Ultra Pure Beta Glucan

If it seems like every supplement on the planet is claiming to boost your immune system that’s because every supplement on the planet is claiming to boost your immune system. (Which, in the era of the coronavirus, raises a red flag.) But what’s unique about Ultra Pure Beta Glucan is that it’s targeting those on the frontlines who are at increased risk for the coronavirus. A banner on the product’s website encourages health care workers and first responders to sign up for a free bottle of the “immune support supplement.” “[T]o help you stay as healthy as possible,” it says.

Unfortunately, taking this product may not do these men and women much good as the evidence that it actually works to boost the immune system appears to be lacking.

Sure, iNR Wellness, the supplement’s apparent manufacturer, points to some 8,500 articles on beta glucan, a chemical compound found in certain bacteria, grains and fungi, on the National Institutes of Health website. But did any of these articles study Ultra Pure Beta Glucan specifically? It seems unlikely, because then why wouldn’t iNR Wellness just link to those articles?

INR Wellness also admits on the supplement’s website that “evidence supporting beta glucans in their ability to regulate and boost the human immune system” is only “promising.” In other words, inconclusive. If you want to make an implied claim that your product helps prevent the coronavirus, you better have reliable scientific evidence to back up the claim. (Side note: There is no vaccine to prevent the coronavirus.)

The rest of us

For anyone who’s not a health care worker or first responder, the site pushes a three-month supply for $149.85, even though it may take up to four months to feel the “most pronounced results,” according to an FAQ on the site.

Coronavirus scams are on the rise. If you come across one, let us know here.

For more on immunity-boosting claims in the coronavirus era, click here.