Glyconutrients 101
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.
Glyconutrients are natural sugar compounds, essential for maintaining
good health. There are two key ways that glyconutrients impact your
health:
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.
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.
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.
|