivities: Be mindful if you have allergies or sensitivities to specific sources of beta glucans, and avoid these sources.
Interaction with medications: Beta glucans may interact with certain medications, affecting their absorption or efficacy. As beta glucans are shown to stimulate the immune system, it is important to note that a potential interaction may be with immunosuppressants[9]. As well, beta glucans may cause blood sugar or blood pressure to drop too low if a person is also taking medications to lower blood pressure or blood sugar[10].
*It is always important to consult with your trusted healthcare practitioner prior to making any major lifestyle changes, especially if taking any medications.
References:
1. Article: “Dietary modulation of immune function by beta-glucans”. PubMed. Authors: Julia J Volman, et.al. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18222501/
2. Article: “The Cholesterol-Lowering Effect of Oats and Oat Beta Glucan: Modes of Action and Potential Role of Bile Acids and the Microbiome”. PubMed. Authors: Susan A. Joyce, et.al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6892284/
3. Article: “Beta Glucan: Supplement or Drug? From Laboratory to Clinical Trials”. PubMed. Authors: Vaclav Vetvicka, et.al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6479769/
4. Article: “Variants of beta-glucan polysaccharides downregulate autoimmune inflammation”. PubMed. Authors: Cecilia Fahlquist-Hagert, et.al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9098905/
5. Article: “Beta-Glucans Improve Growth, Viability and Colonization of Probiotic Microorganisms”. MDPI.com. Authors: Pascuale Russo et.al. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/13/5/6026
6. Article: “Clinical and Physiological Perspectives of β-Glucans: The Past, Present, and Future”. PubMed. Authors: Khawaja Muhammad Imran Bashir, et.al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5618555/
7. Article: “Beta Glucan: Health Benefits in Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome”. PubMed. Authors: D. El Khoury, et.al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3236515/
8. Article: “Oat Beta-Glucan: Its Role in Health Promotion and Prevention of Diseases”. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety Journal. Authors: Cheickna Daou and Hui Zhang. https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2012.00189.x
9. Article: “Beta Glucan for boosting your immune system”. CancerDoctor.com. https://cancerdoctor.com/article/beta-glucan-boost-immune-system/
Article: “β-Glucan Metabolic and Immunomodulatory Properties and Potential for Clinical Application”. PubMed. Authors: Emma J. Murphy, et.al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7770584/
