Published Research on Essential Polysaccharides
Can Certain Sugars Really Heal Diabetes:
Introducing the Science of Glyconutrients
--By Patrick Lecky
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Enhance Cell-to-Cell Communications, Boost Immunity, Aid in the Repair of Tissues and Organs and Help Retain Bone Density and Muscle Mass . . .
Long before Alexander’s time, aloe was known to accelerate the healing of cuts and burns for millennia. Staunch believers in aloe’s powers include the ancient Ayurvedic physicians of India; the father of medicine, Hippocrates; Cleopatra; King Solomon; Marco polo; and the Aztecs.
Today, dozens of medical and scientific studies have verified what the ancients knew, and give credence to its healing abilities. What’s the secret? Aloe contains over 250 phytonutrients including minerals, vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants, amino acids and polysaccharides that your body uses to detoxify, cleanse, repair, and restore itself. While all of aloe’s ingredients are healthful, researchers believe aloe’s polysaccharide content confers most of its vaulted healing powers. Aloe’s polysaccharides are long chains of sugar molecules called mannose. They are known by a variety of names including acemannan, acetylated polymannans, mucopolysaccharides, polymanose and APM.
Mannose has been found to open (dilate) the blood vessels, including the tiny capillaries, to restore blood flow to all your extremities including your eyes, legs, and fingers. Aloe also contains glucomannan, a special complex mucopolysaccharide composed mainly of mannose. Your body uses this substance to lessen deposits of fatty plaque and clear up sticky triglycerides from your blood. The combination of mannose and glucomannan has been shown to unclog blood vessels, allowing your blood to deliver life-sustaining nutrients and oxygen to all stricken tissues to revitalize your legs, eyes, kidneys, heart, nerves and brain. These substances also aid in the removal of wastes, toxins and carbon dioxide from your blood.
According to researcher Ivan Danhof, M.D., Ph.D., there is a wide range in the size of the mucopolysaccharide molecules and chains present in aloe. The sizes determine their healing potential.
Small (50-600). Small mucopolysaccharides reduce inflammation and thus aid in ulcerative colitis and arthritis. They are also responsible for lowering blood sugar in both Type I and Type II diabetes.
Medium (up to 1,500 molecules). These are very effective intracellular antioxidants that scavenge free radicals and serve to prevent and heal arteriosclerosis, heart and Parkinson’s.
Large (up to 5,000 molecules). These anti-viral and anti-bacterial molecules provide your body with an effective method to fight infection.
Very Large (up to 9,000 molecules). These immune enhancing molecules have a powerful healing effect on AIDS, cancer and other immune system disorders. They also stimulate your body to produce tumor necrosis factor, which acts to shut off the blood supply to cancerous tumors.
ALOE VERA AND TYPE 2 DIABETES
In a study of 72 patients aged 35 to 70, researchers found that just 1 tablespoon of aloe vera juice daily in combination with the oral anti-diabetic drug glibenclamide lowered both blood glucose and triglycerides. The treatment group got aloe vera juice plus glibenclamide and the control group received a placebo juice plus glimenclamide.
After 42 days, the treatment group’s blood sugar level average went from a high of 288 mg/dl to 148mg/dl and the blood triglycerides went from 264 to 128. There was virtually no change in the placebo juice group. Since both groups received the drug and only the treatment group received the aloe juice, the positive results had to be due to the addition of the aloe juice alone. In addition, kidney and liver function were constantly monitored and the researchers found no toxicity from aloe vera. (“Antidiabetic activity of Aloe vera L. juice II. Clinical trial in diabetes mellitus patients in combination with glibenclamide,” Bunyapraphatsara, et al,. Phytomedicine 3 (3): 245-248, 1996.)
In another very small study of five patients with Type 2 diabetes, just half a teaspoon of “stabilized” aloe vera powder given daily for from four to fourteen weeks resulted in a plunge of blood sugar levels from an average of 273 mg/dl to 151 mg/dl with no change in body weight. (“The antidiabetic activity of aloes: Preliminary clinical and experimental observations.” Ghannan N, et al., Horm Res 24 (4): 288-294, 1986.)
5-YEAR STUDY SHOWS ALOE AND PSYLLIUM EFFECTIVE AGAINST AGAINST DIABETES
Really exciting news was reported in 1984 in an experiment where O.P. Agarwal, M.D., F.I.C.A., mixed aloe vera with the husk of the Isabgol plant (psyllium seed husks), a fiber source, and had 5,000 folks suffering from atheromatous heart disease (angina pectoris) ingest the mixture during a 5-year controlled study. Angina is chest pain due to insufficient blood flow to the heart. Of those patients, 3,167 were diabetic. Quickly, within the first week, most patients noted a disappearance of angina. After three months, all patients except 348 had normal heart readings after exercising on a treadmill.
