Hi, I’m Dr. Carrie Lam.
Hello, I’m Dr. Jeremy Lam.
This is Dr. Michael Lam.
Today we’re going to talk about a very interesting topic on mushrooms.
Okay Dr. Carrie, educate us.
So, mushrooms actually have multiple compounds, ergothioneine, beta glucan, even triterpenes.
We’ll talk a little more about each one of them.
So, what is ergothioneine?
It’s one of the most important mushroom health benefits because it really has a high concentration of antioxidants like ergothioneine.
This compound actually contains sulfur and has the ability to stave off any oxidative damage to DNA.
So, it’s kind of a protector of cells as you can say.
It’s found in very concentrated areas in the body where there’s lots of oxidative stress
such as your liver and even in the lenses of the eyes.
Ergothioneine can get into and protect the mitochondria which you know are the little organelles inside the cell where ATP energy is produced.
We need this energy in order to live.
So, this is one of the greatest mushroom health benefits for increasing energy and slowing down the aging process.
Dr. Jeremy, can you tell us a little about beta glucan?
Beta glucan is really one of the most important health benefits in mushrooms.
It’s a polysaccharide that’s naturally found in the cell walls of some of the bacteria and fungi,
and specifically, 1,3 beta glucan is unique to yeast and mushrooms.
Why beta glucan is so amazing is because it can help stimulate the Th1 cytokine production in our body which has to deal with our immunity.
This is very interesting and a very important point
for everybody to understand.
I’ll take the time now to give you a clue of what it’s all about.
Now, the body’s immune system is divided into two parts.
The body’s very smart.
If you are being attacked and the toxin is outside the cell, then Th2 kicks in.
Th2 is a cellular immunity that is responsible at the extracellular space.
If the virus or the bugs or the toxin or the Lyme, whatever is able to get into the cell through the cell wall,
now the Th1 which is inside the cell wall has to do the job.
Why? Because the Th2 cannot get in, so the Th1 will have to do the job.
Now, if you look at many of the infectious processes such as even Lyme which is kind of rampant now,
what happens is that they’re able to sneak through the Th1 and defense system through the cell wall and enter the cytoplasm inside the cell.
Now, if you have a strong Th1, you’ll be able to fight off the Lyme pathogens
or for that matter other pathogens.
However, if you have a Th1 that is low then the pathogen, for example Lyme,
will be growing inside the cytoplasm.
Now, that’s not the worst part.
The worst part is that because, remember the Th2 is outside the cell is now unable to come inside the cell to help the Th1.
So, you have the Th2 that’s isolated outside the cell unable to help the body.
Inside the cell you have the Th1 which is being attacked by the Lyme, for example, or pathogens.
So, the body’s being held hostage and has totally become destroyed.
That’s why sometimes you ask, “Well why is the Lyme or Epstein- Barr or candida how do they go on and on",
and the body looks okay, but it’s just never quite okay
because the Th1 and Th2 are both needed.
When you don’t have a Th1 function, no matter how strong your Th2 is,
it’s not going to be able to help inside the cell because it cannot get in.
So therefore the beta glucan is so critical because it helps the Th1 function.
You guys need to understand these concepts. There’s deep physiology in there.
It’s not just a matter of taking mushrooms.
Of course, there are different kinds of mushrooms. They all have different potentials.
For example, Cordyceps is much more gentle than a little Reishi. Anyway, Dr. Jeremy and Dr. Carrie continue on.
I want everybody to understand this physiological mechanism that’s going on,
so you understand the benefit of why mushrooms works.
Talking about physiological methods,
the Th1 that you’re talking about is actually improving the function of these natural killer cells and the macrophages.
So, these are the white blood cells that can actually attack cancer cells and pathogens.
They are very important to the Th1 balance.
Dr Jeremy, can you also tell us about how mushrooms and the beta glucan can activate the complement system?
Yes.
The complement system is actually found in your blood and is basically a system of molecules that when become activated,
can actually help really boost your immune system.
So, the beta glucan also helps these complement systems get activated,
and it helps circulate in your body so they become active when they are needed.
That’s why taking beta glucan is a really good natural and health immune booster.
Now, while these compounds are all good; the beta glucan, etc. and mushrooms
we do have to be very careful because not everybody can accept that.
In people with adrenal fatigue, when the body’s already compromised,
a slight boost- it sounds good,
and it does actually for many people increase energy,
but it can also cause adrenal crashes.
You’ll hear me saying this all the time because we see a lot of people come to us.
They’ve been taking some of these good compounds and they will say, “It doesn’t work because it makes me more agitated.
It makes me sleepier. It makes me more anxious.”
While we adjust the dose or adjust the delivery system or adjust the frequency and then it works.
So, the compound itself is not necessarily a bad compound, but if you don’t match it to the body’s ability to take it in,
process it, make the active ingredient available and then get rid of it from the inside of the cell to the outside of the cell
through the extracellular space into the lymphatic tissue through the kidneys.
If any one of these steps are blocked, then the overall net effect can be negative.
It’s a good compound, but it has to be done properly.
I hope you liked our video about mushrooms and its compounds that are really great for boosting the immune system.
If you have some other supplements that you use that you like to boost your immune system,
let us know in the comments down below,
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Bye.