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How to Identify a High Quality Beta Glucan Product

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 the best, high quality product…

These Labels are pictures of some of the numerous beta glucan products available on the market. They no longer can provide you with enough information to help you determine whether or not you are purchasing a high-quality beta glucan product that produces actual results. If the product is claiming it is effective it should be able to provide the right peer-reviewed medical stidies along with patents that protect it, like here and here.

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 alleged immune support products available today to test. New ones are popping up on the market everyday and trying to keep track of each and everyone would be very time consuming and costly.

As you can see, you really cannot come to a rational conclusion with labeling. Peer-reviewed medical studies on a specific brand are one of the best methods for determining the effectiveness of a product, providing there is no conflict of interests and good pratice is strictly observed. However, you must be cautious in your research. For example there only appears to be one series of studies that compare Beta 1-3d Glucan products by the same researcher over and over again.

  1. Once you review these studies you will see that none of them disclose the lot numbers of the products.
  2. You will also discover that this one product is also included in all of the other studies.
  3. After study two it appears that the Glucan 300® product was retested, however at no time did they re-test any of the other previously tested products.
  4. It is well known that total Beta 1-3d glucan content varies from production batch to production batch. It is not an exact science[i]–[ii].
  5. As such the benefits derived will vary from batch to batch.
  6. Therefore, if other lots i.e. batches, of one specific beta glucan product was re-tested, all other beta glucan products should have been re-tested.
  7. To date, it appears that approximately 60 immune support products have been tested, and the majority of them beta glucan products.
  8. We have found no instances of any other competitive peer-reviewed studies on the same subject matter. Here are the comparative studies;
      • Study one – 2010 Vetvicka, V., and J. Vetvickova. “β1, 3-Glucan: Silver bullet or hot air?.” Open Glycoscience 3.1 (2010).
      • Study two – 2012 Vetvicka, Vaclav & Vetvickova, Jana. (2012). Comparison of immunological properties of various bioactive combinations. Biomedical papers of the Medical Faculty of the University Palacký, Olomouc, Czechoslovakia. 156. 218-22. 10.5507/bp.2012.065.
      • Study three – 2014 Vetvicka V and Vetvickova J. Comparison of immunological effects of commercially available β-glucans.Appl Sci Rep. 2014; 1:2. http://dx.doi.org/10.7243/2054-9903-1-2
      • Study four – 2014 Vetvicka V, Vetvickova J. Natural immunomodulators and their stimulation of immune reaction: true or false? Anticancer Res. 2014 May;34(5):2275-82. PMID: 24778031.
      • Study five – 2016 Vetvicka, Vaclav. (2016). Comparison of immunological effects of commercially available beta-glucans: Part III. Int. Clin.Pathol.J.. 2. 10.15406/icpjl.2016.02.00046.
      • Study six – 2018 Vetvicka V, Vetvickova J. Glucans and Cancer: Comparison of Commercially Available β-glucans – Part IV. Anticancer Res. 2018 Mar;38(3):1327-1333. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.12355. Erratum in: Anticancer Res. 2019 Jul;39(7):3975. PMID: 29491056.

If you are going to retest a product shouldn’t you also retest the prior products you tested, especially since the first study dates back to 2010?

SIGNS TO LOOK FOR

LOT NUMBER: not disclosing the lot numbers in any of the tests is concerning,  as it appears to be good practice for comparision studies[iii]–[iv]–[v]–[vi]–[vii]. “…all chemicals and biological reagents should be listed, including lot numbers or batch numbers when appropriate…”[viii]“For patent proprietary formulas, the proprietary name, manufacturer name, lot number, as well as name and percentage of added materials should also be listed.”[ix]If a lot number[x]–[xi] is missing for any product that is part of a study, it causes a loss of traceability and then it calls into question the accuracy of the study[xii]. With such missing information, comes the loss of the ability to “detect counterfeits”[xiii]–[xv].

