Glyconutrients!

The Eight Sugars

(Recipe below)

Eight sugars, from among the over 200 sugars (saccharides) available in the human diet, are used in the body for cell-to-cell communication. They combine with proteins to form glycoproteins. Each of these has a specific shape. Think of them as “letters”. They attach to the surface of cells to identify the cell’s condition. Without a full set of these letters the body cannot post identifiers on its cells to declare their condition and needs, or on foreign bodies to mark them for destruction; and so the immune system suffers loss of intelligence and function. Having the full set of letters wakes up the immune system, and makes as smart and as fully functional as it naturally should be.

I took some notes from here:

A few of the eight sugars are rare. Here are the foods you should eat to get them: shiitake, shark or bovine cartilage, kelp.

The eight sugars are:

Mannose: aloe vera (fresh from a plant, or specially stabilized, because the fresh gel contains enzymes that destroys the mannose in it once it is extracted from the plant), fenugreek or carob (galactomannan: galactose and mannose), shiitake (KS-2: mannose bound to an amino acid)

Glucose: kelp, but also extremely abundant in the diet, so don’t worry about it.

Galactose: fenugreek, apple pectin

Xylose: kelp, psyllium

N-acetylglucosamine: shiitake, Bovine cartilage and shark cartilage

N-acetyl-galactosamine: Bovine cartilage and shark cartilage, also in a red algae called Dumontiaceae (Cryttosiphonia woodii) that appears hard to get except in Japan.

Fucose: kelp (fucoidan which contains fucose, xlyose, mannose, galactose, and glucose), beer yeast

N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid): whey protein, egg (I think collostrum should have lots of it.)

Lecithin may enhance absorption of glyconutrients.

Eight Sugars Recipe

Glyconutrient Jam and Glyconutrient Powder Recipe: An Inexpensive Way of Getting “Essential” sugars

by volume, not weight. (For possible alternative food sources, click here to download a pdf file.)

  • 1 part ground fenugreek: for mannose, galactose (buy it already ground).
  • 1/4 part shiitake mushroom powder: for N-acetylglucosamine, mannose.
  • 1 part kelp powder: for fucose, xylose, mannose, galactose, and glucose.
  • 1 part whey protein isolate: for N-acetylneuraminic acid. Alternative is beer (brewing) yeast.
  • 1 part bovine or shark cartilage chondroitin sulphate powder (loose or in capsules): for N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine).
  • 1/2 part of ground psyllium (I use the husks alone because otherwise I have to grind husks myself. But purists may want to do the grinding): to boost the xylose content as there is not that much xylose in kelp. 
  • 1 part of lecithin granules: this enhances absorption of glyconutrients.

The author of the recipe also suggests, “add a little red cayenne pepper powder and a little turmeric powder too. … Cayenne enhances my digestion and is an extra tonic (1/10-1/20th part). Turmeric has antioxidant properties.” Turmeric is mentioned on my Immune Response page.

To the above recipe I would want to add:

  • a quality goji berry powder; probably 1/2 and 1/2 (loaded with glyconutrients)
  • Chaga mushroom (loaded with glyconutrients)

And consider additionally, for their benefits, generally:

  • Rhodiola Rosea
  • Bacopa herb
  • Reishi mushroom

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