In the diabetic group, an astounding 2,990 people (94%) saw their fasting and after meal blood glucose readings reach normal levels. There was also a marked reduction in total serum triglycerides and total lipids and what’s more, beneficial HDL cholesterol increased. The patients were able to gradually lessen drugs like verapamil, nifedipine, beta-blockers and nitrates. There were no side effects reported at all, and all 5, 000 patients were still surviving after the 5-year study! (“Prevention of Atheromatous heart Disease,” Agarwal, OP, Angiology, 1985 Aug; 36 (8): 485-92.)
I’ve known about about this study study since 1994 and have just discovered that psyllium seed husks also contain beneficial polysaccharides. Thus, the folks in this study consumed two sources of essentila saccharides: aloe vera and psyllium. In fact, studies prove that psyllium has the ability to lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and decrease cholesterol absorption in men with high cholesterol.
DIABETIC ANIMAL STUDIES AND THE PROMISE OF MAITAKE MUSHROOMS
Animal studies confirm that other essential sugars besides the chains of mannose present in aloe may lower blood glucose and blood insulin levels and reduce food intake in mice that are genetically prone to the disease.
One study used a strain of mice that have both diabetes and obesity, called KK-Ay.
Japanese researchers used maitake mushrooms on the treatment group. Here’s what happened. This group was placed on maitake-enhanced feed and the control group of mice received standard feed. After 8 weeks, the glucose level in the maitake group was stable at 200, whereas the control group’s glucose level was elevated at 400. In addition, the maitake mice were thinner, averaging 10 grams less than controls.
MUSHROOMS ALSO HOLD PROMISE FOR TYPE I DIABETICS.
A substance called ling zhi-8 derived from reishi mushrooms prevented the destruction of the insulin producing pancreatic cells in mice prone to developing Type-I diabetes.
In another study, mice were given injections of a toxin called streptozotocin that destroys the ability of the pancreas to produce insulin, thereby resulting in a kind of Type I diabetes. One group of these mice then received injections of cordycepts mushroom extract and another group received a placebo injection of saline water. The cordyceps group had significantly lowered blood sugar. However, since the insulin producing cells were destroyed, the scientists, the scientists discovered that the cordycepts worked by increasing a liver enzyme that aided in the metabolism of glucose—glucokinase. The cordycepts extract also reduced high blood sugar caused by an imbalance of the hormone epinephrine (adrenalin). Mice genetically prone to Type I diabetes were also aided by the cordycepts extract.
THE 8 ESSENTIAL SUGARS—THE SCIENCE OF GLYCONUTRIENTS
Of the more than 200 known sugars, 8 are now considered essential for optimum health. Although all of these 8 sugars can be burned for energy, their main job is to enhance cellular communication and boost the function of the immune system. These 8 saccharides are critical in virtually all communication between individual body cells. These 8 essential glyconutrients confer cells with the intelligence to from the structure of the body and aid immensely in the daily repair of tissues and organs. They also are intimately involved in helping your body’s defence system to recognize invaders such as harmful bacteria and viruses.
The fact is, research in this field is burgeoning and in my opinion is destined to revolutionize medicine. It may shift the focus of modern medicine from treatment to prevention. Note: If you lack the full spectrum of nutrients present in primal foods, the addition of these eight suagrs will not aid you. you must consume a healthy primal diet to fortify our body for any supplement to work. (See WBJ,vol.12, no.6, “Type 2 Diabetes Controlled by Primal Foods.” Also, buy the outstanding new book The Garden of Eating; see notes, end of “Healthy recipes” page 34, 35.)
WHY ARE THE 8 SUGARS IMPORTANT?
These saccharides combine with proteins and/or fats to build either glyconutrient or glycolipids that are incorporated in the membranes of all your body cells. Collectively, these substances are known as glycoforms and have powerful actions. First, they can jump-start your immune system to diminish cancerous tumors or even slow their spread.
They also have a role in boosting the functioning of your brain and nervous system, acting to normalize memory, sleep, anxiety and depression. They help to stabilize high blood triglycerides, which plague diabetics, and to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol. They also help you retain bone density and muscle mass, which decrease with advancing age. They help form new blood vessels that allow muscles to increase in mass. They are intimately involved in tissue building, which is critical for healing and recovery. Here’s a case to illustrate the point. You’ve probably heard about one glyconutrient for years—glucosamine. This is a metabolic products of one of the 8 essential saccharides—N-acetylgluccosamine. Glucosamine is sold in health stores for osteoarthritis. A 2001 study in the medical journal Lancet reveals that glucosamine relieves pain and inflammation of and also reversed injury by rebuilding cartilage in arthritic joints.
