Do you know about β (beta) glucan, which is attracting attention in health-advanced countries such as the United States? It is known to be very gentle on the stomach, and it has been reported that ingesting it directly affects the immune cells in the intestines.
In this article, we will introduce
- The health benefits of taking β-glucan
- Ingredients that contain β-glucan
- How to consume it properly in meals
And so on.
The powerful health benefits of β-glucan
β-glucan is a type of dietary fiber and is a component called a polysaccharide group that is mainly contained in barley, baker’s yeast, black yeast, mushrooms, and so on. By the way, polysaccharides are carbohydrates made up of many monosaccharides.
In recent years, β-glucan has attracted attention as a new functional ingredient from all over the world. Many research results have been reported on β-glucan, and a great number of physiological effects have been reported in previous studies.
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The physiological effects of β-glucan
- An immunity-enhancing effect
- A suppressive effect on the elevation of blood sugar levels
- A suppressive effect on cholesterol
- An effect of improving the intestinal environment
Improved immunity
β-glucan is said to not be digested and absorbed in the stomach and so on, and improves immunity by acting directly on immune cells in the intestines. It is heartening that we can expect from it an increased ability to exterminate foreign substances such as bacteria and viruses, as well as the effect of preventing colds and alleviating and preventing allergic symptoms.
As a side note. Investigation of the immune effects of β-glucan began in the 1960s, and in 2001, the British scientific journal Nature proposed a mechanism (*1) in which β-glucan acts on immune cells, drawing increased attention to it.
Cholesterol suppression
In particular, ingesting barley-derived β-glucan has been found to be effective in lowering blood cholesterol (*2) and eliminating fat (*3) such as metabolic syndrome.
In addition, barley contains a lot of dietary fiber, so it makes you feel full, suppresses your appetite, and promotes the excretion of cholesterol, thus making it useful as a diet food.
Intestinal regulation effect
The intestinal bacteria in the large intestine can be roughly divided into three groups: good bacteria, bad bacteria, and opportunistic bacteria.
Among these, bad bacteria do bad things in the intestines, causing fat, bad breath, constipation, and mental stress, which bring about ailments in the intestines. Of course, it is not good if there are no bad bacteria in the intestines at all, but the ideal balance of intestinal bacteria is said to be
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Bad bacteria 1: good bacteria 2: opportunistic bacteria 7
In order to achieve this ideal ratio, the intestinal environment must be adjusted, and β-glucan plays a role here.
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Foods that contain β-glucan
Now that you know the benefits and effects of taking β-glucan, we will introduce what foods contain β-glucan, so please make use of this information.
Grains
Among the different types of grains, barley-derived β-glucan has particularly great health benefits, and it is said that it contains 19 times more dietary fiber than white rice. Since barley is rich in protein, minerals, and vitamins, various health food companies sell numerous products that take advantage of the functionality of barley-β-glucan. In addition, oats, which are the raw material for oatmeal, which has recently become popular, are also famous for being rich in β-glucan.
Mushrooms
Mushroom-derived β-glucan is expected to improve immunity and prevent allergies. There are many types of mushrooms, and each mushroom has different nutrients and tastes. They have a firm texture and you will rarely get tired of them as an ingredient, so they are suitable as a diet food and are a popular ingredient.
Black yeast
Black yeast is a type of microorganism that exists in nature. It was discovered by chance in Japan in the 1970s from raw sugar derived from sugarcane and is a representative raw material of Japan, where research began. The β-glucan produced outside the cells during fermentation has the characteristic of being water-soluble and is rich in vitamins and minerals.
Start your day with β-glucan
Have you ever heard the term “second-meal effect”? The first meal of the day is the first meal. The next meal is the second meal.
The second-meal effect is a theory that by taking highly fermentable dietary fiber in the first meal, the effect of slowing the rise in blood sugar level continues for a long time even after the second meal.
When we eat food, our blood sugar levels rise. A hormone called insulin is secreted to suppress it, but excess insulin is accumulated in fat due to its action.
In addition, if the blood sugar level continues to be high, it will cause diseases such as lifestyle-related diseases, and sudden fluctuations in blood sugar levels can sometimes cause drowsiness and mental irritation, so it may hinder activities or work after lunch.
Therefore, this second-meal effect is attracting attention as a solution.
Try to have highly fermentable dietary fiber in your first meal.
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The high affinity of β-glucan and the second-meal effect
In order to get the second-meal effect, you have to eat a meal with a great second-meal effect, but in fact, such a meal contains ingredients that contain a lot of dietary fiber such β-glucan introduced here.
β-glucan is a water-soluble dietary fiber. It slows down the speed of movement from the stomach to the small intestine and the speed of digestion of sugar, so the absorption of sugar becomes slows down. Barley, which contains a lot of water-soluble dietary fiber such as β-glucan, can be expected to have a very great second-meal effect, and research has shown that barley eaten for breakfast controls blood sugar levels throughout the day and keeps them at normal levels.
Please read Will it be a savior of constipation?! What is soluble dietary fiber? and your reference as well.
Summary
β-glucan has great health benefits such as improving immunity and metabolic syndrome as well as suppressing rapid rises in blood sugar levels. Some ingredients are relatively easy to incorporate into your diet, so it may be a good idea to try to consume them little by little. However, you should not get bored by only consuming the same ingredients, or be stressed by worrying about this too much.
It would be a good idea to take into consideration what you can do and incorporate it into your diet, such as using supplements that suit you and choosing products with more dietary fiber.
*1: Brown, G., Gordon, S. Nature 413, 36–37 (2001)
*2: Shimizu, C., et al. Plant Foods Hum. Nutr., 63, 21-25 (2008)
*3: Tsubasa Matsuoka, et al. Luminacoids Research, 18, 1825-1833 (2014)
