Your immune system isn’t just ONE single thing or function in the body. It’s like a symphony of instruments, working together, communicating and making beautiful music. When it’s functioning properly, cells of the immune system are communicating effectively, coordinating appropriate responses to threats and not going overboard.
As my friend and world-renowned holistic therapist, Paul Chek, likes to say, “Not too much. Not too little.” It’s simple but true with just about everything! Including the immune system.
If you’re looking for a tried and true way to support your immune system — whether it’s for HPV, autoimmune, Lyme, a tumor, or you simply want to support yourself and your family through “sick season” — Immune Intel AHCC® is something you’ll want to check out.
AHCC® is a functional food cultured from shiitake mushrooms, and the most clinically researched specialty immune supplement globally.
Let’s look at some of that research. Here are 5 ways that AHCC® makes your immune system more awesome and effective, supported by real scientific research!
1. AHCC can support natural killer cell activity.
Natural killer (NK) cells are a component of the innate branch of the immune system (meaning we’re born with them) and absolutely vital to a robust immune response. NK cells are like the assassins of the immune system — if they see a threat, like a suspicious pathogen or mutated cell, they can take it out immediately. If your NK cells go to zero, you are literally dead.
BUT that being said, a healthy person does not necessarily need their NK cells to increase, just because. AHCC® doesn’t do that. It’s picky. It’s almost adaptogenic in its affect on NK cell activity.
In this study involving 38 patients with solid tumors, researchers observed that NK cell activity, was initially lower than in healthy individuals, but increased to comparable levels following six months of AHCC® supplementation.
In very sick people, AHCC® shows significant improvement in both NK cell activity and number. In some, only the NK cell activity is affected (like shown in this research paper) but not the number. And still, in some healthy individuals, NK cell number and/or activity does not change significantly with AHCC®.
This is a good thing! This supports the idea that AHCC® doesn’t just haphazardly ramp up your immune system if it’s not needed.
What it means for YOU: Immune Intel AHCC can intelligently support your immune assassins, which help take out problem-causing pathogens we all get exposed to every day.
2. AHCC® can support T-Cells and adaptive immunity.
The adaptive branch of the immune system acquires experience and memory as we grow and come into contact with pathogens and illness. It's the part of your body that recognizes a previous pathogen and mounts a specific and targeted immune response. T cells are a critical component of this action being successful.
In this study, 30 healthy participants were administered the 2009-2010 seasonal influenza vaccine. A subset of participants were given 3 grams of AHCC per day immediately after vaccination. The control group had only the vaccination.
The AHCC® group showed a significant increase in both NK cells and T cells, and the healthy individuals showed no significant change in these. This demonstrates that AHCC can better support an adaptive immune response, better than the flu vaccination alone.
What it means for YOU: If you’re going to get a vaccination, you may want to think about supplementing with Immune Intel AHCC for a more robust adaptive outcome. (not medical advice)
Want to Go Deeper?AHCC® is one of the most researched specialty immune supplements in the world, yet it's also one of the most misunderstood.That's exactly why I created this free AHCC Playbook. Inside, you'll learn how AHCC® works, what the clinical research says, recommended dosing, common FAQs, and the biggest misconceptions I see after years of studying this remarkable compound.It's the resource I wish every person had before deciding whether AHCC® is right for them.3. AHCC® May increase Dendritic cell numbers and function.
These guys don’t get enough spotlight in the “immune symphony.” If NK cells are like the assassins, Dendritic cells are like the intelligence officers, gathering information in the form of pathogen particles and presenting them to the lymph nodes for further action, and if needed a targeted response is launched.
Dendritic cells basically help connect the two branches of the immune system — innate and adaptive. See below.
Here's where AHCC research gets interesting.
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human study, researchers found that adults taking 3 grams of AHCC® daily for four weeks experienced increases in dendritic cell numbers and certain measures of dendritic cell function compared with placebo.
Why does that matter? Because dendritic cells play a central role in helping your immune system recognize threats and organize targeted responses.