This new branch of science is called glycobiology. Glyco means sugar. The theory is that because of the refined nature of our diet, we generally consume only 2 of the 8 essential sugars—glucose and galactose. However, these 8 sugars are so essential that our bodies can use glucose and galactose to produce the ones that are lacking in our foods. But you need optimum health for this to occur. in addition, viruses, bacteria and toxins hijack the same enzymes that convert saccharides from one form to another. This means that when under assault, your body may not be able to the produce the eight sugars fast enough.
100 TRILLION ORGANIZED BODY CELLS
Experts estimate that each of us has from 50 trillion body cells all cooperating and working together in unison. Don’t those numbers just stagger your imagination? How do all these individual cells get along and maintain the complexity and structure of the body? Well, body cells use the 8 essential sugars incorporated into their cell membranes to communicate with each other. Saccharides allow the cells to send and receive messages, respond to each other’s needs and know when to stop dividing and respect each other’s space. Each action that requires communication between cells is facilitated by this sugar lingo. How expressive is this language? Well, just 4 different saccharides can combine to form 35,560 district molecules—each a separate letter in the cell language. As you can see, the 8 essential saccharides convey an enormous amount of biological information.
Here’s an example. The sugar are involved in cellular recognition. A female cat’s egg recognizes a tomcat’s sperm from the unique saccharides on the tip of the sperm that talk to the corresponding sugars and proteins on the surface of the egg. Since the sugars are involved in cellular recognition, a cat-dog creature, for example, would never arise naturally. The saccharides on the cat egg and on the dog sperm confer distinct identities that would never allow such a union.
THE 8 ESSENTIAL SUGARS AND SOME OF THEIR KNOWN PROPERTIES
Mannose. Researchers consider mannose to be the dominant gluconutrient. Its major function is fostering cell communication and aiding tissue remodeling. Mannose lowers blood sugar and triglyceride levels in diabetics. It can also speed healing, inhibit tumor growth and spread, prevent bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections and ease the inflammation of rhematoid arthritis.
As noted before, one of the main sources of mannose if aloe vera. Aloe contains the polysaccharide acemannan, which is simply different sized chains of mannose molecules. Kelp, shiitake mushrooms and ground fenugreek are also sources of mannose.
Glucose. This sugar is everywhere. You don’t need to supplement it. Table sugar (sucrose) is composed of two simple sugars: glucose and fructose. Glucose is also in aloe and many, many fruits and vegetables. In the correct amounts, glucose enhances memory and cellular communication and stimulated calcium absorption. Alzheimer’s patients frequently are lower in glucose than are other brain disease victims.
Galactose. Lactose (milk sugar) is comprised of two simple sugars: glucose and galactose. As you know, lactose is abundant in dairy products such as milk and yogurt. in animal studies it protected the mice from cataracts. it also inhibits tumor growth and spread, particularly to the liver, aids in wound healing, decreases inflammation, enhances cellular communication and increases calcium absorption. Galactose also fosters long-term memory formation. [There is no evidence unpasteurized is the least altered].
Fucose (not fructose) Certain mushrooms and breast milk are rich in this sugar. Studies with animals indicate that it influences brain development and helps the brain to create long-term memories. it also inhibits tumor growth and spread. high concentrations are found at the junctions between nerves, in the kidneys and testes and in the outer skin layer. It protects against allergic reactions and inhibits respiratory tract infection. The functioning of fucose is especially abnormal in those suffering from diabetes, cancer, cystic fibrosis and shingles. Kelp seaweed has an abundance of fucoidan, a polysaccharide containing lots of fucose. Fucoidan also has xylose, mannose, galactose and glucose.
N-Acetlygalactosamine. This sugar inhibits tumor spread and enhances cellular communication. Heart disease patients are woefully lacking in this saccharide. Bovine and shark cartilage have an abundance of this sugar and also have N-acetylglucosamine. It is predominantly in the chondroitin 4-sulfate form of chondroitin derived from bovine cartilage, which is considered better than shark cartilage. Shark cartilage may have heavy metal contamination. Chondroitin is used to treat the joints of osteoarthritis patients.
