Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
I was going to post a lot of information about specific sugars with "technical" information and links, but decided to try to talk you thru this instead.
Bb appears (genetic research) to be utilize the sugars fructose and galactose.
Now, galactose is also called brain sugar. The galactose pathway allows cells to replicate and function.
But...TOO MUCH galactose looks to impact the antioxidant levels...specifically PKC gamma (lowering it).
And this looks to cause cataracts.
So...simplified...too much sugar = too little antioxidants (think "gamma").
It is interesting, but vitamin E contains several "tocopherols"...but the "alpha" one looks to be the anti-inflammatory and the "gamma" one looks to be the anti-oxidant component.
We need BOTH...bigtime.
Be SURE if supplementing vitamin E, you get a NATURAL one with a balance of "alpha" and "gamma".
Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) impairs the immune response and facilitates the development of infection.
Not only that but, our macrophages (pac men) in the presence of galatose results in the depletion of...ATP. ATP helps control the Na-K pump.
So how to we control galatose...or do we/should we?
We can turn it off.
What?
Yup.
With a complex carbohydrate, a trisaccharide composed of galactose, fructose, and glucose. It is called raffinose.
This is the chemical formula: C18H32O16 H2O.
(I just love it when the #16 shows up. Sorry, I couldn't resist. As H32 O16...2:1 curious.)
It is found in beans, cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, other vegetables and whole grains and in soybeans.
What all the above have in common (besides raffinose) is something else: they all cause flatulence.
"How did you know it was me?"
Now...we've all been told how good the above foods are for us, right? Eat beans. Mr. President, eat broccoli...
So how to we avoid the "embarassment"?
Raffinose is broken down by the intestinal bacteria with the help of the enzyme alpha-galactosidase. This is in Beano.
It would appear taking Beano helps to breakdown raffinose so that our own sugar hungry beneficial bacteria don't ferment it.
You see, we don't possess the alpha-galactosidase enzyme to breakdown raffinose and they pass undigested thru the stomach and upper intestine. (Or do we?)
In the lower intestine, they (RFOs) are fermented by gas producing bacteria which make carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and/or hydrogen which leads to the flatulence commonly associated with eating beans.
Now...I have found conflicting/confusing information....
"Pretreatment with mice with **gamma** globulins (antibodies) also resulted in significantly enhanced adenovirus-mediated transduction and ...
expression of alpha-galactoside A in the liver."
(PMID: 12031126)
I thought we didn't have that enzyme?
What if we don't have enough alpha-galactosidase?
We have Fabry disease. This is a "lysomomal storage disorder"...a rare genetic disorder of lipid metabolism.
Low levels or inactivity of that enzyme leads to abnormal accumulation of a substance consisting of fatty material and carbohydrates in various organs of the body, particularly the blood vessels and the eyes.
Supplementing that enzyme..."cleared microvascular endothelial deposits of globotriaosylceramide from the kidneys, heart and skin in patients with Fabry's disease, reversing the pathogenesis of the chief clinical manifstation of this disease." (PMID: 11439963)
Now...any risks?
Yup.
Cautions and possible side effects:
Alpha-galactosidase supplements
***alter the way you process sugar;***
if you have diabetes, check with your doctor before using. Do not use if you have galactosemia, a rare condition that causes an adverse reaction to all foods containing the sugar galactose.
Do not take if you are sensitive to mold or penicillin; these supplements are often made from a type of mold.
Raffinose alters our immune response (PMID: 12323091), and turns GAL off.
But if the malordorous methane (CH4) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gases are produced as a result of raffinose in soybeans -> highly volatile and toxic H2S which is linked to many intestinal disorders, particularly ulcerative colitis.
It looks like we NEED the complex carbohydrate, raffinose, to control galactose, but must also have the enzyme (in Beano) to break it down to protect the lining of the bowels.
That enzyme level can be measured.
Serum alpha-galactosidase A level was 0.006U/L (reference range 0.016-0.200).
Ancora Imparo.
Posts: 9424 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Up...I tried to get your attention and to "talk" you thru this very important information...
Posts: 9424 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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Geneal
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10375
posted
Hi Marnie,
Very interesting. As I eat a great deal of beans, broccoli, etc. I suppose I need some beano. Although I haven't had issues with gas as of yet.
Thanks for the info as I am always watching my sugars.
Geneal
Posts: 6250 | From Louisiana | Registered: Oct 2006
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