Building blocks for growth

The first 1000 days are the most important for building up!

To begin life in the strongest way possible, babies need the best building blocks available. Everything from the most interesting books to the most comfortable shoes to toddle around in become super important in early life.

Nutritional building blocks are the most important of these when we consider what years of research has discovered, in terms of the benefits to be acquired from good food and exercise. For digestive and immune health benefits, a key nutrient to consider is Wellmune^®.

What is Wellmune^®?

Beta glucan in oat bran.

What is Wellmune^®, you may ask? Well, it is a patented form of beta-glucan sourced from baker’s yeast – you may be familiar with beta-glucan as the cholesterol lowering component found in oats. Beta-glucans are found in complex carbohydrates (such as wholegrains found in foods such as oat bran) and have beneficial effects on both the immune and digestive system.

What is beta-glucan good for?

You may then ask, “How does beta-glucan work?”, or “What is beta-glucan good for?”. Well, in a clinical study of toddlers (1-4 years) in a daycare setting, Wellmune^® reduced the incidence of respiratory symptoms and the number of sick days by about 50% [1]. And if this was not enough, Wellmune^® also reduced the need for antibiotics by more than 60% [1, 2]. To top it all off, Wellmune^® has been shown to aid in suppressing the dangerous immune response observed during an asthma attack, and so is a potential co-therapy in managing allergic or airway disease [3, 4].

For digestive health, beta-glucans have a prebiotic effect [5], meaning they stimulate the growth of beneficial microbes, helping to support a healthy microbiome and digestive function.

Wellmune^® for a bran new day!

Wholegrain foods are an excellent source of nutrition when consumed according to recommended daily intake (RDI) guidelines. And with so many health benefits associated with the beta-glucans found in wholegrains, it is easy to see what beta-glucans are good for!

References

1. Meng et al, J Nutr Food Sci 2016, 6:4
2. Li et al. Pediatrics. 2014 Jun; 133(6):e1533-40
3. Pontes et al. Nutr J. 2016, 15:19
4. Burg et al. Springerplus. 2016 Jun 21;5(1):815.
5. Ciecierska et al. Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2019;70(4):315-324.

from an Expert Author

Christopher Halkias

BSc (Hons), PhD – R&I Project Manager

Christopher Halkias is a biomedical scientist with extensive experience across many of the research institutions of Melbourne. He was awarded a PhD in Biomedical Science from RMIT University in 2018. His research interests include pharmacology, pathology, immunology and the use of natural products for therapeutic benefit.

Christopher has published multiple peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, led scientific research within significant commercial projects and is an award-winning academic teacher. Through his efforts in research and teaching, he has an extensive understanding of science, and aims to communicate this knowledge to the Nurture Central family.

See author's posts