The journey to create one of the most powerful and effective immune supplements was a labor of love and dogged determination by Mitchell May, the founder of Pure Synergy®. His years of research and super-sleuthing involved thousands of hours of work developing a truly one-of-a-kind immune innovation — SuperPure® Beta 1,3-Glucan. But let’s step back to where all started.
The Human Need
For many years, Mitchell was becoming increasingly concerned about people’s immunity. These days, people are sleeping less, ingesting more chemicals and pesticides in their food, living in artificial environments farther and farther away from nature, being exposed to pollution, and living longer than ever before. All of these factors tax people’s immune systems in unprecedented ways.
One issue that was of particular concern to Mitchell was the use of antibiotics. Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, antibiotics have saved millions of lives and became one of the greatest gifts of modern medicine. Unfortunately, this gift has not been used wisely and antibiotics have been badly abused in recent times.
For example, antibiotics are given to livestock like cows, pigs, and turkeys in massive quantities to make them grow and gain weight faster and to prevent the diseases that result from the crowded, unsanitary conditions on factory farms. In fact, according to the FDA, in 2014 about 80% of all antibiotics sold were used on livestock. While antibiotics are administered by doctors to humans to treat illnesses, they are broadly delivered to livestock through animal feed. One of the worst outcomes of the misuse of antibiotics was the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or “super-bugs.”
This really worried Mitchell and he wanted to find a way to help strengthen people’s immune system before the need for antibiotics arose, thereby reducing our dependence on them. He was determined to uncover a pure and natural way to help the immune system be more robust, flexible, and capable in the most positive and potent form possible.
The Search Begins
It started with good old-fashioned elbow grease. Mitchell combed through thousands of research articles and came across the same compound over and over again. This compound, called beta 1,3-glucan, evolved with our immune system and has been shown to be a “biological response modifier.” It has beneficial effects on a healthy immune response by activating our immune cells (to learn more check out Beta 1,3 Glucan: Nature’s Immune Booster).
People were manufacturing beta glucans from yeast and mushrooms, but they were often full of chemicals and under-concentrated to be of real benefit to the general population. Mitchell was determined to find a better, more pure and potent form of beta 1,3-glucan. One that could be relied upon to consistently have a positive influence on the immune system — one that he could call “the real deal.”
More digging revealed a special algae, called Euglena gracilis, that had unusually high concentrations of beta 1,3-glucan inside it. NASA studied Euglena algae to see if they could cultivate it in space for nutrition. It was also studied for use as a biofuel, as a water filtration system, to reduce stress, among many other things.
After nine months of full-on sleuthing, he found a group of researchers in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor who were studying this same algae in the hopes of removing the need for antibiotic use in livestock. Bingo!
Investigation to Innovation
He tracked down the researchers and learned that using beta glucan to support a healthy human immune system was totally off their radar. They only thought about adding it to livestock feed. So, Mitchell worked with them to develop the first-ever, algae-based beta 1,3-glucan extract for human consumption. They also needed to get this new beta 1,3-glucan extract certified by the FDA as “generally recognized as safe” (or GRAS) — no small feat considering no one had ever extracted this compound from algae before.
After approximately five years of extraordinary effort and perseverance, and many ups and downs, Mitchell and the researchers developed a way to extract beta 1,3-glucan from Euglena gracilis algae using only purified water. This was not only the cleanest possible extract, but also much more bioavailable and concentrated than any other beta 1,3-glucan available.
The Real Deal
As someone who had been through a life-threatening accident and on the verge of death, Mitchell was utterly disturbed by what was being marketed to people with life-threatening or chronic conditions. He couldn’t believe the price that was being charged for substandard supplements that didn’t have what the cells in the body really need to support a healthy immune system.
With dedicated passion for the health of humanity, and relentless tenacity, Mitchell finally created an immune product that he could be proud of. At first, he included it as one of the ten immune-fortifying ingredients in Immune Health. But later, he decided to also offer it as a stand-alone supplement — SuperPure Beta 1,3-Glucan.
Be Prepared
He is so confident in its efficacy, that he makes sure he and his family use SuperPure Beta 1,3-Glucan on a daily basis. Not only that, he ensured that every employee at The Synergy Company got free beta 1,3-glucan every month during 2020-2021. While no dietary supplement is curative, Mitchell insists, "the more we prime, balance, and strengthen our immune system, the better prepared we'll be for the next bug."
