Posted Today 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
There are good sugars that your body cannot function without and there are bad sugars. Glyconutrients are good sugars that you will die if you do not have them.
Source:http://www.glyconutrientsreference.com/whatareglyconutrients.html
What are glyconutrients? Glyconutrients are plant carbohydrates (monosaccharides). There are over 200 carbohydrates or sugars but only 8 are essential to bodily function. These are:
xylose
fucose
galactose
glucose
mannose
N-acetylglucosamine
N-acetylgalactosamine
N-acetylneuraminic acid (a sialic acid).
These 8 essential glyconutrients combine with other molecules eg proteins and lipids, to form glycoforms or glycoconjugates which coat cell surfaces. When they combine with protein molecules, they form glycoproteins that coat the surface of every cell with a nucleus in the human body. When glyconutrients bind with lipids (fats) they form glycolipids which also adhere to the cell surface.
Glyconutrients are the key to effective cellular communication and proper cell function. This has been established by the world's leading scientists and researchers.
Glyconutrients are not vitamins, minerals, amino acids or enzymes, but are in a class of their own as nutritional supplements derived from plants. Glyconutritional supplements are formulated based on new understanding in the biochemistry of how the human body maintains health at the cellular level. Healthy cells lead to healthy tissue - healthy tissue leads to healthy organs - and healthy organs lead to healthy bodies.
Every cell in our body - all 600 trillion of them - needs glyconutrients.
Despite the relatively recent discovery of glyconutrients and their functions, medical doctors and the general public are becoming increasingly aware of their importance in treating underlying causes of disease and in maintaining good health. As good as allopathic medicine is, it simply has NO answer to the increasing incidence of auto-immune diseases, cancers and degenerative diseases in Western societies. Glyconutrients will soon become a part of standard care by medical practitioners for all auto-immune diseases, cancers, and degenerative diseases. A glyconutritional approach gets at the root cause rather than treating only the symptoms.
Glyconutrients are however only part of what is necessary to a healthy body. Other important scientific discoveries of the past century highlight the importance of a range of other dietary or lifestyle factors including vitamins, minerals, fibre, water, essential fatty acids, essential amino acids, antioxidants, and exercise.
This Doctor tells you how to make your own mix to get these essential sugars. Apprently the body can make them but our diet is so lacking and and other factors in this world today make it so we do not get enough of them.
Source:http://www.burnoutsolutions.com.au/glyconutrients.htm
1. Mannose. Mannose may be the single most important of the eight sugars for us to get plenty of. One of the main sources is aloe vera, which contains acemannan. Acemannan is a mannose polysaccharide (i.e. a chain of mannose molecules). From what I’ve studied, most commercial supplements of aloe only have very small amounts of acemannan in them so the best way is to grow the aloe vera oneself. It is a very handy herb to have in the garden or green house (e.g. good for minor burns and some skin ailments) and it is easy to cultivate. Consult a gardening book, but apparently it needs a sunny spot that’s not too moist. I may want to enjoy using plenty of it, so ideally would like to invest in about ten plants. While I are waiting to buy and establish my own aloe plants I can use the glyconutrient powder which does have mannose in as well. This is from the kelp, the shiitake and the ground fenugreek. I have actually recently decided to just take the glyconutrient powder (as detailed below) because I find it easier. There are also concerns about diarrhoea, etc. from the skin of the leaves. Fenugreek contains plenty of galactomamman, a polysaccharide of mannose and galactose (other sources of galactomamman are carob gum and guar gum). Ground fenugreek should be readily available from a good health food store or supermarket, or I can buy the seeds and grind them myself. I prefer organic fenugreek. Shiitake mushrooms have in them a compound called KS-2 which contains mannose bound to an amino acid. We will say more about shiitake (and kelp) later. Using fenugreek, kelp and shiitake should not be very expensive. Aloe vera plants may be expensive to start with, but a friend may have a "jungle" of the plants and be able to give some.
