The Importance of Polysaccharides

Dr. John E. Lewis has been conducting clinical research for the better part of the last 20 years. Much of his research has focused on evaluating the effects of nutrition, dietary supplementation, exercise, and medical devices on various aspects of human health and disease. He and his research colleagues have been searching for ways to help people achieve and maintain health through natural ways that align with our physiology. Dr. Lewis continues to seek out the best approaches that enable our cells to do what they are meant to do.

For example, the emerging field of glycomics is showing us the importance of polysaccharides (sugars) and how they are used in so many more ways than just as a source of energy. The discoveries in the field of glycomics are revealing the ways in which polysaccharides are utilized by every cell in the human body. In 1996, Harper’s Biochemistry defined these polysaccharides as glucose, fucose, mannose, galactose, xylose, n-acetyl glucosamine, n-acetyl galactosamine, and n-acetyl neuraminic acid. These polysaccharides are crucial for proper cellular function, and yet we know that only two of them, glucose and galactose, are present to any great extent in the modern diet. As an aside, please do not confuse the word “sugar” with always meaning something bad or detrimental. To be clear, processed sugars, such as white table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, are not considered healthy, and their overconsumption contributes to all of the aforementioned health challenges today. The field of glycomics teaches us that other sugars, such as mannose and fucose, can be very important to maintaining proper health. Thus, it is important for you to understand that not all sugars are bad for you. In fact, it is the opposite. Many sugars can be very beneficial for you and if taken in proper amounts can be part of your formula for achieving and maintaining outstanding health.

One theory behind the explosion of so many chronic disease epidemics relates to the missing polysaccharides in the diet. As these polysaccharides have been missing more and more from the diet over the last century, so too has the requisite problems in cellular function, particularly as it relates to the immune system’s function. While glycomics has been teaching us about the importance of these polysaccharides, the study of immunology has been teaching us about how the components of the immune system are so crucial to the rest of our organ systems. Without a healthy immune system, we are not able to fend off infections and repair damage due to trauma or injury. A nutritious diet allows our immune system to stay strong and keep us healthy.

Daily Brain Care has concentrated amounts of key polysaccharides and other phytonutrients that are recommended for good health.