N-Acetylglucosamine. This sugar is an immune modulator that has antitumor characteristics. Besides cartilage, shiitake mushrooms are abundant in this sugar (as a constituent of chitin). Glucosamine, derived from N-acetylglucosamine, helps repair cartilage and decreases pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis. In animal studies, researchers have found that this sugar is vital to learning.
N-Acetylneuraminic Acid. Abundant in breast milk, this sugar is critical for learning, brain development, memory and performance. It also enhances the viscosity of mucous to repel bacteria, viruses and other invaders. Animal studies have shown that it inhibits strains of influenza A and B viruses more effectively than prescription antivirals such as amantadine and ribavirin. It also influences blood coagulation and cholesterol levels and lowers LDL cholesterol. The processing of this sugar is disturbed in alcoholics. It is also known as sialic acid, and good sources are whey protein isolate and organic raw eggs. Be sure to buy whey protein isolate or whey protein concentrate and not just whey protein or whey powder.
Xylose. This antibacterial and antifungal may also help prevent cancer of the digestive tract. People suffering from colitis and other intestinal disorders have decreased absorption of xylose. Since it doesn’t promote tooth decay or spike blood sugar some manufacturers substitute xylose for corn sweeteners or sucrose in toothpaste and chewing gum marketed to diabetics. Kelp seaweed and ground psyllium seeds also contain xylose.
PRIMAL FOODS THAT ARE RICH IN 8 ESSENTIAL SACCHARIDES
Primal foods that contain most or all eight essential saccharides include rice bran, barley bran, oat bran, mushrooms, yeast cell walls, aloe vera and gum sugars. Most of these sugars are not sweet but bitter and thus have a low glycemic index. While scientists believe that people in good health can produce these sugars from glucose and galactose, it’s a very taxing process. In fact, it’s extremely difficult for diabetics and others who are sick or stressed to make the conversion. Basically, the more essential saccharides that you add to your diet, the fewer number of steps, and the less enzymes and energy your body has to expend, to manufacture them. Other glyconutrient rich primal foods include garlic, onions, leeks, carrots, fenugreek, psyllium seeds, radishes, pears, coconut meat, tomatoes, beans, kelp and figs.
EAT YOUR SLOW COOKED OATMEAL
Emil I. Mondoa, M.D., relates that oat bran and barley bran as well as the cell walls of mushrooms and yeasts contain polysaccharides known as beta-glucans that have anti-tumor, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic actions.
Rice bran (the husk of brown rice) contains alpha-glucans that have similar abilities. Rice bran also contains the polysaccharide arabinoxylane that boosts the natural killer cell function of your immune system.
In one study, scientists found that in patients with moderately high cholesterol, 84 grams (3 ounces) a day of either oat bran or rice bran plunged LDL and total cholesterol by a whopping 78% within 6 weeks. Slow cooked oatmeal has a better effect than the instant variety. It is the beta and alpha-glucans that have this effect. If oatmeal raises your blood sugar, consider just consuming the oat bran. You can find oat bran in most health food stores. Mushrooms also have beta-glucans, and shiitake mushrooms, for example, have been found to reduce cholesterol and blood triglyceride levels as compared to controls.
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION & FLAGGING LIBIDO? CORDYCEPS MUSHROOMS
Traditional Chinese doctors use the cordyceps mushroom rich in glyconutrients to treat both erectile dysfunction and low libido. Cordyceps increases estrogen and testosterone production by revitalizing the tissues. The drug Viagra, on the other hand, causes dilation of the arteries that supply the penis thereby increasing blood flow. While Viagra is acknowledged to treat erectile dysfunction, it does nothing to increase sexual desire. In addition, its effects are transient. While cordycepts may take anywhere from one week to a few months to work, its effects are more lasting.
In one human trial, 22 men with complete impotence were treated with 3 grams of a cordycepts extract known as Cs-4 for 8 weeks. At study end, more than one-third were capable of sexual intercourse. A bonus was that sperm counts rose 33%, malformed sperm decreased by 29% and sperm survival rate increased from 29% to 52%! (“The Scientific Rediscovery of an Ancient Chinese Herbal Medicine: Cordyceps sinensis. Part I.” Zhu JS et al, J Altern Complent Med 4 (3): 297-298, 1998.)
CONFLICTING PROCESSING METHODS STRIVETO PREVERSE ALOE’S HEALING PROPERTIES
According to Emil I. Mondoa, M.D., in his book Sugars that Heal: The Healing Science of Glyconutrients, c. 2001, Ballantine Publishing Group, New York, NY, you must be wary about some processed aloe processed. He claims that some techniques extract active substances from the plant using alcohol, which results in a product containing none of the medicinal properties of the fresh aloe leaf. If the product doesn’t say “stabilized,” he says don’t buy it. Without proper freeze drying processing, a mannose destroying enzyme is activated that proceeds to destroy the polysaccharides.
