THE EIGHT ESSENTIAL SUGARS

SUGARS!! Are sugars bad for us?
Sucrose, our common table sugar, is becoming dangerously overused and is rapidly becoming very detrimental to body health.

There are over 200 carbohydrates or monosaccharides in nature and they are all called sugars. At the moment only eight of these can be considered essential sugars, the necessary biologically active sugars.

"The last decade has witnessed the rapid emergence of the concept of the sugar code of biological information. Indeed, monosaccharides represent an alphabet of biological information similar to amino acids and nucleic acids, but with unsurpassed coding capacity." Acta Anatomica 161/1-4/98

Here is a list of the eight essential sugars or monosaccharides:

Glucose - readily available in our diet. Usually more than is needed. Comes in the form of sugar cane, rice, corn, potatoes, wheat (in other words from starchy foods, white sugar and fructose}. This sugar is a potent fast-energy source and is one of the eight essential sugars. However, too much or too little can cause a variety of problems.

Galactose -is readily available in our diets. It is obtained from the conversion of lactose (milk sugar and dairy products] unless, of course, you suffer from lactose intolerance.

Mannose - is not readily found in our diet. This esential sugar is very important in our diet. The oldest known source is the Aloe Vera plant; it has a 5000-year history for its healing properties.

Fucose - is not readily available in our diet. It is found in mother's breast milk and has numerous well-documented benefits for the immune system.

Xylose - is not readily available in our diet. It is often seen in sugarless gums and candies because it does not cause tooth decay.

N-acetyl-neuraminic acid - is readily available in our diet and is another of the sugars that is found in mother's breast milk.

N-acetylgalactosamine - is not readily available in our diet. This is the least known of the essential sugars. It plays an essential roll in keeping cell communications clear and promptly delivered.

N-acetylglusomine - is not readily available in our diet. This is another immune modulator. It has a variety of therapeutic effects.

Today, in North America, only two of the above eight essential sugars are regularly received from our diet creating a potentially serious nutrient deficiency.

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