NutraBio EpiCor: The “Multi-Vitamin” For Your Immune System

Update: NutraBio now also has a more well-rounded immune system that also includes a full dose of EpiCor. See our NutraBio IMMUNE article or continue reading about EpiCor below!
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NutraBio is the industry leader in quality and transparency, and has been for quite some time.

No matter what your health and fitness goals may be, whether it’s stepping on stage, crushing a powerlifting meet, running a marathon, or just trying to lose a few pounds, staying healthy should always be the number one priority. If there’s two things that can quickly stall progress (or even set you back), it’s getting injured or sick. The stress that hard workouts in harsh environments place on your body can hamper your ability to fight off bacteria and foreign pathogens. Low to moderate intensity exercise is great for not only being healthy, but it’s also an easy way to give your immune system a nice boost.

However, there are times when getting sick is almost inevitable no matter what you do (parents of children during cold season know this well!). Implementing a diet rich in micronutrient dense food (but not too rich in calories), exercising regularly, sleeping 7-8 hours per night, practicing proper hygiene, and limiting stress are some of the best ways to prevent getting sick. In addition to all of those things, optimal supplementation can serve as your “insurance policy” to make sure you have the best chance to fight off any forgeign bacteria or pathogen that may come your way!

NutraBio EpiCor

Support Your Immune System with NutraBio EpiCor!

Most of us know about Vitamin C, zinc, and maybe even echinacea… but what else is out there?

Introducing EpiCor from NutraBio: A Whole Food Fermentate Geared Towards Boosting Immunity

Although they’re best known for creating unrivaled supplements geared towards boosting athletic performance, NutraBio also has a robust line of single-ingredient vitamins and supplements that keep your health in check (see our recent posts on NutraBio Maca and NutraBio Milk Thistle). While they’re going bonkers keeping their Vitamin C in stock, they also have a new ingredient geared towards optimizing your immune function, and it goes by the name of EpiCor.

This is the most potent form of dried yeast fermentate we’ve seen on the market. In this post, we’re going to explain how powerful EpiCor is, and why you should consider adding it to your daily supplement stack! In order to stay up to date with everything this busy brand has going on, make sure to sign up for PricePlow’s NutraBio news and deal alerts – because there’s more immunity action coming!

NutraBio EpiCor – Deals and Price Drop Alerts

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EpiCor: Support Your Immune System

NutraBio EpiCor Ingredients

NutraBio EpiCor has just one ingredient — EpiCor — so you can add it to your own immune/multivitamin stack!

There’s only one ingredient in this supplement, so we’re going to give you a complete overview of what EpiCor is, how it works, and its benefits as outlined in the research!

As you can see from the supplement facts panel, each capsule contains 500mg of Dried Yeast Fermentate from saccharomyces cerevisiae, trademarked as EpiCor by Embria Health Sciences. One bottle contains 60 capsules and you only need to take one capsule per day to reap all the benefits. Therefore, you’re receiving a two month supply for a great price!

Now let’s get into what EpiCor can deliver!

What is EpiCor?

Embria Health Sciences, the creators of EpiCor, describes it as “a natural dietary supplement ingredient that’s been shown to help strengthen the immune system by balancing immune response”.[1] They also state, “it acts as a multivitamin for your immune system”.[1]

Embria Health Sciences LogoAs we mentioned before, having a good nutrition / metabolic function, exercise, sleep, and hygiene routine are always going to be the most important. EpiCor is just another way to give you an extra edge.

In general, EpiCor is a whole food yeast fermentate made from saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is a natural ingredient composed of beneficial amino acids, polyphenols, vitamins, fibers, beta-glucans, and various other metabolites that can help support your immune system.[2] Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a specific type of yeast that’s typically used for making bread and wine.

