We are contacted almost daily with questions about how IMMUNE-ASSIST compares to the other widely used mushroom polysaccharide medications. "what is so much better about Immune-Assist" is the question we are usually asked. Here we will try to address that question from a scientific perspective.

The therapeutic compound found in most mushrooms, which has stimulatory effect on the Immune System is a class of compounds known as polysaccharide. The term polysaccharide means "multiple sugar". The term sugar in this case is not what you normally think of to put in your coffee, but rather refers to the simple sugars which are the main building block of life. The most common organic substance in the world (in the universe?) is a polysaccharide. It is called Cellulose. This is the cell wall material of all plants. To a Scientist this compound has a more complex name, 1-4 Beta Glucan.

DEFINE BETA GLUCAN: Glucose molecules that are joined together with Beta (vs. Alpha) bonds. In the case of Cellulose, the bonds link from the #1 carbon on the first glucose molecule to the #4 carbon on the next molecule. (1-4 beta glucan)

As most sugars have 6 carbons, there are many possible ways to connect the sugars together. From #1 to #1, or #1 to #2, or #1 to #3, etc. While cellulose is a 1-4 linkage, this type of polysaccharide is not digestible and has no effect in the human body.

Polysaccharides that are linked with beta bonds at the #1 and #3 position though are a different story. These are the compounds that stimulate function and act in conjunction with the human immune system. These 1-3 beta glucans are mandatory for proper immune system function. They are available only through dietary sources and are in ever dwindling supply in our foodstuffs due to our modern farming practices. Chemical fertilizers interfere with the production of 1-3 beta glucan in plants.

This is where the different mushroom derived compounds come in. The cell walls in mushrooms are not like plants. Rather than cellulose as is found in plants, the mushroom cell walls are composed of 1-3 beta glucan. Each mushroom has a slightly different structure to their 1-3 beta glucan. For instance, some are attached to a protein, or have a branching chain structure, or some other structural difference. Each of these different structures has a slightly different effect in the body's immune system. Some activate this type of cell or that type of cell, some differentiate different immune responses, some are involved in the 'memory' effect of the immune system, etc.

Starting in the late 60's, there was a lot of research done on the different sources of mushroom polysaccharides. This resulted in many different drugs and supplements, such as Lentinan, D-Fraction, AHCC, Arabinoxylane (MGN-3), PSP and PSK, Coriolan, Sonifilan, Schizophylin and many others. These all followed the well known theory of modern medicine - "One Disease, One Molecule". Single medicines extracted and purified away from all of the other related compounds. Too bad that life is not so simple as that.

In reality, when disease occurs, how can we possibly say what aspect of immune dysfunction allowed it to happen? Is it lowered NK cell activity (take MGN3 then...) or is it lowered T-cell count (D-fraction!) or perhaps a lack of the body's normal Tumor Necrosis Factor (PSP! PSK! Coriolan! etc, etc, etc)

The truth is, we do not know what causes some people to get sick and others to remain healthy. The great mystery of life. The human body, the organism as a whole, functions as a whole. We can't accept that if you have hepatitis or cancer then this or that is going to help. It might. But if that is not what your body needs, then it won't.

In the last ten years there have been some very far reaching advances made by some very good scientists like Paul Stamets, Malcolm Clark, Andy Miller and John Saline. They were all on the same track. Combining Different Beta Glucan Structure to stimulate Different aspects of the immune system simultaneously. This is why there are so many multi-mushroom formulas today. RM-10 is an excellent one, as is Stamets 7, Nikken Immunity, MycoSurge and the many fine products put out by Mushroom Science and New Chapter. I applaud the developers of these multiple mushroom formulas. They always work better at addressing disease states than single mushroom entities.

While the products I mention here are all available as Health Supplements, and they all are good choices at maintaining a healthy immune system, at times there is a need for something stronger. In dealing with serious disease states such as AIDS, Cancer and Hepatitis, a much more aggressive approach is needed. I guess one could take a bottle or two of each of these products a day... That is what it would take to get a sufficient quantity of 1-3 Beta Glucan in the body to do some good.

The pharmaceutical companies take a different approach. Patent a Single Compound and sell it for a lot of money. AHCC, MGN3, LENTINAN and the others I mention in the title were all developed by pharmaceutical companies and are used as prescription medicines in most countries. Enough Beta-Glucan perhaps, just hope it's the one YOU need!

This is where Immune-Assist is different. What we have done is taken seven different compounds from 6 different mushrooms (two different compounds from Cordyceps sinensis) and combined them together into a formulation which has a higher Beta Glucan content than any of the title compounds. Immune-Assist actually has all of the named compounds in it. Of course these names are all trademarked so we can't say that. All of the compounds in Immune-Assist were originally researched and developed by big pharmaceutical companies, and are all used as single entity prescription drugs in other countries. by combining these different structural Beta Glucans, Immune-Assist has shown a greater effectiveness in all the trials than Any of the single components.

45% 1-3 Beta Glucan, with over 200 different modes of action identified. That is why Immune-Assist outperforms MGN3, AHCC, Lentinan, PSK, PSP, Coriolan and Maitake D-Fraction. As far as comparing Immune-Assist to RM10, Immunity, Stamets 7, Manipol or any of the other consumer grade polysaccharide supplements, that is really comparing apples to oranges. The usual over-the-counter health supplements definitely have a place, but not as adjunct treatment for serious disease states.

Immune-Assist is not for everyone. But if you need some Serious Help for Serious Health Issues, use Immune-Assist.

Note on "Beta Glucan" in health supplements: There is a type of 1-3 beta glucan found in yeast. This is the common source of "beta glucan" that you see in so many health supplements these days. The yeast beta glucan has very little effect in the human system. There are NO prescription drugs made anywhere from yeast beta glucans. (There are over 40 different prescription drugs made from mushrooms). The claims usually made for the yeast beta glucans is based on research done with fish in Norway 20 years ago. Works OK for fish. Too bad it doesn't work for humans. Yeast beta glucan is a marketing scheme to make a big profit on cheap raw materials produced in China. Don't waste your money on it. If the label does not say what the source is, don't buy it. Believe me, when a supplement manufacturer spends the money to use effective, mushroom derived beta glucans, you can be sure they will tell you about it.

A book I recommend for anyone interested in Medicinal Mushrooms is by Andrew Miller and George Halpern - "Medicinal Mushrooms: Ancient Remedies for Modern Ailments"

The Book-Of-All-Books on the subject of Medicinal Mushrooms is by Dr. John Smith from Scotland..."Medicinal mushrooms: their therapeutic properties and current medical usage with special emphasis on cancer treatments" Now there's a book! it can be downloaded in it's entirety here:

http://sci.cancerresearchuk.org/labs/med_mush/med_mush.html

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