Glyconutrients and Disease

On this page you will be able to learn about glyconutrients, and the powerful effects they have on the human immune system. Some of the things you will learn here are...

• What are glyconutrients?
  
  
• Where do we get them?
  
  
• How were they discovered?
  
  
• What effect do they have on the human immune system?
  
  
• Why is it so hard for us to get glyconutrients from our food?
  
  
• Since we can’t get enough glyconutrients from our food, then how can we get them?
  
  
• Are there benefits in taking glyconutrients in dietary supplements?
  
  

Glyconutrients are the foods and nutritional supplements that provide the saccarides and glycoforms essential in our bodies but scarce in most of our diets. In Greek, glyco means “sweet”; glyconutrient literally means “sweet nutrient”.

When most of us think of sugar, we think only of table sugar from sugarcane, which consists of two saccarides, glucose and fructose. The eight essential saccarides our bodies need are mannose, glucose, galactose, xylose, fucose (not to be confused with fructose), N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine, and N-acetylneuraminic acid.

Glyconutrients are supposed to come from plants. But only two of these essential sugars, glucose (found in plants and table sugar) and galactose (found in milk products and certain pectins), are common in our diets. The other six were largely removed from our diets when human beings ceased to be hunters and gatherers and became consumers of a limited variety of processed foods.

Some examples of sources are Aloe vera, arabinogalactans, brans (unprocessed), human breast milk, mushrooms, certain fruits and vegetables, roots and pectins. Second generation glyconutrients came about when twentieth century scientists began to see their potential and set about extracting and analyzing, looking for active molecules in ancient cures. Examples of second generation glyconutrients are: Acemannan, Active Hexose Correlated Compound, Alpha- and Beta- Glucans, Bovine Tracheal Cartilage, Chitan and Chitosan, Inulin and Oligofructose, Lentinan, Ling Zhi-8, Maitake D-Fraction and Polysaccaride K and Polysaccaride P. The third generation of glyconutrients-saccaride complexes- are polysaccharide dietary supplements that contain most of all of the eight essential saccarides. They’re obtained from various sources, including rice, barley, and oat brans; mushrooms; yeast cell walls; Aloe vera; and gum sugars. The more essential saccarides you add to your diet, the fewer number of steps, enzymes, and energy the body expends processing them for use. Most healthy people can generate every other essential saccharide from glucose. But if the person is sick or stressed, the body may not be able to marshal the resources it needs to convert one sugar to another. Supplying all eight essential saccarides takes the burden off an overstressed body.

Studying these specific vital sugars is a sub-specialty of biology called glycobiology. The glycobiology specialty was only formally organized in the early 1990s. Previous to that time, the technology to study the cell surface and carbohydrate structure was not available. When scientists began to study the cell surface they were stunned at what they found. The cell surface was covered with sugar molecules.

In 1996, Harper’s Biochemistry published, for the first time, an entire chapter on glycobiology. The chapter discusses glycoproteins, which consist of a protein molecule attached to a sugar (saccaride or carbohydrate) molecule. In an updated version in 2003, Dr. Murray wrote, “ It is now established that certain oligosaccaride chains encode considerable biologic information and that this depends upon their constituent sugars”. This fascinating statement tells us that cells need specific sugars to link with specific proteins so that biological information can be transferred from cell to cell.

Glyconutrients-the foods and nutritional supplements that provide saccarides-have powerful effects on the immune system. Glyconutrients can reactivate the immune system to shrink cancerous tumors and, in some cases, prevent or slow the progression of cancers in animals and humans. Even when the cancer has spread, or matastisized, glyconutrients have prolonged survival and improved quality of life. They have been found to be an effective adjunct when used in combination with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, both by mitigating the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy and by potentiating their cancer killing effects.

Glyconutrients help the body heal. For instance, clinical trials have proved that glucosamine, a metabolic product of the essential saccaride N-acetylglucosamine, is effectve in trating osteoarthritis, a common type of arthritis in older adults in which the cartilage around bone joints wears away, causing pain and swelling. Either alone, or together with the polysaccharide chondroitin, glucosomine relieves pain and inflammation. In addition, studies confirm that the sugars help repair damaged cartilage-something ibuprofen and traditional arthritis pain relievers can’t do.

Glyconutrients and the saccarides that they provide also address the workings of the brain and nervous system-from memory and sleep to anxiety and depression. They have a role to play in helping people and animals handle cholesterol and fats properly, lowering triglycerides and low-density lipoproteins, or LDL (the so-called bad cholesterol), and raising high-density lipoproteins, or HDL (the “good” cholesterol). TV commercials tout the benefits of eating oatmeal to bring down the cholesterol. But what the commercials don’t say is that it’s the sugars called betaglucans in the oatmeal that are responsible.

