Beta-glucans are a type of fiber linked to several positive health effects, like helping to control blood pressure and cholesterol. They may also boost the immune system. Because of these qualities, cancer patients may have questions about beta-glucans in food and how they work.
Keep reading to find answers to your most pressing questions about food beta-glucans.
1: How Do Beta-Glucans Impact My Health?
Beta-glucans are a dietary fiber. This means the human body can’t break them down (digest them). But just because our bodies can’t digest beta-glucans doesn’t mean they aren’t helpful. These molecules can produce many useful outcomes.
Since our stomachs don’t break down beta-glucans, these fibers reach the large intestine undigested. Once there, the fibers interact with gut microorganisms, like bacteria. These interactions have the potential to positively affect health.
Cereals are one of our primary sources of food beta-glucans. Oats and barley have high concentrations of the molecule. A diet rich in cereal beta-glucans is linked to a number of beneficial effects, including:
- Lowering and controlling blood sugar
- Lowering cholesterol
- Lowering the risk of colon cancer
- Increasing cell-protecting (antioxidant) activity
- Supporting gut health
Beta-glucans are also found in certain mushrooms (maitake and shiitake mushrooms), seaweeds and brewer’s yeast. We don’t know if these other sources of beta-glucan have the same health benefits as those from cereals.
2: How Much Beta-Glucan Do I Need to Eat?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that eating 3 grams of beta-glucan per day can help reduce cholesterol. People who eat fiber-rich diets may already be getting enough beta-glucan.
The following foods contain the recommended daily amount:
- Barley: 1/2 cup cooked barley contains about 4 grams of beta-glucan.
- Oats: 1 cup cooked oats contains about 3.2 grams of beta-glucan.
Beta-glucan is also available as a supplement. But it’s important to talk to your doctor before taking any supplements. This is especially true for cancer patients. Supplements may interfere with or react negatively with cancer medications. Doctors can advise which supplements can be safely used during active treatment.
3: Why Do Beta-Glucans From Some Foods Have Different Health Benefits?
The term beta-glucans describes a type of molecule that can vary in shape and size. These characteristics affect the health benefits of different beta-glucan sources.
For example, beta-glucans might dissolve well in water (soluble) or not (insoluble). This property affects how each type of beta-glucan is processed in our bodies.
- Soluble: In the digestive system, soluble fibers can dissolve into fluids like water, forming a gel-like material. Once this material enters the large intestine, it feeds and contributes to the health of gut bacteria. Healthy gut bacteria can produce benefits like protection against diabetes.
- Insoluble: Insoluble fibers don’t dissolve. Our bodies generally use them as bulking materials for poop. This can help avoid constipation and contribute to healthy bowel functioning.
Most food beta-glucans are categorized as soluble, but solubility can vary depending on the source. For example, the solubility of oat beta-glucan is generally higher than barley beta-glucan. Some food beta-glucans, like baker’s yeast, are insoluble. These variances in solubility may explain why the effects of each type of beta-glucan differ slightly.
4: How Do Cooking and Baking Affect Food Beta-Glucans?
People and food companies often use foods with beta-glucans for cooking and baking. They may be used as a main ingredient or as a thickener, stabilizer or fat substitute. Cooking, kneading and refrigerating can all change the characteristics of beta-glucans. These differences can change their health impacts.
For example, certain processes may affect how beta-glucans interact with the body. Researchers have observed the way the following activities can affect cereal beta-glucans:
- Baking and kneading: These processes do not seem to affect the ability of cereal beta-glucans to help control blood sugar levels.
- Extrusion cooking: Extrusion is a high-temperature cooking process used to make food products like crackers and granola. In one study, researchers reported that extruded oat bran had better health benefits compared to untreated oat bran. But too much extrusion can create the opposite effect.
- Freezing: Freezing foods like bread and oat muffins has been shown to significantly reduce the amount of soluble beta-glucans in these products. This may mean the beta-glucans provide fewer health benefits if you freeze them.
Some food products, like Cheerios, openly tout the health benefits of beta-glucans in their products. But it can often be difficult to determine, for example, what type of extrusion process a product may have gone through. Qualified dietitians and nutritionists can help answer questions about good sources of beta-glucans in store-bought products.
What Does This Mean for Cancer Patients?
Diet and nutrition are important for everyone. Some diets are linked to a lower risk of developing cancer. Certain food choices may help cancer patients manage treatment side effects.
Eating a diet rich in beta-glucans may provide benefits that help improve a cancer patient’s overall health. This is important since overall health can impact prognosis and eligibility for surgery.
Researchers are also looking into using purified forms of beta-glucans to help treat cancers like mesothelioma. Depending on study results, purified beta-glucans may one day become complementary therapies that help ease symptoms and treatment side effects. It is unclear if food sources of beta-glucan have the cancer-fighting properties that early data suggests the purified forms may have. But additional research may help answer this question.
