Functional Mushrooms, PSK, Beta-Glucans, and You

Functional mushrooms can help promote health in many different ways, from enhancing cardiovascular efficiency to helping to increase longevity. Perhaps the most exciting benefit of functional mushrooms is their ability to encourage appropriate immune responses.

What makes these special fungi so good at supporting the human body? Ask a mushroom expert, and they’ll tell you the secret is PSK and beta-glucans. ‡

What is PSK?

PSK is a polysaccharide, which you probably know by the less formal name of “complex carbohydrate.” Complex carbs that would be familiar to you include starches, fiber, and cellulose. Most of the bulk of every mushroom is made up of polysaccharides.

One special polysaccharide can be found in great quantities in certain types of functional mushrooms, most notably in the famed Turkey Tail species (Trametes versicolor, formerly known as Coriolus versicolor.) Known as polysaccharide K, PSK, or Krestin, this special ingredient can benefit your health by providing a way to help control your immune response.

Some doctors call PSK a biological response modifier, since it can either boost your immune system to help in fighting off infection and disease, or modulate your immune response, ensuring that your body doesn’t overreact. ‡

What are beta glucans?

Beta-glucans (β-glucans) account for about half of the polysaccharides in a functional mushroom, including PSK. Beta-glucans have a very special job: they help cells die when they are supposed to, so new ones can take their place. ‡

PSK, beta-glucans, and you

Making sure your body has plenty of PSK and beta-glucans on hand for your immune system can help keep your body’s natural cellular turnover on track. The Magical Immunity Blend Mushroom Powder is a superfood that can deliver a daily dose of these powerful immune boosters! ‡