The difference is the processing and production

What’s most important about EpiCor specifically, is the way it’s processed and produced. Through using a specific fermentation method, Embria is able to maintain all of the nutrients and metabolites that yield the greatest health benefits.[2] Therefore, many classify EpiCor as a “whole food supplement” since it’s made with natural ingredients and is minimally processed.[2] Furthermore, it’s not an extract, byproduct, nor is it chemically synthesized.[2]

And, as mentioned below, it’s Made in America!

But let’s get to the most important part – how the immune system (and EpiCor) works!

The Immune System: An Overview

On a large scale, EpiCor was formulated to help strengthen your immune system, but it accomplishes this in several ways. The immune system can be divided into two main divisions, the innate and adaptive immune systems.[3,4]

The Innate Immune System: Front line barriers

The innate immune system acts as our first line of defense, which means if the microorganism is able to break past the barriers provided by the innate immune system,[3] then the adaptive immune system will kick in to help. The main goal is of course to avoid letting that happen, though. The innate immune system has several physical and anatomical barriers to keep unwanted pathogens out. This primarily includes the skin and mucosal membranes, which are key components to fighting against foreign invaders.[3]

The innate immune system also has various “effector” cells that help take care of foregin invaders when the barriers fail. They are able to identify pathogens, bacteria, and viruses and take the appropriate steps to help destroy them before they start damaging or infecting healthy cells. This includes: granulocytes, monocytes, dendritic cells, natural killer (NK) cells, lymphoid cells, and endothelial cells.[3]

The Adaptive Immune System

If the first line of defense is not strong enough, the pathogen will make it into the body and start wreaking havoc on your internal systems. That’s where the adaptive immune system steps in. This is where your body recruits T-Cells and B-Cells to start creating antibodies and killing off the bacteria.[4] As a result, if you encounter the same pathogen again, the antibodies can recognize it and take care of it straight away.[4] That’s how you ultimately build immunity to various viruses and bacteria.

It’s obviously a lot more complex than that, but we wanted to give you a bit of background information, to help you understand how EpiCor works. If you would like to learn more, check out this website: What is EpiCor: FAQs. Because as you’ll see, EpiCor helps improve the function of multiple components that make up the immune system!

EpiCor’s Four Main Effects

Here are the four mechanisms in which EpiCor strengthens your immune system:

  1. Enhances the secretion of secretory Immunoglobulin A (SIgA)

    EpiCor SIgA Study

    Research shows, EpiCor can significantly enhance SIgA secretion. [5,6]

    EpiCor is able to enhance the secretion of secretory Immunoglobulin A (SIgA), which plays a significant role in our innate immune system.[7,8] SIgA is the primary immunoglobulin present in our mucosal membranes within the respiratory tract and stomach.[5] SIgA constantly monitors the environment to distinguish between good bacteria and foreign invaders.[5] Once it recognizes a pathogen, it can trap it with the sticky mucous membrane, preventing it from entering the body.

    This is one of the reasons why your body starts building up a lot of mucus when you get sick. It’s a defense mechanism to remove existing pathogens and prevent any further bacteria from entering while you recover. It’s not like EpiCor will make you excessively accumulate mucus, but it will ensure that you have enough in case something comes into your respiratory system or gut that’s not supposed to!

  2. Promotes Greater Natural Killer (NK) Cell Activity

    The second way EpiCor helps strengthen your immune system is by promoting greater natural killer (NK) cell activity.[7,9] NK cells are known for their ability to identify cells that have been infected by the pathogen and induce apoptosis (cell death) to get rid of them.[3]

    EpiCor Natural Killer Cells Study

    Studies show EpiCor can boost NK cell activity![6,9]

    NK cells are able to accomplish this because of their unique capability to recognize major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigens that get produced by the infected cell.[3] This serves as a signal to allow the NK to come ‘take care of business’ by secreting granules with perforins and granzymes that essentially break down the host cell.[3] NK cells are also able to recognize healthy cells, so they don’t start killing everything in sight. If the NK cells are more active, then there’s less likelihood of the virus or bacteria spreading further and impacting any additional healthy cells. As mentioned above, NK cells are a part of your innate immune system, whose goal is to take care of invaders before the adaptive immune system has to step in.[3]

  3. Boosts Antioxidant Effects

    One major thing we didn’t mention while explaining the components of the immune system is how antioxidants tie into everything.They help combat harmful molecules called free radicals, which get produced within the body from several different ways, including metabolism, exercise, UV light exposure, pollutants, and cigarette smoke.

