About Glyconutrients

Are They Just Another Fad Supplement?

MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - publishes an annual review magazine called, "Technology Review." The front cover of the Feb. 2003 issue listed "10 Emerging Technologies that WILL change the world!" Glycomics was listed among the 10. It went on to say, "The reason for the excitement around glycomics is that sugars have a vital, albeit often overlooked, function in the body. The medical potential is absolutely enormous."

In 1996 the biochemistry textbook used by 80% of the top U.S. medical schools included for the first time an entire chapter on the EXTREME importance of glycoproteins. The "glyco" portion of those molecules is what we now call glyconutrients.

Dr. Ben Carson, the world-famous director of pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, was interviewed by Dallas Weekly Magazine, in the Feb 2004 issue. Dr. Carson has been named by both CNN and Time Magazine as one of the top 20 doctors in America. Dr. Carson reported having experienced an amazing change in his quality of life by using glyconutrients.

Dr. Carson made this statement: "The science made sense to me. God gave us in plants what we need to remain healthy. In today's world our food chain is depleted of nutrients and our environment has helped destroy what God gave us. I do not see glyconutrients as unnatural. I see them as complementary to traditional medicine. Dietary supplements should become an integral part of health care in this country."

The AMA (American Medical Association) recognizes the importance of this subject. It sanctions a course granting 13.5 hours of CEUs (Continuing Education Units) for Medical Practitioners to learn about glyconutrients.

Literally billions of dollars of research into glycobiology is going on around the globe. Since 1990 the two related sciences of Glycobiology and Glycomics have grown immensely. Researchers in these fields are studying many aspects relating to the profound impact these newly discovered molecules have on health.

Recently the Federal Government funded a $34 million research grant for a five-year research project among top research hospitals in the US and two in Europe to find how and why these sugars work, and discover their implications in disease. And the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is funding a $15.5 million, five-year initiative to discover, develop, and clinically validate cancer biomarkers by targeting the carbohydrate (glycan) part of a molecule.

Some Questions Answered about Taking Glyconurients

A: NO! Just the opposite. Your physician is responsible for management of your illness. You on the other hand are responsible for your wellness. This includes eating healthy whole (unprocessed) foods and drinking plenty of pure water, to support your body’s ability to heal and repair itself. You need to continue to have your physician evaluate your medications and make adjustments as necessary.

Q: Should I ask my doctor for permission to take glyconutrients?

A: This would be ideal, but first ask them how many hours of training they have had in the science of Nutrition and Glycobiology.

If they are well-trained in the sciences of nutrition and glycobiology, you might want to ask them why they have not told you about such an important discovery!

If they respond that they are not well trained in nutrition, then you may want to ask yourself if it is wise to take advice from someone not qualified to answer your questions.

Don’t blame your doctor – he or she can’t help it that nutrition is so little taught in medical school while drugs are taught extensively and intensively. And he or she doesn’t have time to read the scientific (as opposed to medical) journals like those in the field of glycobiology. It is impossible for everyone to know about everything and probably 99% of health care professions in the USA have not yet learned about this cutting-edge science.

Q: Will this new discovery help me with my specific disease?

A: This approach is all about providing the body what it needs to heal and repair itself, in contrast to traditional treatments which focus on reduction of symptoms. This approach does not focus on symptoms or disease but focuses instead on the needs of your individual cells. When you provide the body with what it needs, it can use that material to build a healthy cell. Once you can build a healthy cell, you can build healthy tissue, and healthy organs, then build healthy systems, and finally a healthy body.

The body builds at least 5 billion new cells daily because 5 billion cells die daily and they must be replaced. The body builds cells just like car factories build cars. When you build a car, you start with one piece and by the time you get to the end of the line you have a whole, great-looking car. It requires lots and lots of just the right parts, added at just the right times in the assembly line.

When even ONE part is missing the line is stopped. How well would a car work without brake pads?

Your body builds cells the same way. It requires parts, the right parts. When all the parts are not available, the body will build a dysfunctional cell. That will lead to dysfunctional tissues, dysfunctional organs and dysfunctional systems (like the immune system) and you end up with a dysfunctional body.

Q: How long does it take for glyconutrients to work?

A: It varies. First, let’s address how any food supplement or food works. The primary responsibility of a food is to provide the necessary raw materials for building a better cell than the cell that just died.

