LAG: A Miracle Fiber
LAG is Larch ArabinoGalactin, a prebiotic fiber from the Larch tree, get it here. I read up on it years ago, then forgot about it... until Mercola's interview with Dave Asprey, the Bulletproof Exec. You can watch that here.
You can watch my short video on the topic here!
The interview is about Dave's approach to fasting and this super prebiotic fiber that he adds to his butter coffee to help curb your appetite for longer. After a bit of research, I found his InnerFuel Prebiotic which contains LAG.
I bought this by Swanson which is cheaper because it's ONLY LAG (Asprey's has other ingredients). Mine is made with FiberAid, his with ResistAid but both are made by the same company so I'm thinking not a lot of difference there. I am a huge Asprey fan, I only use and recommend his MCT oil! I just wanted to try LAG alone, see how that worked.
Now it's true that most any fiber will do that (keep you feeling fuller longer). But it appears that LAG is not just any fiber.
Miracle?
The rest of this article goes over what is so great about LAG -- there's a LOT. Number ONE: it is an amazing prebiotic which means it feeds your gut bacteria, your probiotics.
PRObiotic supplements install good bacteria. You should have some already, probiotics install more.
PREbiotics feed all that gut bacteria.
Now, I do take probiotics. When I'm even a little under the weather, I'll take one twice a day! I'm a fan. However, there is some evidence that, while taking a probiotic is good, perhaps the good bacteria that is installed doesn't necessarily STICK. It may do some good, then flush out. Nobody really knows. And there are plenty of experts who say, "Of course, it sticks!!!" I dunno.
BUT prebiotics definitely feed those gut bacteria which improves the gut biome!!! Feeding the gut bacteria helps whatever is sticking to multiply and stay strong. We want that!
LAG is a particularly effective prebiotic, as you'll see in the notes below. Mostly bullet points for easy digestion. It has anti-cancer properties, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, improves your immune system, reduces tumors, keeps cancer cells from sticking to your liver...
Yeah. You wanna read this (lots of repetition, no quiz), then get some of this stuff!
It's tasteless, dissolves totally, put in coffee, in a shake, in a glass of water, easy to take... To me, this is one of the simplest ways to improve your health & immune system. I'm in!
Dr. Berg on the fact that bacteria eat FIBER.
Best from veggies but LAG is a good substitute :)
SCFA (Short Chain Fatty Acids)
In humans, SCFA’s have many fat loss benefits:
Increase energy expenditure (burn calories
Increases o2 consumption
Increases Mitochondrial function
Helps regulate caloric intake by turning off hunger hormone ghrelin and turning on satiation hormone leptin
Increases fat oxidation (i.e. fat-burning)
Protects against obesity
PAPER: Larch Arabinogalactan is a Novel Immune Modulator
by PETER D'ADAMO, ND (son of Dr. James D’Adamo)
Originally published in: J. Naturopath. Med 1996 (4);32-39 - This paper discusses some of the applications and characteristics of naturally occurring arabinogalactans, with a special emphasis on those arabinogalactans derived from Western Larch. The unusual immunological properties of larch arabinogalactan (wood gum, wood sugar, larch gum, "Stractan", "ARA-6") suggest it may be used in numerous, exciting future applications. (55 references, 1 illustration)
Natural Killer cell (NK) and Macrophage activation - Cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells as well as cultures of preseparated peripheral non-adherent cells and monocytes showed enhancement of natural killer cytotoxicity against K562 tumor cells when pretreated with larch arabinogalactan for 48-72 h.
Strong immunostimulating properties with simultaneous anti-inflammatory properties which were also shown to be effective in the treatment of numerous allergies.
Offers antiviral effects
Liver Cancer - Completely prevented the settling of metastatic cells of sarcoma L-1 tumor in the liver of Balb/c mice and greatly reduced the colonization process of highly metastatic Esb lymphoma cells of the liver of DBA/2 mice.
Improves liver contrast enhancement and has a significant effect on hepatic lesion detection as assessed by CNR.
