Has anyone heard about the new science of Glycobiology and the use of "glyconutrients" in the treatment of diseases, such as cancer and AIDS?
The "glyconutrients" ( Xylose, Fucose, Galactose, Glucose, Mannose, N-acetylgalactosamine, N-acetylglucosamine, and N-acetylneuraminic acid) apparently participate in the communication between cells...as in one's own immune system recognizing a cancer cell and destroying it.
I have seen pics of a lady with her face covered with cancer and, within 6 weeks of treatment, was perfectly normal.
Well glycobiology is hardly "new." Many cellular structures are composed of conjugates between carbohydrates and proteins or lipids. Eukaryotic cells have a habit of glycocylating things.
But it sounds as if the usual group of shady snake oil salesmen are hyping it up a bit with this "glyconutrient" thing. Put your wallet firmly back into your pocket.
An essential nutrient is something that your body can't synthesize on its own. These so-called "glyconutrients" are simple sugars and central metabolites in carbohydrate pathways. If you couldn't make your own, you'd be dead. All of these things are easily produced from the carbohydrates in your diet. Eating more of them won't do anything for you. In fact, your body will probably just convert them to glucose.
OK, to be fair, the idea behind supplementing with non-essential nutrients is that you may be able to stimulate a particular anabolic pathway by supplying an excess of the substrate. Most of the time it doesn't work because the body tightly regulates the concentration of metabolites and/or it may have no mechanism for transporting an external source of an internal metabolite. In a few cases empirical evidence shows that supplementation does work (e.g. creatine, arginine, in conjunction with resistance training) but even then, nobody is sure exactly why it works. Basically, the burden of proof is on the proponents of a supplement. There is no proof that supplementing with "glyconutrients" does anything except make you fat, and perhaps diabetic.
