Wonderful information from 'Breakthroughs In Health' Vol. 1 Issue 2 'A Sweet Story - Glyconutrients'.
'The sugar code is the biologic information contained in the sugar chains of glycoproteins and other molecules," say Rob Murray, M.D. It is good to know some of these functions giving rise to new ideas about nutritional and drug approaches to wellness and the disease process.
Keeping in mind that no one is suggesting that glyconutrition is the total solution for counteracting poor diets. There are other important nutrients necessary for health, but it is a vital piece to the wellness puzzle.
'Every cell in our bodies - all 600 trillion of them - are coated with glycoconjugates; a mixture of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. These molecules protrude from the cell surfaces like delicate hairs. Scientists now know that each cell uses the carbohydrates on its surface to communicate - both giving and receiving information about its status. Healthy cell-to-cell communication is the best start to a healthy body.'
'Performing as key actors in all living things, cells play an essential set of roles in our bodies. Cells roam around in our blood, come together to make organs and tissues, help us adjust to changes in the environment and perform a number of other import tasks. Far from being static structures, cells are constantly working, changing sending and responding to chemical cues, even correcting mistakes they make when possible - all to keep our bodies running smoothly.
Carbohydrates are molecules made up of one or more sugars. In the body, carbohydrates can exist independently or be attached to proteins or lipids, and molecular communication codes can be thought of like our written language. Just as four shapes can be combined to make many letters - and these letters can be combined to make a variety of words - the different carbohydrate molecules combine within our bodies to make "words" in cellular jargon. These precisely shaped words protrude from cell surfaces and are recognised and understood - or not - by neighboring cells through their own sense of touch.
Despite our best intentions, most of us are not eating the food elements our bodies need every day. Because of our stressful lives, and our over-reliance on fast foods and quick snacks, our bodies lack the glyconutrients we need.'
Most people only obtain two of the eight essential sugars - glyconutrients - from their diets. Mannatech Inc are the leaders in the glyconutrition. This technology uses plant extracts to enhance cell-to-cell communication and overall physical health. It's a revolution akin to the invention of the personal computer or the digital video disc; the company claims. (Business Week)
