"Glyconutrients" the bait and switch

(The following is updated from a post from 10 years ago.  I have no association with any "glyconutrient" company or any nutritional company at all.  I have a background in healthcare and biochemistry, and am a proponent of nutritional supplements, and I was asked to investigate the science and claims of a popular company for a friend of mine.  Here are some of the things that I found).

A popular company that promotes "Glyconutrients" claims that there are essential sugars that your body needs, and that their supplement has all 8.

If you had an infection, and I gave you an antibiotic, and told you the antibiotic worked by attracting electromagnetic waves from the troposphere, into your body where it incinerates the invading microorganisms, you might think it strange.  But when your infection went away, you might think because the antibiotics worked that my explanation must be the correct mechanism of action, but nothing could be further from the truth.  This is the same problem with Glyconutrients.  They can be beneficial, but not they way their company promotes.

First of all, it might be important to know that the most popular/well known brand of Glyconutrients only has one "simple sugar," not the 8 they claim are essential.

The ingredients, based on their patent, freely available online, are Arabinogalactan, Acemannan (Manapol brand), Gum Ghatti and Gum Tragacanth, glucosamine HCL, rice starch.

Glucosamine is the only simple sugar in the ingredients. The other ingredients are "polysaccharides" (or complex chains of sugars hundreds or thousands of segments long).

Starch is a polysaccharide.  It is a very long chain of glucose molecules that are "alpha-linked".  Your body produces enzymes that can break the linkages very quickly, and so glucose is absorbed into your intestine after eating starch.  Rice starch is usually added to powdered supplements to make them mix in liquids better, but there would be some glucose absorbed from this ingredient.  There is usually too much glucose in the American diet, so this is probably not therapeutic.

The rest of the ingredients are polysaccharides that are long chains of "beta-linked" sugars.  Humans do not make the enzymes necessary to break apart the individual sugars, and they have been shown to pass undigested through the small intestine into the large intestine and are then almost completely fermented (broken apart and eaten) by bacteria which convert them into short-chain fatty acids (acetate, proprionate, and butyrate).  We absorb our nutrients in the small intestine.  In the large intestine we absorb mostly water and electrolytes. Hence, other than glucosamine, (and the glucose from rice starch) almost none of the sugars in those large chains are absorbed in the body. So, if there are benefits to these supplements, the benefits are not secondary to absorption of sugars (except glucosamine which has been shown to help arthritis).

If you absorbed these 8 sugars from this supplement, then there would be studies showing that when someone swallowed them, soon thereafter the levels of these sugars would be increased in the blood.  But you might notice the salespeople from this company cannot provide those studies. 

It should also be stated here that this supplement doesn't actually contain the "8 essential sugars" that they talk so much about. The polysaccharides, plus glucosamine, in this product actually are made up of only 6 of those sugars, and, according to the company,
supposedly the 'precursors' so that the body can make the other 2. The precursor for all of these sugars is glucose, so you could say cotton candy contains effective precursors for all 8.

 What happens to these soluble fibers in the large intestine? They are almost completely metabolized by the microorganisms in your colon into short-chain fatty acids (SCFA)- acetate, proprionate and butyrate. These SCFA's are completely absorbed in the large intestine. They have beneficial local and systemic effects, but not because any sugars were absorbed.  The fibers also increase the growth of beneficial bacteria, such as lactobacillus, which decreases the amount of microorganisms that can live there and be bad for you.

If these supposed miracle sugars aren't absorbed, are the supplements effective. In fact, there is evidence that show they can have significant direct and indirect effects on a large list of health issues, however not because of any "essential sugars" are absorbed (other than glucosamine), but by other means.

For a short example, type II diabetes. These substances are "soluble fiber" which have been well studied to slow the absorption of glucose from the intestine. Some of the short-chain fatty acids which are absorbed from the large intestine have been shown to decrease glucose production from the liver by >30%. These soluble fibers have also been shown by various means to decrease cholesterol and increase vasodilation and inhibit certain aspects of atherosclerosis. So it is not surprising to see a lot of people with diabetes having benefits and telling it to the world.