RELYING ON RODENTS: All the comparison testing was done on mice, which are not the ideal subjects for testing  “…mice are problematic models for understanding human disease.”[xvi].“The usefulness of mouse models has been questioned because of irreproducibility and poor recapitulation of human conditions. Newer studies, however, point to bias in reporting results and improper data analysis as key factors that limit reproducibility and validity of preclinical mouse research.”[xvii] “Our work clearly shows that, although there is some human immune cell activity, these animals don’t fully reconstitute the human immune system.“[xviii][xiv] “…mice are problematic models for understanding human disease.”[xix][xv] “Genomic responses in mouse models poorly mimic human inflammatory diseases.[xx][xvi] “…inadequate for stem cell studies”.

Peer Reviewed, Double-Blind Studies are the Best Method to identify a safe and effective Beta Glucan product. When it comes right down to it, independent peer-reviewed testing by individuals respected in their field(s) of study provide an individual with dependable non-biased results that can be trusted[xxi]–[xxii]. “Blinding and strict conflict of interest policies reduce the potential for bias in analyses and interpretation.”[xxiii]. Click here to review the Wellmune Studies.

Determining the right immune support product can be a daunting task. There are 1000’s of products to choose from. There are many important factors to review before you purchase an immune support supplement.

This includes quality, purity, potency and efficacy, however one of the most overlooked, and most important is the difference between these two terms;

  1. Immune boosters, and;
  2. Immune Modulators, or Immunomodulators.

Do you understand the important difference? Boosting the immune system can lead to over-activity, have you ever heard of the term auto-immune…? There are over 100 conditions that are fit this classification[xxiv]. Then you have the reverse, where ones immune system is run-down. It is here one would want to boost one’s immune system.

So what is the answer that encompasses both? Immunomodulators;

Immunomodulators is any substance used to help regulate or normalize the immune system[xxv]. Its like a carburetor for the immune system[xxvi]–[xxvii]. When the immune system is down, it brings it up, when it is up to high it brings it down. It keeps the immune system running at the perfect level. In other words, it helps support proper immune system function.