Another important saccaride function is to help retain bone density and muscle mass, both of which diminish with age. As we live and move, our bodies undergo wear and tear. The cells and tissues of the body need to be replaced, remodeled, and renewed. When we modify our activity by, say, exercising, the body adapts. New blood vessels develop, muscles increase in mass. Certain kinds of tissues adapt by increasing the size and number of cells. Adaptation, healing, and recovery from wear and tear are all forms of tissue remodeling. Essential saccarides play important roles in such tissue resculpting.

The benefits of glyconutrients are so wide-ranging that they might appear unrelated to each other. On the one hand, it is rational to be skeptical that one group of substances could have such a wide range of benefits. On the other hand, it’s intuitive that unifying factors and systems govern the apparent complexity of our bodies. The divisions that we place between systems and organs in our bodies are to an extent artifical and mostly for the convenience of our work and intellect. Our anatomy as we define it is a Western phenomenon. In China, unlike the United States, the most highly regarded remedies are those that work for many illnesses; the least impressive are those that zero in on one disease. But the body itself doesn’t rely on medical specialties to distinguish between its own parts-it is we who make artifical distinctions and develop medical specialties to deal with our more than two thousand body parts. To the body, all is one and one is all.

The following statement was part of a sworn medical testimony cited before Congress, November 14, 2001, as referenced in “Comprehensive Medical Care for Bioterrorism Exposure”:

“In instances of unusual, epidemic, or virulent infectious agent exposure, glyconutrient supplementation has been found effective for enhancing general immune functions and defense. When supplied at higher levels than available in nature, sugars needed for cellular synthesis can take innate defense systems to a much higher level that are effective against infectious agents.”

In conclusion, the scientific literature describing the biological activities of glycoconjugate sugars is quite extensive and appears to be growing exponentially. Controlled clinical studies in humans and sophisticated research in animals utilizing state-of-the-art analytical and diagnostic equipment are now being conducted. The results of this work are clearly showing that the necessary glycoconjugate sugars...

• play important roles in both normal physiology and disease,
  
• are not always present in diets in sufficient quantities,
  
• can be effectively utilized when provided as dietary supplements,
  
• have biological activities that are beneficial or potentially therapeutic for certain diseases,
  
• are safe when provided in the diet.
  

Although much research remains to be done, it appears likely that glycoconjugate sugars will be found to have many more useful applications.

Our food supply has deteriorated over the years. This can be attributed to several factors. Soil depletion, green harvesting, toxins added before (chemical sprays) and after toxins added after (preservatives).

Soil depletion

The soil that we grow our fruits and vegetables in isn’t what it used to be. Soil depletion has many causes but it is a primarily a result of corporate farming methods. For thousands of years, farmers have known that soil rotation was essential to keeping the soil from becoming a useless wasteland. Today, in the name of profits, most corporate farms don’t perform required soil maintenance.

Quoting US Senate Document #264 published in 1936: “The alarming fact is that foods (fruits, vegetables, and grains) are now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contain enough of certain minerals and are starving us. No matter how much of them we eat, no man today can get enough fruits and vegetables to supply his system with the minerals he requires for perfect health because his stomach isn’t big enough to hold them…The truth is that our foods vary enormously in value, and some of them aren’t worth eating as food…

Green Harvesting

To compound the problem, our foods are, in most cases, harvested green so they will have longer shipping and shelf life. However, only fully ripened foods provide the full nutritional potential from the phytochemicals (healthful plant chemicals, not vitamins or minerals) they were designed to yield.

Toxins added before (chemical sprays)

There is unfortunately no place on planet Earth that has not been touched by the poisons of the modern world. Pesticides are nearly always applied by air these days. Unless a farm is in a hermetically sealed dome with the world’s most extraordinary air filters bringing in air from outdoors, even foods labeled organic will still have pesticides on it.

Toxins Added after (preservatives)

Important variables affecting nutrient content are temperature, pH, exposure to air or light, type of storage container, and presence of preservatives. Many more of our foods today are processed (boiled, microwaved, canned, frozen, refined, pasteurized, protected with preservatives, etc). Thus, it is certainly legitimate to question whether the nutrients that our ancestors obtained from their foods are also present in our foods today.

Common food additives (such as sodium nitrate) cause folate destruction. Use of sulfite as a food processing aid to inhibit browning reactions can lead to extensive losses of thiamine. Consumption of processed foods containing anti microbial preservatives may also deleteriously affect the bacterial population of our colons, which can in turn affect the bioavailability of nutrients. Bioavailability is "the fraction of an ingested nutrient that is available to the body for utilization in normal physiological functions or for storage".

We have concluded that mother (as always!) knows best. While the value of cleaning our plates is certainly debatable, there is no question that we should eat our vegetables! However, we have shown that because of the nutrient losses in many of our foods today (including fruits and vegetables), our modern diets may be deficient. What can we do? We can plant a garden every summer and try to take the time to visit our local farmers' market. Farmers' markets can be a great source of fresh, locally grown, vine-ripened produce. These markets can also be a source of heirloom vegetables that have not been genetically selected for marketing purposes and may therefore contain more nutrients. If we are obliged to rely primarily on grocery store produce, we can strive to purchase the freshest foods possible (preferably locally grown), check expiration dates, boil vegetables the minimum amount of time in a small amount of water, save this water to use for soup stocks, keep frozen foods cold enough, and try to eliminate our dependence on processed foods. Whole foods are always the best choice because they contain a veritable cornucopia of nutrients. These are worthwhile efforts! Small increases in fruit and vegetable consumption have been shown to significantly influence health outcomes. Nevertheless, because our lifestyles dictate that we rely on many foods that have been cooked or otherwise processed, dietary supplementation makes sense for most people.

