Nutraceuticals and nootropics for anti-aging

Beta-glucan reveals unexpectedly powerful cholesterol-lowering effects.

Beta-glucan is a complex carbohydrate derived from the cell walls of plants, yeast, and mushrooms. Its effects on immunity and on cancer have been studied for forty years, and its ability to modify cholesterol concentrations in the blood have been known since the 1980s. In 1996 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration officially recognized beta-glucan as a cholesterol-lowering substance when consumed at 3 grams/day or more, in divided doses.¹

Many studies have since been performed on beta-glucan’s effects on blood cholesterol — mostly in animals and in cell experiments, but occasionally in humans. The result was the usual ‘muddying of the waters’ that we’ve come to expect from the medical research community: some studies found cholesterol benefits from beta-glucan, others did not. For example, a clinical trial in 1999 found that obese men with high cholesterol levels could lower these levels by about 8% by consuming 15 grams/day of beta-glucan.^2a,2b Another study, in 2000 concluded that beta-glucan at 3 grams/day had no effects on cholesterol levels in healthy middle-aged men.^3a,3b (While these and other studies do not necessarily contradict each other, they typically use different protocols, even including various additional active ingredients, which make comparisons impossible.)

The latest work in this field, however, is mercifully simple and produced results that are easy to interpret. Researchers at Maastricht University gave 5 grams/day of beta-glucan to 25 healthy subjects for 5 weeks. The beta-glucan was mixed in a fruit drink. 22 control subjects were given just the fruit drink. LDL (‘bad cholesterol’) levels in the beta-glucan group were lower by 7.7% than in the control group.^4,5 This work comes close to confirming the value of 3 grams/day which was the one acknowledged in the 1990s by the FDA as the lower limit of effectiveness for this treatment.

Even so, beta-glucan at 3 grams/day would be an expensive treatment. The cost of this supplement needs to come down by a factor of at least 3 or 4 in order to be practical for most people as a cholesterol reducer. Until this happens, it will be used mainly for its anti-cancer and immune-boosting effects, which require far smaller doses.

References

[1]  TALK PAPER [about beta-glucan] U.S. Food and Drug Administration website

[2a]  Plasma lipid changes after supplementation with ß-glucan fiber from yeast [abstract] Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Aug;70(2):208-12

[2b]  Plasma lipid changes after supplementation with ß-glucan fiber from yeast [full text] Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Aug;70(2):208-12

[3a]  Modest doses of beta-glucan do not reduce concentrations of potentially atherogenic lipoproteins. [abstract] Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Jul;72(1):49-55

[3b]  Modest doses of beta-glucan do not reduce concentrations of potentially atherogenic lipoproteins. [full text] Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Jul;72(1):49-55

[4]  Beta-glucan incorporated into a fruit drink effectively lowers serum LDL-cholesterol concentrations. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Mar;83(3):601-5

[5]  Enriched fruit drink can lower cholesterol Reuters news service online

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LifeLink carries beta-glucan in 250 mg capsules.