Be well!

JP

I think the primary reason is because many parts of the world still don’t think of food as being medicinal. It’s typically not a big part of the modern medical health care system. Also, there are variations in beta glucan activity based on the source of the glucans – mushrooms vs. oats vs. yeast, etc.

Having said that, there are quite a few clinical studies currently underway and planned using beta glucans as the active portion of the trial.

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=beta+glucan

Hopefully the results of that research will be positive and help to spread the word about it.

Be well!

JP

I only see a mention from time to time, not many are aware of the benifits

One day I believe this will be a major additive in foods, drinks, cereals, breads, etc. It also protects against radiation

Why do you think it is underutilized and undiscovered to a degree ?

I take it on a regular basis and use the 1/3, 1/6 beta glucan

I agree that the D3 form (cholecalciferol) seems to be superior to the vitamin D2 form (ergocalciferol).

I’m certainly taking my vitamin D and trying to keep it at an optimal level.

Be well!

JP

A healthy diet and good hygiene are indeed essential, IMO. But, in terms of sun exposure, a burn or tan in never necessary. Getting some limited non-peak UV exposure is generally all that’s needed.

Supplementation (with vitamin D) is another safe and effective way to derive much of the benefits of this immune-supporting hormone.

BTW, eating a diet rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fats can help discourage sunburn! So, it all comes full circle!

Be well!

JP

thank you so much for searching information about lysin/arginin. so my “hope” is destroyed . In the case of swine flu the best medicine woulde be – eat as healthy as possible and wash hands more often.

A few days ago i read on a german homepage of a doctor: sunlight is healthy because of vitamin d and so on, but when you stay too long in the sun, like beach vaccation, despite high spf – the sun exposure will have a immunsuppressive effect. That is an interessting effect, i can’t remember the exact chemical reactions for that. So i have no interesst in beach vaccation this year

Stay healthy and thank you so much for your articles here.

Nina K.

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. To the best of my knowledge, (unfortunately) lysine isn’t effective against all viral offenders.

I did a brief search regarding arginine consumption and the influenza virus and only found a study that hints at a mildly positive effect of arginine intake re: flu progression.

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/135/5/1146

I think, at this point, it would be premature to suggest applying an arginine-restricted diet as a general preventive measure against the flu. The reason why is because I just don’t know if the lysine/arginine interaction, that is supposedly at work in the case of HSV-1, may not relevant with regard to the Novel H1N1 Swine Flu virus or influenza in general.

Many arginine rich foods such as certain fish, spinach, turkey are just too healthy to avoid unless we have good reason to.

I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for information about this topic and will gladly share anything I find. Please do the same!

Be well!

JP

PS – Very preliminary research suggests that chocolate may actually have antiviral properties under in certain circumstances:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119190122/abstract

i read about the l-arginin vs. l-lysin thing, both are neccessary but l-lysin works against viruses, because they need arginin to proliferate. my hope is, that like in the case of other viruses like the normal “flu” herpes zoster etc. lysin rich foods will help to protect against an infection. lysin rich foods are almost all kinds of meat and fish, nuts and cereals with high protein load contain mostly a lot of arginin (which is also important). Chocolate and peanuts – typicall snacks when people are stressed – lead often to an outbreak of herpes simplex.

maybe this will be helpful to know

Nina K.