2. Glucose. Regarding the powder, glucose is found in kelp. But we don't really need to supplement glucose as its so abundant in our diets anyway. For the "jam" recipe the prime source is 100% pure grape juice, preferably dark organic (but I don’t worry if its not feasible). The grape juice will help, along with the next item, to make the aloe vera taste yummy instead of yuck. This juice is relatively cheap and if I have a juicer I can make my own.
3. Galactose. Galactose is present in the fenugreek of the powder and also in a lot of foods that we normally eat. For the "jam" recipe the prime source is 100% pure apple juice, preferably organic. This juice will help, along with the previous item, to make the aloe vera taste yummy. Both apple and grape juice have health properties of their own. Again this juice is relatively cheap and those with juicers can make their own. Some analyses don’t report galactose as being in Apple juice. This is because the galactose is in the pectin fibre which is present in varying amounts in juice.
4. Xylose. Xylose is present in the kelp used in the powder. Ground psyllium seeds are high in a xylose polysaccharide. They are cheap and easily obtained from a chemist or health food store. Psyllium is used in the "jam".
5 and 6. N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetyl-galactosamine.
Vegetable sources: For those not wishing to consume medicinal animal products orally it is nice to know that Shiitake Mushroom contains N-acetylglucosamine (as a constituent of chitin). I can purchase fresh and/or dried Shiitake Mushrooms from many supermarkets and food stores. I buy dried whole shiitake mushrooms and powder them by using my liquidiser. Or I can buy a tablet with shiitake in. Shiitake Mushrooms do not contain N-acetyl-galactosamine. I thought that mistletoe contained N-acetyl-galactosamine but it appears that it does not. Instead it seems to contain a lectin that is specific for the N-acetyl-galactosamine receptor site. Also there are some toxicity issues with mistletoe. N-acetyl-galactosamine is contained in dextran sulphate, which is present in a red algae called Dumontiaceae (Cryttosiphonia woodii). But it appears that this product is hard to get except in Japan. I have found recently that vegetarian glucosamine products are mentioned on this site: www.vnv.org.au/Vit&Min.htm one of the manufacturers is www.melrose.com.au They make their glucosamine hydrochloride from fermented corn.
Animal Sources: Bovine cartilage and shark cartilage both have an abundance of these two essential sugars. These are both relatively cheap and available from a chemist or health food stores in capsules or loose powder. I prefer the bovine cartilage because it is predominantly the chondroitin 4-Sulfate form of chondroitin which is apparently slightly better (shark is predominantly chondroitin 6-Sulfate). I am not especially concerned about prions and mad cow disease from a bovine source because I can check where the cows come from and cartilage is not one of the tissues especially at risk for prion contamination. Actually, from what I’ve read, chondroitin is a substance that can be used to help treat prion disease as it interferes with the prions doing their dirty work in the nervous tissue. I am more concerned about the possibility of heavy metal contamination in shark cartilage, though I have not read any major problems regarding this. Those not wishing to consume animal products orally could use an arthritis cream containing chondroitin sulphate. The best cream I know of is Arthro-Aid DirectÔ , which could be rubbed on the tummy at the time the glyconutrient powder is consumed.
7. Fucose. Kelp seaweed is rich in fucoidan, a polysaccharide containing plenty of fucose. Fucoidin is a complicated molecule that also contains xylose, mannose, galactose, and glucose. If anyone has an overactive thyroid they should not take this or other sea weeds without medical advice and monitoring. An alternative is beer yeast, which, according to my research, also contains plenty of fucose. Kelp has many health benefits and can be bought cheaply as a powder. It does not taste good to me!
8. N-acetylneuraminic acid (otherwise known as sialic acid) is found in whey protein isolate. Whey protein isolate also contains lots of other goodies. If allergic to diary (though I am told some that are allergic to diary can take the isolate) an alternative is egg, which may be best raw. I need to make sure it is an organic egg from a healthy chicken. I need to make sure I buy whey protein ISOLATE, not just whey protein or whey powder. A 500g pot of whey protein isolate is a little costly but will last a long time and so is not a big expense long term. Note: I received some information early 2004 that suggested whey protein concentrate may have a higher amount of N-acetylneuraminic acid in it they the isolate.