Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Essential Sugars

Our cells need to communicate to take immediate actions in response to the different biologic changes or events. These communications take place either within the same tissue or between different tissues through a built-in molecules installed on the cell surface membranes to act like Antenna. These are the Glycoproteins.

Glycoproteins are formed when a protein molecule attaches oligosaccharide ( multi-sugar) chains to its backbone. Were it a polypeptide chain, it would have been non-enzymically highly reactive leading to uncontrolled biochemical activity which aborts life order.

Almost all the plasma proteins of humans except albumin are Glycoproteins. A number of the blood groups substance are Glycoproteins. Many proteins of cellular membranes contain substantial amounts of carbohydrates. Many cancer researchers think that alterations in the structure of Glycoproteins on the surface of cancer cells are responsible, at least in part, for the phenomenon of metastasis (whereby cancer cells leave their tissue of origin, migrate through the blood stream to some distant site in the body and grow there in a completely unregulated manner with catastrophic results on the affected idividual e.g. from breast to brain.).

Glycoproteins occur in most organisms from bacteria to humans. Many viruses also contain glycoproteins. Techniques are available for detection, purification, and structural analysis of glycoproteins.

The carbohydrate content of glycoproteins ranges from 1% to 85% by weight. Number of hexoses (6 carbon sugars), their type, their sequence and their conformation render the oligosaccharide (multi-sugar) chains encode considerble biologic information.

Some functions of the oligosaccharide chains of glycoproteins:
# molecular physico-chemical properties e.g. solubilty, viscosity, charge and denaturation.
# Protect against proteolysis ( protein enzymatic degradation, from inside and outside the cell).
# Are involved in biologic activity, e.g. of chorionic gonadotropin(hCG).
# Affects insertion into membranes, intracllular migration, sorting, and secretion.
# Affects embryonic development and differentiation.
# May affect sites of metastasis selected by cancer cells.

The principal seven sugar predominant in human glycoproteins are:
Galactose - Mnnose - Glucose - Fucose( not to be confused with Fructose) -
N-Acetyl Neuraminic acid - N-Acetyl Galactosamine - N-Acetyl Glucosamine.
Xylose is now added and they become 8 sugars. These sugars are called The 8 Essential Sugars.
Any nutrient described to be "essntial" means that it should be provided in the diet, as the body may not be capable of producing them totally or partially to meet the body needs.

Our catering sponsor ( plants) put the essential sugars together with Glucose which is essential to life itself, in attractive appetizing forms ( vegetables & frits), so that when humans eat them they get their "quota" of these important nutrients. There are still arguements that the body can convert Glucose to these sugars, and although it can, yet the most recent study revealed that only moderate to severe arthritis cases positively responded to treatment with
N- AcetylGlucosamine, which means the the body couldn't synthesize this sugar amount administered during the period of the trial.

The following are the rich sources of Essential Sugars:
Dietary sources of Mannose
Herbs : Aloe vera
Legumes: Soybeans
Fruits: Black currants - Goosberries
Vegetables: Beans(green) - Capsicum - Cabbage - Eggplant - Tomatoes- Turnip.

Dietary sources of Galactose
*Fruits : Apples - Appricot- Banana - Blackberries- Cherries - Cranberries - Currants- Dates Kiwi fruit- Mango- Nectarines- Orange Peach - Pears - Pinapple - Plums - Prunes- Raspberries - Rhubarb- Strawberries- Passion fruit
*Herbs: Echinacea - Boswellia
*Nuts : Chestnut
*Vegetables : Broccoli- Brussels sprouts - Cabbage - Carrot - Cauliflour - Celery - Cucumber Eggplant - Tomatoes - Leeks - Lettuce - Mushrooms- Onions - Parsnip - Peas( green) - Pumpkin - Spinach- Beans (green) - Beet root.

Dietary sources of Fucose
Fucoidan containing plants including several species seaweeds such as Kelp and Wakame,
Bear yeast.

Dietary sources of N-AcetylNeuraminic acid ( Sialic acid)
Whey protein isolate - Hens Eggs

Dietary sources of N-AcetylGlucosamine
Bovine cartilage - Shark cartilage - Dumontiacea ( a red algae)

Dietary sources of Xylose
*Fruits: Guava - pears - Blackberries - RaspberriesHerbs : Aloe vera - Echinacea - Boswellia *Seeds : psyllium seeds
*Vegetables: Broccoli - Beans(green) - Cabbage - Corn - Eggplant

Friday, May 12, 2006

Brooke Shields and Alternative Medicine

"Blue Lagoon" movie for Brooke Shields explained to us the price humanity pays for knowledge.
The film was about 2 young children who were swept on a tropical island after a shipwreck, they grew up and became mature without grown-ups to educate them all the time. They got a baby whom his mother never knew how to feed him until the baby himself met her breast and sucked it spontaneously. When the baby got ill, Brooke (his mother) gave him some plants from around to find him died.


The film teaches us many precious lessons on the the development of alternative medicine: How many persons died until humans recognized the safe and unsafe materials to be ingested?, the safe and unsafe practices?.
In the past times, people in different geographic areas dealt with diseases driven by their environment, culture and thoughts. Trial and error had collectively formed some inherited remedy styles to create a sort of "Geographic medicine".
When man used those models of treatment he had no alternative, nevertheless they had a magic feature, that is, they were all based on covered scientific rules, that were uncovered later, when we consider that:-
-Many investigated active ingredients of present drugs are of herbal origin.
-The physical practices (acupressure, acupuncture, chiropractor...etc.) are not very far from Biophysics.
-Nutritional supplements can not be dispensed without understanding Biochemistry.
Alternative medicine represents the medical information bank whenever mankind is ready for scientific up-graduation.
We are ready now.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

123-4HEALTH

Why is this blog? For societies anticipating the impact of a changing world on the public health there are common views shared by the individuals and the debate runs about the details of these views. With more than 25 years of practice of diffrent pharmacy practices and continuous reading about pharmacy, medicine, health and wellness I try to present a different view, this view is jargon free but firmly bound to the up-to-date scientific findings, simple yet it goes as deep as I can see the wood and trees to make it different.
People need different views to be concerned.
Wellcome to my humble blog.

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