Review of Sugars That Heal: The New Healing Science of Glyconutrients (Paperback)

We are increasingly learning that the changes in our diet in the last 100 years towards more processed foods are undermining our health. We get too much of some things (like saturated fats, white flour, and simple sugars) and not enough of other things (like essential fatty acids, vegetables, fruits, and water). Sugars That Heal describes the evidence that is building that some people are having their health undermined by consuming too few of certain essential sugars (such as mannose, xylose, fucose, N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine, and N-acetylneuraminic acid. These sugars have many important functions in the body, several of which relate to the proper functioning of the immune system and the nervous sytem.
In a healthy body not under stress, all of these sugars can be created using enzymes in the body from simple sugars like glucose. In bodies under stress, it appears that these enzymes become short in supply for converting sugars and the body receives too few of the essential sugars that are missing from the diet. These sugars need only be consumed in small quantities, and do not affect glycemic levels in the blood.<P The book describes how the importance of these sugars was discovered over the last 100 years, beginning with the use of vaccines to attack cancers by Dr. William Coley. The active ingredient in these successful vaccines was found to be a lipopolysaccharide by the National Cancer Institute in 1943. By taking the fat molecule off of the sugar, the resulting compound was easier to absorb without negative body reactions.
Essential sugars are found in many food sources including aloe vera, corn, wheat, leeks, carrots, radishes, red wine, coconut meat, tomatoes, breast milk, apples and grapefruit. There are also various supplements you can buy. The book describes which ones to buy, and how to start taking the supplements. You are encouraged to work with your physician if you take these supplements. They may not be appropriate for pregnant and nursing women, those on blood thinners, and those taking Indocin. If you are allergic to any of these foods or to the ingredients in the supplements, you can have an allergic reaction. Some people will also experience loose bowel movements and other side effects from the supplements.
I thought that the weakest part of the book was in not providing more information about how to create the minimum sugar consumption solely through food.
There are extensive discussions of how these essential sugars may help people with various illnesses including arthritis, diabetes, kidney failure, heart failure, hepatitis, various cancers (including reducing the side effects of cancer treatments), HIV, and high blood pressure. The book also discusses how these sugars may improve the functioning of joints (by rebuilding cartilage), memory, weight loss, and energy levels (for those with chronic fatigue syndrome and Fibromyalgia).
In most cases, these are in vitro and animal studies with the sugars, so how they will work on humans isn't known yet. However, Dr. Mondoa does describe individual case histories based on his clinical practice. In other cases, there are human studies. One of the most impressive was in China with reversing declining kidney functions. Another one with children in the United States showed a reduced rate of colds. Yet another shows that cartilage can be regrown. Another human study shows that aloe vera helps with Type II diabetes, cholesterol and triglycerides. So, there's probably something there, but we really won't know the full scope of what it is until many more human trials occur. Presumably, the next twenty years will fill in many of the gaps. In the meantime, it certainly looks like a wise thing to do to be sure that you are not lacking in these essential sugars.
I plan to share this book with all those I know who are suffering from the diseases mentioned here. I think this information is not well known in the medical community. For example, my father was experiencing loss of kidney function. His nephrologist at a well-known teaching hospital told my father he would be on dialysis within six months, and that diet didn't help. Yet there was already a Chinese study of humans showing that diet was very helpful. Ignorant of the Chinese study, my father changed his diet to include more fruits and vegetables of the sort described in the book and was back to full kidney function within a few months. The nephrologist never did understand what happened, and just told my father to keep doing whatever he was doing. I found the descriptions of the research to be very carefully articulated. So if you take this book along to your physician, she or he should be able to find the information to decide if some dietary or supplement changes would be in order. Since so many people are on blood thinners, these changes will have to be carefully done for those people. Since these sugars may help conditions requiring the blood thinners, perhaps some patients may be able to stop with the blood thinners at some point. Your physician can help you make a good decision.
Although this book doesn't talk about exercise, that is also an important component of any recovery program.
After you finish reading this book and decide what to do next to improve your health, I suggest you also think about how you can fill your day and mind with more healthful experiences and thoughts. Whom have you shown love to today? Whom have you given an essential hug to? Whom have you complimented who needed to be encouraged? Whom have you prayed for?
All of these ways of sharing will make you feel better too! Fill your life with all the essentials!




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