Excellent source of dietary fiber, and has been shown to increase the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), principally butyrate. Butyrate has a particularly important role in the colon. It is the preferred substrate for energy generation by colonic epithelial cells (49) and it has also been shown that butyrate protects these cells against agents that lead to cellular differentiation (50).
E.coli adherance - Arabinogalactans are useful for therapeutic treatment of infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms, particularly intestinal bacteria, such as Gram-negative types. Treatment with arabinogalactan is particularly applicable to bacterias of the Enterobacteriaceae type such as Escherichia coli bacteria, particularly those strains manifesting K88+ fimbrae. Arabinogalactans were shown to have dramatic effects on bacterial adherence.
Use in conjunction with other agents - concurrent administration of arabinogalactans with anti-oxidants such as ascorbate may enhance their efficacy. Larch arabinogalactan has been studied for use in experimental models of metastatic disease spread to the liver, including its use in conjunction with modified citrus pectin. Both polysaccharides work in essentially the same way, that is, by inhibiting the attachment of metastatic cells to liver parenchyma by competitive binding to a liver lectin, the hepatic galactose receptor.
Use in pediatric otitis media prophylactic use can decrease the frequency and severity of pediatric otitis media (ear infections).
Treatment of HIV with larch arabinogalactan can result in significant improvement in susceptibility of HIV related opportunistic infections.
Use as a delivery adjunct: Because of its effects on vascularity and rate of hepatic uptake, concurrent administration of larch arabinogalactan with other therapeutic agents can be considered rational. This may apply to anti-hepatitis agents in addition to hepatoprotective drugs. The immunoaugmentive effects, anti-radiation effects and drug facilitative effects of larch arabinogalactan indicate promise as a concurrent therapy in patients undergoing conventional cancer treatment.
Use as a fiber supplement to increase colonic butyrate and decrease colonic ammonia concentrations
Larch Arabinogalactan: For the Love of Larch
an excellent source of dietary fiber
shown to increase the production of short-chain fatty acids, principally butyrate and propionate
has been shown to decrease the generation and absorption of ammonia
Evidence indicates human consumption of LAG has a significant effect on enhancing beneficial gut microflora, specifically increasing anaerobes such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus.
has several interesting properties which make it an ideal adjunctive supplement to consider in cancer protocols.
can stimulate natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity
enhance other functional aspects of the immune system
inhibit the metastasis of tumor cells to the liver
build a more responsive immune system
as a therapeutic agent in conditions associated with lowered immune function, decreased NK activity, or chronic viral infection
DESIGNS FOR HEALTH: Arabinogalactan – Immune Function Enhancer
https://www.designsforhealth.com.au/arabinogalactan-system-enhancer/
With regard to healthy gut flora, larch arabinogalactan resists digestion by salivary enzymes and enzymes in the small intestine. This allows it to arrive at the large intestine, where it has high fermentability and serves as a prebiotic fibre for beneficial colonic microorganisms.
The products of this microbial fermentation are short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate, propionate, and acetate. These SCFAs are believed to play an important role in gut health, particularly butyrate, as it is the primary fuel source for colonic epithelial cells.
Butyrate also increases mucin production, which could contribute to better health by reducing the likelihood of pathogenic bacterial adhesion to the colon.
Additionally, butyrate improves the integrity of cellular tight junctions, which has obvious implications for gut health via maintaining proper intestinal permeability and limiting the passage of incompletely digested peptides into systemic circulation.
It’s been proposed that the immune response to these errant peptides may be a main etiological factor (if not a major causal factor) in numerous chronic diseases, especially autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Consumption of larch arabinogalactan has been shown to increase colonic populations of health-promoting anaerobic bacteria, including Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli.
These two organism populations have potent antimicrobial effects against pathogenic bacteria including Salmonella, Shigella and pyelonephritic E. coli, making them key players in the immune system’s gastrointestinal line of defence.
Species in the Bifidobacteria genus are among the most abundant in the GI tracts of infants and young children but their populations decrease during aging and in certain disease states, such as obesity.
Treatment with Bifidobacteria has been shown to be beneficial in numerous GI disorders, including diarrhea, colic and celiac disease.
So yeah. I love the stuff. Get it here!