Seen One Beta Glucan, Seen Them All?
You hear a lot now about how beta glucans are great for supporting immune health. And that’s true, but only to a point. It is a generalization, as s ome beta glucans are shown to support immune health, but not all. The specific source organism (e.g., strain of yeast) of a particular beta glucan makes all the difference in terms of safety, mechanism of action, and efficacy. That’s because each type of beta glucan, molecularly speaking, has a different backbone and branching arrangement that can give it health benefits that are completely different from other types. Details matter. So, let’s review the science behind different forms of beta glucan. Cereal Beta Glucans Certain beta glucans derived from cereal grains (beta 1,3 and beta 1,4 glucan), predominantly oats, have been found useful for managing cholesterol levels—specifically, LDL, or bad, cholesterol. No changes in cholesterol level are typically found with either HDL (good) cholesterol or triglycerides. On...