    EpiCor Antioxidants Study

    EpiCor can boost the effectiveness of antioxidants in as little as 2 hours after ingestion.[6,10]

    A free radical is a cell containing unpaired electrons, thus making it very unstable and highly reactive. Electrons prefer to be in pairs, so the free radical will travel throughout the body looking for healthy cells to steal electrons from. Once the free radical latches onto another cell, it causes the cells’ membrane, DNA, and enzymes to become damaged. It may also cascade into a “domino effect” if it displaces other electrons, which then become free radicals as well.

    This may sound terrible, but you can combat this by consuming a diet rich in micronutrients and antioxidants, since they can stabilize the highly reactive free radicals and protect your healthy cells.[9] With regards to immunity, if your cells are structurally sound, then they’re better equipped to fight against pathogens. Although EpiCor itself is not an antioxidant, it can help boost the effectiveness of existing antioxidants.[7,10] As a result, they will be more powerful and prepared to battle against any free radicals that come their way!

  4. Supports Gut Health

    The last thing EpiCor tackles is gut health!

    Digestive issues can quickly lead to several other problems, and may even put you at a higher risk of getting sick! Several supplements already exist that are designed to help out your digestive system, such as probiotics, digestive enzymes, or prebiotics.

    EpiCor GI Discomfort

    By acting as a prebiotic, EpiCor is able to improve GI discomfort.[6,11,12]

    They seem to be popping up everywhere as more people are getting diagnosed with medical conditions such as colitis, crohn’s, and irritable bowel syndrome, likely a case of our ever-worsening processed food supply. Obviously these issues are major problems for those who suffer from them, as they significantly decrease quality of life.

    Again, a proper diet and exercise regimen is key, but in addition to those things, some supplements may drastically improve your gut health. One of those just may be EpiCor, because it acts as a prebiotic within the digestive tract.[11,12] As a result, this can lead to increased production of good bacteria, such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli.[11,12] EpiCor can also help improve your immune system by strengthening the gut barrier and decreasing inflammation.[11,12]

EpiCor is quite the powerful ingredient, as it affects multiple components of the immune system to give you the best chance to stay healthy. Now that you know how EpiCor works, let’s take a brief look at what benefits it has to offer!

The Benefits of Epicor: A Summary of the Literature

As of writing this article, there have been several human clinical trials and in-vitro studies conducted assessing the effects of EpiCor on multiple aspects of immunity. If you would like to view all the details of the research, check out this link: Embria Sciences – Summary of Human Clinical Trials. It’s a great resource to see just how beneficial EpiCor really is!

Here’s a brief overview of what’s been found so far when supplementing with EpiCor:

  • EpiCor Allergy Symptoms

    EpiCor supplementation reduced allergy symptoms as measured by nasal congestion.[6,8]

    Improved allergy symptoms,[8] such as running nose and nasal congestion

  • Increased rapid immune response through boosted SIgA secretion[5], as well as serum NK cell and antioxidant activity[10]

  • Enhanced digestive health and decreased gastrointestinal discomfort[11,12]

  • Significantly reduced cold and flu-like symptoms[13,14]

It’s pretty amazing what EpiCor is able to do on it’s own for strengthening your immune system!

NutraBio EpiCor Dosage and who can take it

Most of the human clinical trials used 500mg EpiCor once per day to produce these benefits. As always, NutraBio is giving you the full clinically studied dose in one serving. Therefore, NutraBio recommends taking one capsule daily with a meal for optimal results. Keep in mind that it’s not intended for use in children under the age of 18 and if you’re pregnant, lactating, have pre-existing medical conditions or are using any over the counter or prescription medications, always consult with a physician before using EpiCor.