Some companies claim that only aloe juice that is “cold-processed” and “non-pasteurized” can insure that you get all the polysaccharides and enzymes intact. They say that any heat above 90 degrees F can break down the links between the sugars. As a result, the long chain sugars no longer have the same size and shape that fit into receptor sites on the membranes of the immune cells or tissue producing cells. in addition, heat breaks down the enzymes, amino acids and other phytonutrients that are abundant in raw, unheated aloe vera, thus destroying its healing value. Note: Companies that use the “cold-pressed” method are legally required by the FDA to have a warning on the label stating that there might be bacteria in the product.
Other companies use 10-second flash pasteurization to kill existing bacteria. This, they say, maintains the integrity of the product by not destroying the active ingredients such as delicate enzymes and polysaccharides. Only enough heat is used to destroy existing bacteria. They claim that now most companies use this process.
Perhaps the most surprising statements concerning aloe processing methods were from researchers Odus M. Hennessee and Bill Cook in their book Aloe Myth-Magic Medicine: Asloe Vera Across Time, c. 1989 by Universal graphics, Lawton, OK 73502.
They repeatedly state that “…the healing agents in Aloe are found only in the sap, not in the gel, and that heating does not destroy these principles but does, in fact, enhance them” (p.42). They further state that “Aloe vera must be heated to preserve it and that “Aloe vera must be heated to preserve it and that heating does not destroy its beneficial effects” (p 43).
The sap is found just under the green outer rind and is yellow or reddish. The anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial agents are found in the sap and rind, not in the clear gel. However, they caution that “…basic nutrients and other agents are widely dispersed throughout the plant—meaning the sap, the gel, and the rind—and about 98 per cent of the water is confined to the gel. This knowledge should help put pseudo-scientific fallacies to rest, especially the widely held myth that the gel of the plant is totally responsible for the healing ability of Aloe vera. At the same time, we need to avoid an overreaction, which dismisses the gel as worthless. The gel is important as a buffering agent” (pp. 71-72). What this suggests is that the whole aloe vera leaf must be consumed to confer all the healing elements.
Hennessee and Cook also contend that real aloe vera juice is not clear like water. The appearance of true medicinal aloe juice should be yellowish or reddish.
WHICH PROCESSED ALOE IS BEST?
I tend to believe that whole leaf, cold-processed, non-pasteurized aloe is best. After all, the heat of pasteurization destroys the nutrients in other primal foods such as raw milk. However, I must confess, that all the claims from the various companies are extremely confusing. Thus, I sought out an impartial third party. I found the international Aloe Science Council (IASC), 415 E. Airport Freeway, Suite 260, Irving, Texas 75062, (972) 258-8772, www. iasc.org.
I corresponded with their managing director, Gene Hale, who explained that the IASC certifies commercial aloe vera products using the following tests:
o A/A—an Atomic Absorption test that quantitates calcium and magnesium content.
o HPLC—High pressure liquid Chromatography lab equipment that gives quantitation of the L malic acid in aloe. This is an excellent marker for the proper handling of the aloe vera leaf after it is removed from the plant.
o NMR—proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy. This is a very expensive piece of equipment that costs about $ 250,000. It measures:
polysaccharides
L malic acid (again)
glucose
acetic acid
lactic acid
formic acid
maltodextrin
citric acid
benzoic acid
sorbic acid
fumaric acid
succinic acid
total solids
Mr. Hale also explained that almost all “cold-processed” claims are incorrect. He says that a company that heats their product to just 1 degree F below pasteurization temperature can claim to be “cold-processed.” Thus the IASC certifies products to confirm their quality and purity and discourages companies from incorrect or ridiculous claims. You can find a complete list of certified products: www.iasc.org/complete/html.
Still, I think “cold-processed” aloe vera has value. This is especially true if the brand is also certified by the IASC. The following company’ s product is both.
Lily of the Desert Whole Leaf Aloe Vera Gel Raw uses a cold processing method to effectively remove the aloin, the harmful bitter contituents contained in aloe vera gel. Lily aloe is certified organic and non-pasteurized to provide customers with a quality product as close to nature’s own original aloe vera leaf as possible. 32 oz. (1 quart), $3.30 plus shipping, 1-303-530-4265. If you need to get healthy in a hurry, I would definitely buy Mannatech’s ambrotose.
Patrick Leaky is the Editor of The Diabetic Warrior, Florida.