In fact, according to the Journal Of The American Medical Association (JAMA) article entitled “Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults” written by Robert H. Fletcher, MD,MSc; Kathleen M. Fairfield, MD,DrPH (JAMA. 2002;287:3127-3129):

Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. It appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements.

So this is worth mentioning again. Here’s the bottom line:

Considering the difficulties of accessing fresh, nutrient-rich, unprocessed foods on a daily basis, nutritional supplementation is appropriate for most people

Individual monosaccharides have been shown to prevent ear infections in children (xylitol), treat chronic inflammatory bowel disease (n-acetylglucosamine), treat osteoarthritis (glucosamine), and correct some glycosylation disorders (mannose). Although the scientific understanding of the body's utilization of saccharides is far from complete, this is changing, as evidenced by the recent explosion of interest in glycobiology and the importance of saccharides in normal cellular function. Meanwhile, there is more than adequate evidence today that most of us are consuming inadequate amounts of a variety of saccharides and that these saccharides are important not only as an energy source, but also for the structural and functional roles that they play in the human body. Our reduced consumption of fiber and bacteria, and our consumption of alcohol, antimicrobial food preservatives and antibiotics contribute to a colonic environment that is ill-equipped to breakdown dietary polysaccharides into their monosaccharide components. Considering the documented health benefits associated with adequate saccharide consumption and the difficulties associated with obtaining an adequate supply in our modern diets, supplementation for many may be beneficial.

In other words, we know enough about the health-giving aspects of glyconutrients to add them to our diet safely and effectively.

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For disease to start and then worsen, it must outmaneuver the many mechanisms of one of the most highly advanced systems ever designed.... the human immune system.

The immune system remains as both your first and last defense against disease.

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On a more personal note...

In June of 2004, my wife  LaDonna   was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis after blood tests, a liver scan, and a liver biopsy revealed 85% damage. Her doctor recommended that she should consider a liver transplant as soon as possible.

This site is Not Intended for and Does Not Give Medical Advice.

This web site is here for general purposes only. Nothing on it should be considered as medical advice, which can only be given to you by your own medical doctor. Some information you read on this site may be inappropriate for your own situation, or you may interpret or misinterpret something in a way that could be distressing or harmful to you. For advice about your own situation, ask your doctor!

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References and Resources:
1. “Sugars That Heal-The New Healing Science Of Glyconutrients”, Emil I. Mondoa, M,D, and Mindy Kitei, Pages 8-9, Copyright 2001.
2. “Out Of The Fog”, DeAnna Knauer, MSN,RN,, Page17, Copyright 2004.
3. “Comprehensive Medical Care for Bioterrorism Exposure”, House Government Reform Committee, Washington, DC, November 14, 2001
4. “Biological Activity of Eight Known Dietary Monosaccharides Required for Glycoprotein Synthesis and Cellular Recognition Processes”, Tom Gardiner, PhD, Mar 25, 2000, http://www.glycoscience.org/glycoscience/start_frames.wm?FILENAME=D003.
5. “How To Survive On A Toxic Planet”, Dr. Steve Nugent, pg 71,Copyright 2006.
6. “The Missing Nutrients”, Dr. Steve Nugent, Pg 2-3, Copyright 2005.
7. “The Missing Nutrients”, Dr. Steve Nugent, Pg 4, Copyright 2005.
8. “How To Survive On A Toxic Planet”, Dr. Steve Nugent, Pg 75, Copyright 2006.
9. “From the Farm to the Kitchen Table: A Review of the Nutrient Losses in Foods”, Jane Ramberg, Bill McAnalley, 1 Sept 2002, Copyright 2000-2006 Mannatech Incorporated. All Rights Reserved, http://www.glycoscience.org/glycoscience/start_frames.wm?FILENAME=C012.
10. “Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults”, Robert H. Fletcher, MD,MSc; Kathleen M. Fairfield, MD,DrPH (JAMA. 2002;287:3127-3129), http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/287/23/3127.
11. “Is Saccaride Supplementation Necessary”, Jane Ramburg, Bill McAnalley,May 1, 2002, Copyright 2000-2006 Mannatech Incorporated. All Rights Reserved,http://www.glycoscience.org/glycoscience/start_frames.wm?FILENAME=D008.
12. “Sugars That Heal-The New Healing Science Of Glyconutrients”, Emil I. Mondoa, M,D, and Mindy Kitei, Page 37, Copyright 2001.