No one wants to be sick with a cold or the flu this winter. But without a primed and responsive immune system, you’re practically volunteering yourself for this misery… and with fall just around the corner, your chance to “opt out” of catching a cold or the flu this season is dangerously close to passing you by.
The good news: Just one smart move now can make a world of difference later. And it’s as simple as adding a powerful supplement to your usual daily regimen.
For centuries, mushrooms have been prized mainstays of Traditional Chinese Medicine—not least of all for their near-miraculous ability to transform your immune system into a well-coordinated fighting force. Rich in a class of immune-balancing polysaccharides called 1-3 beta glucans, medicinal mushrooms cover all of the most critical bases for a healthy immune system—from immune activation to pathogen recognition and destruction.
A group of powerful, medicinal fungi: Agaricus blazei, Cordyceps sinensis, Grifola frondosa (Maitake), Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi), Coriolus versicolor, and Lentinula edodes (Shitake)—have been clinically-proven to boost your immunity, improve liver health and support healthy levels of blood sugar.1-11
Of course, that’s assuming the product you’re taking is standardized and comprised of high-quality, biologically active mushroom extracts… an assumption that, unfortunately, isn’t always correct.
Research shows that, when it comes to medicinal mushrooms, you’re not always getting the immune protection you’re paying for. In fact, one analysis exposed a sampling of Chinese-imported Cordyceps products that contained no detectable amounts of the mushroom at all—and domestic products didn’t fare much better, with most consisting primarily of a growing medium rather than the active ingredient itself, not to mention unpredictable variations in quality.12
So how can you be sure that your mushroom supplement works? Hybridized variations of these medicinal mushrooms that are crossbred to enhance their natural, immune stimulating properties will maximize their health promoting benefits, and provide reliable consistency and optimal effectiveness. And when blended in the proper combination, the benefits of these “super mushrooms” are compounded dramatically.
This kind of high-quality blend amounts to some serious synergistic immune protection—with compelling clinical evidence to back it up. In a study of 56 middle to late stage cancer patients, this patented mushroom blend improved general measures of immunity—such as more IgA secretion plus stimulation of the specific immune functions of monocytes, macrophages, T-lymphocytes, and natural killer (NK) cells.13
To prepare yourself for the coming cold and flu season, these medicinal mushrooms are now available to you as a product called ImmuneAssist® 24/7—a complex, organic combination containing seven unique compounds from all six mushrooms. ImmuneAssist 24/7 delivers over 200 different immune activating polysaccharides in every dose. It also contains ECGC, an active component of green tea also known for its immune-boosting effects. In addition, ECGC is an inhibitor of viral attachment to cells.14-15 A purified form of EGCG is used to make ImmuneAssist 24/7. This EGCG is suspended in a time-released matrix so that it doesn’t break down in stomach acid, allowing much more of this virus-blocking compound to be transported into the blood stream than can be obtained by drinking green tea.
References:
1. Ahn WS, Kim DJ, Chae GT, Lee JM, Bae SM, Sin JI, Kim YW, Namkoong SE, Lee IP. Natural killer cell activity and quality of life were improved by consumption of a mushroom extract, Agaricus blazei Murill Kyowa, in gynecological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2004 Jul-Aug;14(4):589-94.
2. Gong HY, Wang KQ, Tang SG. [Effects of cordyceps sinensis on T lymphocyte subsets and hepatofibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B]. [Article in Chinese] Hunan Yi Ke Da Xue Xue Bao. 2000 Jun 28;25(3):248-50.
3. Cheng Q. [Effect of cordyceps sinensis on cellular immunity in rats with chronic renal insufficiency] [Article in Chinese] Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi. 1992 Jan;72(1):27-9, 63.
4. Deng G, Lin H, Seidman A, Fornier M, D’Andrea G, Wesa K, Yeung S, Cunningham-Rundles S, Vickers AJ, Cassileth B. A phase I/II trial of a polysaccharide extract from Grifola frondosa (Maitake mushroom) in breast cancer patients: immunological effects. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2009 Mar 1. Published Online Ahead of Print.
5. Cui B, Han L, Qu J, Lv Y. Grifola frondosa Rich in Vanadium. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2009 Mar 13. Published Online Ahead of Print.
6. Gao Y, Zhou S, Jiang W, Huang M, Dai X. Effects of ganopoly (a Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide extract) on the immune functions in advanced-stage cancer patients. Immunol Invest. 2003 Aug;32(3):201-15.
7. Yang X, Sit WH, Chan DK, Wan JM. The cell death process of the anticancer agent polysaccharide-peptide (PSP) in human promyelocytic leukemic HL-60 cells. Oncol Rep. 2005 Jun;13(6):1201-10.
8. Tsang KW, Lam CL, Yan C, Mak JC, Ooi GC, Ho JC, Lam B, Man R, Sham JS, Lam WK. Coriolus versicolor polysaccharide peptide slows progression of advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Respir Med. 2003 Jun;97(6):618-24.
9. Tsukagoshi S, Hashimoto Y, Fujii G, Kobayashi H, Nomoto K, Orita K. Krestin (PSK). Cancer Treat Rev. 1984 Jun;11(2):131-55.
10. Liu M, Li J, Kong F, Lin J, Gao Y. Induction of immunomodulating cytokines by a new polysaccharide-peptide complex from culture mycelia of Lentinus edodes. Immunopharmacology. 1998 Nov;40(3):187-98.
11. Zheng R, Jie S, Hanchuan D, Moucheng W. Characterization and immunomodulating activities of polysaccharide from Lentinus edodes. Int Immunopharmacol. 2005 May;5(5):811-20.
12. Holliday JC, Cleaver P, Loomis-Powers M, Patel D. Analysis of Quality and Techniques for Hybridization of Medicinal Fungus Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc. International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. 2004; 6:151-64.
13. Ruwei W, Yiyuan X, Peijun J, Xing W, Holliday JC. Immune-Assist brand Dietary Supplement as an Adjunct for Chemo and Radiation Therapy in Cancer Treatment. Unpublished Study.
14. Nance CL, Siwak EB, Shearer WT. Preclinical development of the green tea catechin, epigallocatechin gallate, as an HIV-1 therapy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Feb;123(2):459-65.
15. Xu J, Wang J, Deng F, Hu Z, Wang H. Green tea extract and its major component epigallocatechin gallate inhibits hepatitis B virus in vitro. Antiviral Res. 2008 Jun;78(3):242-9.