What it means for YOU: This is one reason why our most common feedback from Immune Intel AHCC users is, “I just don’t get sick like I used to” or “everyone in my house was sick be me!”
“With AHCC I have not been sick in 2 years! My husband was sick 4 times in 5 months and he now wants to take it regularly. For me, if I don’t take it, I know I have not taken it. I feel more run down.”
4. AHCC can support a targeted immune response via cell communication
We’ve discussed the importance of cell counts, but that doesn’t mean much if they can’t communicate efficiently and effectively. This is where cytokines come in. These are a type of chemical messenger in the body; think of them like the emergency communication network.
In the literature they show up as various “interferons,” like alpha, beta and gamma. (I know we’re getting sciencey, but stay with me. You’re getting smarter!) They alert neighboring cells, activate antiviral defenses, and coordinate the immune response.
In a 2022 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial (the current gold standard) involving women with persistent high-risk HPV, researchers observed changes in these interferon signaling and T-cell responses associated with viral clearance for the AHCC® group compared to the placebo group.
Translation: Women with HPV for over 2 years, who took AHCC® had better clearance of the virus, resulting in a negative HPV result. Wooooo!
What it means for YOU: This is a big deal. If you’ve ever had a HPV+ result you get it.
“Immune Intel helped clear my HPV & my very skeptical doctors were shocked. It had been over 5 years!”
5. AHCC® can help regulate inflammation and mental stress
Inflammation gets a bad rap, painted with broad strokes, when the truth is that acute inflammation is an important component of the immune system response. If you get a small cut on your hand, the red, inflamed borders around the opening help keep microbes at bay.
It’s the chronic, widespread inflammation that can cause tissue damage and interfere with normal cellular processes. And when you get a full blood panel, your doctor will look at a marker called C-reactive protein (CRP) to understand what your systemic inflammation status is. CRP can be high in cases of serious infections, cardiac disease and many other inflammatory conditions.
This makes CRP a useful biomarker for researchers investigating how certain compounds (like AHCC®) may influence the body's inflammatory response.
In a small human study involving 21 healthy men, researchers investigated whether AHCC supplementation could influence inflammatory and oxidative stress responses following strenuous exercise.
Participants taking 750 mg of AHCC daily for four weeks demonstrated significantly lower CRP and free oxygen radical measurements, along with increased total antioxidant capacity, compared with placebo following an exercise challenge.
This fascinating 2018 study demonstrated that AHCC® can support a more robust parasympathetic (rest and digest mode) nervous system response. Meaning, the participants taking AHCC® had significantly less mental stress, and improved sleep quality during the time of the study.
The researchers went on to say that, “Our findings indicate that AHCC® is potentially effective in stress management and may be useful in the treatment of depression.”
What it means for YOU: If you’re feeling physically or mentally overwhelmed, AHCC® may be a supportive option for you.
Why does all this research matter?
As I stated earlier, AHCC® is the most clinically researched specialty immune supplement in the world, but the studies I shared in this article barely scratch the surface.
AHCC® is used in teaching hospitals, research facilities and 1000+ clinics globally. Because of this, the manufacturing standards must be top notch — equal to that of any pharmaceutical. Meaning every single capsule of Immune Intel AHCC® is exactly the same. Generic mushroom powders cannot make that bold claim.
AHCC® is absolutely not just another mushroom powder. When it comes to mushroom products, AHCC® is in a class of its own. The way and duration of culturing, the standardization, the fact that every aspect along the way is measured to ensure uniformity. I have been in the mushroom business for 7 years now and I have never come across another mushroom product that is more impressive.
And it’s not just me making bold claims. By now, you’ve seen some of the research.
Whether you’re fighting against Lyme disease, an HPV result, autoimmune issues, or you simply want to keep yourself and your family healthy year-round, Immune Intel AHCC® has something to offer you. When I appear as a guest on other podcasts, I like to say, “AHCC can benefit anyone with an immune system.”
I 100% whole-heartedly believe that. And now you can see why.
If you’re curious about dosage or how AHCC® might interact with your other supplements, or anything else I didn’t cover here, check out our F.A.Q. post here!