Stacking considerations

Note: Rather than build the stack below, NutraBio now also has a more well-rounded immune system that also includes a full dose of EpiCor. See our NutraBio IMMUNE. The only ingredient missing would be Echinacea, which can still be added!

Although EpiCor is great on it’s own, if you’re looking for some other supplements to stack along with it for extra immune/health support, check out the list below:

  • Vitamin C

    NutraBio Vitamin C comes in both powder and vegetable cap options.

  • Vitamin D

    NutraBio Echinacea

    NutraBio’s Echinacea has recently been re-released, and is a great supplement to stack with EpiCor!

    NutraBio Vitamin D comes in dosage ranges of 1000IU, 2000IU, and 5000IU. We typically enjoy 5000IU, but it depends on sunshine exposure (which is nearly always great for the immune system) and what’s in your multivitamin.

  • Echinacea

    Recently re-released NutraBio Echinacea has 400mg per capsule.

  • Zinc

    Instead of a cheap zinc oxide, NutraBio Chelated Zinc uses Albion’s zinc bisglycinate chelate, which has far better absorption through the small intestine.

  • NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine)

    NutraBio N-Acetyl Cysteine comes in both pill and powder forms.

  • or… a well-dosed Multivitamin

    See the updated NutraBio MultiSport Series, which has both Men’s and Women’s! If you take these, you likely don’t need the vitamins and minerals above, unless you want to mega-dose additional Vitamin C and D!

Made in America

By using EpiCor, the tried-and-true trademarked form, you can rest assured that the quality, safety, purity, and potency are unmatched. It’s manufactured in Embria Health Sciences’ cGMP-certified facility and directly shipped to NutraBio, who further runs it through several quality tests. Lastly, EpiCor is made right here in the U.S. and is tested to be gluten free, GMO free, BSA/TSA free, and OU Kosher.[1]

NutraBio: Not just a sports nutrition brand!

Since you have enough things to worry about on a daily basis in regards to health and fitness, NutraBio wants to take care of the trust in supplementation part for you. They make each product without compromise by obtaining the purest, highest quality, and safest raw materials money can buy – and they don’t accept them until they pass lab tests.

Then they manufacture the end products in their own facilities, to ensure everything gets tested multiple times and passes their incredibly high standards, but above that, they also publish 3rd-party lab tests for all NutraBio supplements!

Final Thoughts: EpiCor Is A Potent Immune Booster!

It’s very rare that a supplement can actually boost or strengthen your immune system, but the research is looking very bright for EpiCor. When we heard NutraBio was releasing this as a stand alone product, we knew the evidence had to be very convincing. While other brands are often quicker to bring novel ingredients to the market, NutraBio doesn’t like to rush things until they know it’s worth it.

NutraBio EpiCor Product Shot

EpiCor from NutraBio is definitely something you should consider adding into your supplement stack!

Not to mention, they want to ensure it comes from a reputable source, because if it’s tainted in any way, shape, or form, NutraBio is going to find out before it makes it past their internal quarantine. If you learn anything in our NutraBio Story article, know that founder and CEO Mark Glazier would rather lose money then sell a product that doesn’t live up to their standards. Since there are multiple human clinical trials to support the efficacy of EpiCor, and they’re able to get it from a highly trusted ingredient supplier right here in America, this product is definitely one to try for those who are looking for that “extra immune edge”.

NutraBio is committed to giving you the best products to stay healthy and boost your performance in the gym. After looking at their complete supplement line-up, you can see they live up to that commitment. We’re excited to see what else NutraBio has in store for the rest of 2020, because so far, they’ve been releasing new products every couple of weeks! We expect them to continue that trend, so make sure you subscribe down below to follow along with NutraBio’s journey!

