Functional mushrooms, including shiitake, maitake, turkey tail, and reishi, have a history of versatile health benefits spanning centuries. One reason these medicinal mushrooms can do everything from helping the immune system and digestive tract to improving heart health is thanks to one of their unique components called Beta Glucan (also written β-glucans).
Beta-glucan is a soluble fiber located primarily in the cell walls of mushrooms and whole grains, known to lower blood sugar, defend against infections, and even kill cancer cells.
This article provides an in-depth look at the health power of beta-glucans in functional mushrooms, including how beta-glucans work, their many benefits, and their most bioavailable forms for diet incorporation.
What Are Beta-Glucans?
Beta-glucans are a type of dietary fiber called polysaccharides that occur naturally in the cell walls of functional mushrooms and foods like oats, wheat, and barley. Polysaccharides are carbohydrate arrangements made of long simple sugar molecule chains. They support cells and tissues, provide energy storage, and offer powerful health benefits.
The body doesn’t produce beta-glucans, so people must obtain them through food like mushrooms and supplements.
How Do Beta-Glucans Work?
β-glucan is a soluble fiber that dissolves in water and forms a thick, gel-like, indigestible substance. This polysaccharide travels through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract without the body breaking it down or absorbing it, allowing people to feel fuller, longer. As beta-glucans travel through the GI tract, they can carry excess lipids like cholesterol out with them. This process positively impacts metabolism, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels.
Beta-glucans also act as disease-fighting agents by triggering events that help regulate the immune system and make it function more efficiently. Specifically, beta glucans stimulate the activity of immune cells that ingest and demolish invading pathogens and energize other immune cells to attack.
Benefits of Beta-Glucans
Studies show beta glucan positively affects digestion, which can help reduce heart disease and cholesterol levels. Beta-glucans, particularly those in functional mushrooms, also stimulate the immune system, helping to fight bacteria, viruses, and tumors and prevent infections.
Beta-glucans play a vital role in the following body functions:
- Stabilizing blood sugar levels
- Regulating cholesterol
- Lowering high blood pressure
- Benefiting digestive and gut health
- Boosting the immune system
- Stopping infections from viruses and bacteria
- Fighting tumors and cancer cells
