Essential 8
Q: When is sugar a good thing?
A: When it’s a glyconutrient.
On the HSI Forum, a member who identifies himself as “b5” asks: “Please explain what glyconutrients are and why I would need them?”
The short answer to b5’s question is simple: Glyconutrients are natural sugar compounds, essential for maintaining good health.
The longer answer reveals a fascinating field of nutrition that the MIT Technology Review called one of the ten emerging technologies that will change the world.
Sugar coated
Research over the past decade has demonstrated the importance of essential fatty acids and essential proteins (amino acids). Now scientists and nutritionists are just beginning to understand that there are essential sugars as well. Eight essential sugar compounds function individually as building blocks to assemble a nearly infinite variety of complex molecules known as glycans or sugar chains.
In an article in the February 2004 HSI Members Alert, contributing writer Jennifer Arnold noted that there are two key ways that glyconutrients impact our health: 1) “These sugars can prevent viruses and bacteria from adhering to cells by taking up all their receptor sites. If the virus or bacteria can’t bind to a cell, they can’t make you sick; it’s as simple as that. Turns out other sugar chains can work in similar ways to bind up all sorts of viruses and bacteria in other parts of the body.”
And 2) “There’s another more complex role that these sugar chains play in the body. Glycans form a sugar coat around every single cell in the body, as well as filling up the spaces in between cells. They act as a sort of information super highway for the body, regulating communication both within the cell and between that cell and other cells.”
Sugar chains play a vital role in nearly every physiological process, including immune system response, tissue regeneration and cell replication. One of the most important functions of glycans is the facilitation of brain functions. For instance, serotonin and other neurotransmitters require glycan receptors in order to bind to the surface of nerve cells. Memory, stress response and other critical brain functions may become debilitated without the adequate assistance of glyconutrient sugar chains.
The source
If you eat a diet rich in unprocessed fruits and vegetables, you’re supplying your body with many glyconutrients. But just because they’re sugars doesn’t mean they taste sweet. For instance: Fucose, xylose and mannose are three of the eight essential sugar compounds. Mushrooms and seeds contain fucose; rye, barley and yeast contain xylose; and mannose can be found in broccoli, cabbage and seeds.
Problems arise when any of the foods mentioned above are highly processed. For instance, grapes and onions deliver glucose, one of the eight glyconutrients. But when glucose is processed into table sugar, nutrients and fiber are completely stripped away, transforming it from good nutrition into something that can compromise your health.
So the absence of unprocessed glyconutrients in the average diet is a concern. As HSI Medical Advisor, Martin Milner, N.D., stated in the February Members Alert, “We are finding glyconutrient deficiencies associated with a large range of diseases.”
Collect all 8
Of the eight basic glyconutrients, most diets only deliver sufficient amounts of two: glucose and galactose (a milk sugar). Trace amounts of the other six are picked up here and there, but modern agricultural methods, food processing and chemical contamination have all but erased them from our food supply.
In recent years, research has shown that supplementary glyconutrients may improve cellular communication, with a positive impact on a wide range of conditions; from skin aging and bacterial infection to debilitating illnesses like muscular dystrophy, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
In his private practice, Dr. Milner has begun using a glyconutritional supplement that provides all eight essential sugar compounds. The supplement is called Ambrotose, and it’s specifically designed for immune system support. You can find more information at cnm-inc.com.
In the same way that daily multi-vitamin use has reached mainstream acceptance, proponents of glyconutrition believe that someday even conventional medicine will recognize the benefits of a daily “multi-glycan” to prevent many of the communication errors between cells that lead to depleted immune defenses, allergic reactions, and chronic diseases.
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and another thing
Ah the smoking gun. Found it!
In the e-Alert “Man’s Best Friend” (10/4/04), I looked at some of the details surrounding the sudden decision to remove Vioxx from the market. Executives at Merck – the maker of Vioxx – voluntarily pulled their hugely popular drug, even though they apparently had the option to ask the FDA to allow them to issue a warning about increased heart attack and stroke risk.
It didn’t add up. Drug companies don’t just let go of a drug that makes billions of dollars in profit each year. Not without a fight.
In the 10/4 e-Alert I told you I’d keep an eye out for further reports that might reveal why Merck execs would simply throw in the towel, and now that report has appeared.
Dow Jones Newswires produced the smoking gun: A study led by an FDA researcher estimates that well over 27,000 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths “would have been avoided” if the patients had been using Celebrex instead of Vioxx.
Smoking gun? More like a smoking machine gun.
Some of this study’s conclusions were revealed at an August medical conference. So Merck execs almost certainly knew what the future held for their blockbuster drug. And now any mystery about their quick decision to remove Vioxx from the market is cleared up. They were already circling the wagons in preparation for the hundreds if not thousands of lawsuits that are sure to follow.
Meanwhile, this mess has prompted a rare mainstream media scrutiny of the effectiveness of FDA safeguards. Just how safe are they? And how are they influenced by the close relationship of drug companies and FDA officials?
But will the drug companies – which provide a huge media sponsorship base – allow the major media outlets to continue this line of questioning?
Stay tuned.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
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Sources:
“Cutting-Edge Sugar Research May Revolutionize Your Health” Jennifer Arnold, HSI Members Alert, February 2004, hsionline.com
“How Sweet It Is” Hara Estroff Marano, Psychology Today, 6/8/04, psychologytoday.com
“FDA Study Estimates Vioxx Linked to 27,000 Heart Attacks” Dow Jones Newswires, 10/6/04, money.cnn.com