With some understanding of human physiology, and biochemistry it is actually possible to find the research that shows how this combination of ingredients may be beneficial in a multitude of conditions from Autism to Yeast infections. So I find it amazing that the company is still pushing such an outdated theory of how their supplement works (absorbing sugars).  Though I have noted over the years (since I began writing these posts) that they have promoted their effects as prebiotics more and more. 

The long chain of mannose sugar, called Acemannan, from Aloe Vera that is in this supplement, may also have some benefits without having to be absorbed.  Some microorganisms have long chains of mannose as part of their structure.  Your intestines have receptors that bind with chains of mannose.  When Acemannan binds these receptors, your intestines think it is a large amount of microoganisms, and it stimulates the immune system, and that can be beneficial to the body.  Two-thirds of your immune system surrounds your intestine, so the effects can be significant.

In my investigation of this topic I have e-mailed the researchers at this company to have them specifically address my questions with their hypothesis. Not surprising that there has been no answer. I have conversed with a PhD who wrote a 150 page book on glyconutirents (mostly testimonials) and he not only did not have an answer, but after working years for the company, he was surprised to learn from me that the ingredients were not 8 individual sugars.  He did not actually know what the ingredients were.  He was a very nice man, but not a very learned one.

I e-mailed a researcher who is also on the board of directors of this company...he had no answers either. When I asked the company if any study had been done to show even one sugar increased in the blood after taking the supplement, the answer was that they prefer to do clinical studies, and based on the fact that the patients get well, they know the sugars are being absorbed. Just because the supplement works doesn't mean the mechanism is correct, and thus far, the evidence is against their mechanism being possible.

My favorite discussion was from the original developer of their product.  A very knowledgeable researcher whom  I was invited to listen to.  I went up during a break and explained to him the problems I had with their explanation, and with the research that contradicted their hypothesis.  He agreed that all my facts were correct, and that the only research they had that supported their hypothesis was "proprietary" and they couldn't publish or share it for fear of having their ideas stolen.  So if anyone tells you science and research supports this company, I can tell you, even their top researcher admits that what is published and available does not  support their "8 essential sugar" explanation, and it actually contradicts it. 

Another interesting fact, Their company doesn't even make the ingredients, they buy them from other companies and just mix them up.  You can buy them and mix them up yourself - same ingredients.  Though you probably don't need all of them.

Manapol is from Carrington Labs. You can buy it from that company directly. Arabinogalactan is from LAREX, Inc., the only US manufacturer, so any Arabinogalactan in stores or online comes from them.  Gum Ghatti and Gum Tragacanth are food additives that have been used for thousands of years. They are well known, standardized, and obtainable from many sources. Glucosamine is also readily obtainable and not unique.

While their product may be "Patented," that relates to other companies putting the same ingredients together and selling it.  There is nothing that stops people from buying the ingredients and mixing them (or just taking the ingredients separately).  It is MUCH cheaper.

And there are other companies that sell a similar combination of ingredients.  They are a fraction of the cost.  And some have even some better combinations of ingredients, but everybody will be a little different on what helps them.

As for my friends who originally asked me to investigate the product and the claims, they would not listen to any explanation I gave them.  I wrote up a multi-page review, and referenced for all of the information so they could see it was not just my opinion, but they refused to hear or read any of it.  By then they were true believers and it didn't matter what anyone else said.

They have risen up the ranks of the company and now travel the world "teaching" seminars about the "Science" of glyconutrients.  It is kind of like an english teacher teaching biochemistry.  I suspect not too many people ask too many detailed questions.  People can be sheep sometimes.

The company has a good combination of ingredients for a prebiotic supplement, though it is overly priced, just the wrong explanation.

Duane

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