NutraBio EpiCor – Deals and Price Drop Alerts

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Disclosure: PricePlow relies on pricing from stores with which we have a business relationship. We work hard to keep pricing current, but you may find a better offer.

Posts are sponsored in part by the retailers and/or brands listed on this page.

NutraBio EpiCor Label

The Full NutraBio EpiCor Label

About the Author: Mike Roberto

Mike Roberto

Mike Roberto is a research scientist and water sports athlete who founded PricePlow. He is an n=1 diet experimenter with extensive experience in supplementation and dietary modification, whose personal expertise stems from several experiments done on himself while sharing lab tests.

Mike's goal is to bridge the gap between nutritional research scientists and non-academics who seek to better their health in a system that has catastrophically failed the public.

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References

  1. Embria Health Sciences; EpiCor: Proven Immune Strength; 2020; https://www.epicorimmune.com/what-is-epicor/
  2. Embria Health Sciences; EpiCor: Whole Food Yeast Fermentate: 2020. https://www.epicorimmune.com/what-is-epicor/what-is-whole-food-yeast-fermentate/
  3. Aristizábal B, González Á. “Innate immune system”; In: Anaya JM, Shoenfeld Y, Rojas-Villarraga A, et al., editors. Autoimmunity: From Bench to Bedside [Internet]. Bogota (Colombia): El Rosario University Press; 2013 Jul 18. Chapter 2. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459455/
  4. Alberts B, Johnson A, Lewis J, et al. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 4th edition. New York: Garland Science; 2002. Chapter 24, “The Adaptive Immune System”; Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21070/
  5. Corthésy B.; “Multifaceted functions of secretory IgA at mucosal surfaces;” Front. Immunol.; 12 July 2013; https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2013.00185/full
  6. Embria Health Sciences; “EpiCor: Summary of Human Clincal Trials”; 2020; https://www.embriahealth.com/media/cms/EpiCor_Summary_of_Human_Clinicals_FD3BF2C5E0C8A.pdf
  7. Embria Health Sciences; EpiCor: How It Works: 2020; https://www.epicorimmune.com/what-is-epicor/how-it-works/
  8. Jensen, G. S. et al.: “A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Pilot Study: Consumption of a High-Metabolite Immunogen from Yeast Culture has Beneficial Effects on Erythrocyte Health and Mucosal Immune Protection in Healthy Subjects”; The Open Nutrition Journal 2008, 2, 68-75; https://www.embriahealth.com/media/cms/The_Open_Nutrition_Journal_F930A1A39680D.pdf
  9. Bendich A; “Physiological role of antioxidants in the immune system”; J Dairy Sci. 1993 Sep;76(9):2789-94; https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(93)77617-1/pdf
  10. Jensen, G. S. et al; “Antioxidant bioavailability and rapid immune-modulating effects after consumption of a single acute dose of a high-metabolite yeast immunogen: results of a placebo-controlled double-blinded crossover pilot study”; J Med Food 2011, 14 (9), 1002-10.trial; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3157306/
  11. Pinheiro, I., et al; “A yeast fermentate improves gastrointestinal discomfort and constipation by modulation of the gut microbiome: results from a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled pilot trial”; BMC Complement Altern Med 2017, 17 (1), 441; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5584023/
  12. Possemiers, S et al; “A Dried Yeast Fermentate Selectively Modulates both the Luminal and Mucosal Gut Microbiota and Protects against Inflammation, As Studied in an Integrated in Vitro Approach;”Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2013, 61(39), 9380-9392; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24006902
  13. Moyad, M.A., et al; “Effects of a modified yeast supplement on cold/flu symptoms”; Urologic Nursing; 2008; v. 28, p. 50-55; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18335698
  14. Moyad, M.A, et al; “Immunogenic yeast-based fermentate for cold/flu-like symptoms in non-vaccinated individuals”; Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine; 2010; v. 16, p.213-21.8; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6498863/

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