It takes on average about 90 to 120 days for the body to rebuild most of its tissues. Some parts of the body rebuild very quickly — for example, the lining of the stomach. Other parts of the body like the brain and spinal cord will take a much longer period of time to repair and rebuild.

We may have been developing an illness for years, so it’s unreasonable to expect the body to heal and repair itself within weeks or days. The body’s tissues have their own timetables.

Q: If this food is so important, and it is missing from the diet, why is not everyone ill?

A: We were made to consume these Glyconutrients in our diet. Our current diet has limited numbers and supplies of these sugars. Since there is now a limited supply the body’s liver can go through a complicated process to make the necessary sugars out of the limited supply available in our diet. This process was intended to be called upon to survive in times of famine, it was not designed to be relied on day-in/day-out, long term. Some people are able to accomplish this task with much greater ease than others, but generally speaking people who have a dietary deficiency of glyconutrients are believed to be at a high risk of health problems.

Q: If I just found the right medication, would my disease get better and go away?

A: NO! The drug companies would like for you to believe this, but it is a common myth. Medications are specifically designed to reduce symptoms only while your body (hopefully) struggles to heal itself. Your doctor will likely tell you that he/she is working on having you take these medications to reduce symptoms for the rest or your life.

Q: So all I need to do to become healthy is to add glyconutrients to my diet?

A: To support optimum health, we need to ingest phytochemicals, including glyconutrients and other important chemicals from fruits and vegetables, vitamins and minerals, proteins, healthy fats, water, and fiber. However, the most important element to add to your diet is the missing element.

For example, if you were dying of scurvy, which was the case for many British Navy sailors in the 1700’s, the most important element for them to become healthy was ascorbic acid. Once they found this missing element in limes, the disease went away. Even today, the British Navy sailors are called Limeys!

If you had a disease called beriberi, which was common in the 1890’s, the most important element in your diet would be Thiamin (B1). Once you get enough B1, the disease goes away.

If you had a disease call pellagra, the most important element missing in the diet would be Niacin (B3).

If you had a problem with rickets, a disease where there's a thinning of the bones, the most important element to add to your diet would be Vitamin D (the calciferols).

Today in 2008 we have a very different problem. Our diet is deficient in different elements. Glyconutrients make up one vital element that is missing in our diet.

Q: If this discovery is so important why has my doctor not told me about this?

A: This discovery is very well documented in the scientific literature. But most doctors have not been trained in nutrition and so they do not recognize its profound importance, and at this time only a small percentage have received the necessary education to understand this approach.

What you will notice – When most people go to the doctor, there are many tools to get a diagnosis. After a diagnosis their physician will suggest one of the three following courses of treatment:

There is a problem with a body part so let’s get it cut out. This is called surgery.

There is a problem with part of the body, let’s do some burning. This is called radiation and chemotherapy.

There are some symptoms so I am going to give you a small amount of poison (also called a prescription) to reduce your symptoms. You may need to take this prescription for the rest of your life.

Very seldom will you hear a doctor ask, "I wonder what elements are missing from your diet that you need so your body can heal and repair itself?"

Q: Will Glyconutrients work with my pets?

A: Yes, and to answer that question let’s do a quick summary on how glyconutrients work in humans and carry that forward to your pets. Your own body is capable of healing and repairing itself if given the right information in the form of food. You are made of trillions of cells. Each one has its own unique duties and responsibilities. What you want to do is find out how to make ONE cell the best cell that it can be. If you can do that then you can make healthy tissue, which can make healthy organs, which can make healthy systems which can make a healthy body. There are NO short cuts.

The key to making a healthy cell, however, is the cell’s ability to communicate its needs. That is where glyconutrients come in. These nutrients represent an alphabet of biological information with unsurpassed coding capacity. The cell is now able to function at maximum capacity. The cell can now take advantage of any nutrients that are available, as well as working better with the rest of the cells in your body.

The cells of your pets communicate the same way that your cells communicate, and therefore these supplements work well with both humans and pets.

This principle is transforming health care: "The human body heals itself and nutrition provides the resources to accomplish the task." Dr. Roger J. Williams.

Click on this about glyconutrients link to return to learn more about nutritional supplementation.

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