PEER REVIEWED TEST RESULTS ON WELLMUNE® BETA GLUCAN CLICK HERE

Citations

[i] Bashir KMI, Choi JS. Clinical and Physiological Perspectives of β-Glucans: The Past, Present, and Future. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Sep 5;18(9):1906. doi: 10.3390/ijms18091906. PMID: 28872611; PMCID: PMC5618555.
[ii] Vetvicka V., Vetvickova J. Physiological effects of different types of β-glucan. Biomed. Pap. Med. Fac. Univ. Palacky Olomouc. Czech Repub. 2007;151:225–231. doi: 10.5507/bp.2007.038.
[iii] https://ccej.b2sg.org/instructions/ Accessed 28NOV23
[iv] https://publish.acs.org/publish/data_guidelines#sim_ml_compdata Accessed 28NOV23
[v] http://jbcresources.asbmb.org/collecting-and-presenting-data Accessed 30NOV23
[vi] Prager EM, Chambers KE, Plotkin JL, McArthur DL, Bandrowski AE, Bansal N, Martone ME, Bergstrom HC, Bespalov A, Graf C. Improving transparency and scientific rigor in academic publishing. Brain Behav. 2019 Jan;9(1):e01141. doi: 10.1002/brb3.1141. Epub 2018 Dec 2. PMID: 30506879; PMCID: PMC6346653. Accessed 30NOV23
[vii] https://cdn.ymaws.com/tshp.site- ym.com/resource/resmgr/publications/journal/TSHP_Journal_Submission_Tool.pdf Accessed 30NOV23
[viii] Alexander G. Mathioudakis, Darcy Wagner, Orianne Dumas,How to peer review: practical advice for early career researchers. Breathe 2022 18: 220160; DOI: 10.1183/20734735.0160-2022
[ix] https://candjournal.ca/index.php/candj/AuthorGuidelines Accessed 01DEC23
[x] https://academic.oup.com/DocumentLibrary/AJHP/AJHP-manuscript-submission-checklist-2017-0823.pdf
[xi] BPB Reports, Guidelines/Checklist for authors submitting papers dealing with Natural Products and/or Crude Extract Materials https://bpbreports.pharm.or.jp/contents/guideline/guidelines.pdf Accessed 01DEC23
[xii] https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1541-4337.13053
[xiii] Fabresse N, Gheddar L, Kintz P, Knapp A, Larabi IA, Alvarez JC. Analysis of pharmaceutical products and dietary supplements seized from the black market among bodybuilders. Forensic Sci Int. 2021 May;322:110771. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110771. Epub 2021 Mar 30. PMID: 33838562.
[xiv] Haji M, Kerbache L, Sheriff KMM, Al-Ansari T. Critical Success Factors and Traceability Technologies for Establishing a Safe Pharmaceutical Supply Chain. Methods Protoc. 2021 Nov 22;4(4):85. doi: 10.3390/mps4040085. PMID: 34842786; PMCID: PMC8628909.
[xv] https://www.fip.org/files/fip/counterfeit/2006Salvadore/Thomas%20Layloff-Drummond.pdf
[xvi] Robert L. Perlman, Mouse models of human disease: An evolutionary perspective, Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2016, Issue 1, January 2016, Pages 170–176, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eow014 Accessed 01DEC23
[xvii] Justice MJ, Dhillon P. Using the mouse to model human disease: increasing validity and reproducibility. Dis Model Mech. 2016 Feb;9(2):101-3. doi: 10.1242/dmm.024547. PMID: 26839397; PMCID: PMC4770152. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4770152/ Accessed 01DEC23
[xviii] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170822123842.htm Accessed 01DEC23
[xix] Robert L. Perlman, Mouse models of human disease: An evolutionary perspective, Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2016, Issue 1, January 2016, Pages 170–176, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eow014 Accessed 01DEC23
[xx] Seok J, Warren HS, Cuenca AG, Mindrinos MN, Baker HV, Xu W, Richards DR, McDonald-Smith GP, Gao H, Hennessy L, Finnerty CC, López CM, Honari S, Moore EE, Minei JP, Cuschieri J, Bankey PE, Johnson JL, Sperry J, Nathens AB, Billiar TR, West MA, Jeschke MG, Klein MB, Gamelli RL, Gibran NS, Brownstein BH, Miller-Graziano C, Calvano SE, Mason PH, Cobb JP, Rahme LG, Lowry SF, Maier RV, Moldawer LL, Herndon DN, Davis RW, Xiao W, Tompkins RG; Inflammation and Host Response to Injury, Large Scale Collaborative Research Program. Genomic responses in mouse models poorly mimic human inflammatory diseases. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Feb 26;110(9):3507-12. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1222878110. Epub 2013 Feb 11. PMID: 23401516; PMCID: PMC3587220. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23401516/ Accessed 02DEC2
[xxi] https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-a-Double-Blind-Trial.aspx
[xxii] Misra S. Randomized double blind placebo control studies, the “Gold Standard” in intervention based studies. Indian J Sex Transm Dis AIDS. 2012 Jul;33(2):131-134. doi: 10.4103/0253-7184.102130. PMID: 23188942; PMCID: PMC3505292.
[xxiii] Platt RW, Platt R, Brown JS, Henry DA, Klungel OH, Suissa S. How pharmacoepidemiology networks can manage distributed analyses to improve replicability and transparency and minimize bias. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2019 Jan 15. doi: 10.1002/pds.4722. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 30648307.
[xxiv] http://www.aarda.org/autoimmune-information/list-of-diseases/ Accessed 09APR14
[xxv] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18405890Accessed Accessed 09APR14
[xxvi] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/24987-immunomodulators
[xxvii] https://www.cancerresearch.org/treatment-types/immunomodulators

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