The ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society office has recently received many enquiries regarding a product called glyconutrients. Although the ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society does not advocate any type of treatment, I decided to include information on this product for those who may be interested. Please note that this information has been provided from the company which produces the product and thus should be interpreted accordingly.
Dr Darryl See is Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California at Irvine. A renowned immunologist, he is author of five book chapters, 14 journal articles and two abstracts. Dr See graduated in the top 2% of his class from medical school and is a member of the Alpha Omega Society.
These are great notes from his recent lecture in California:


Dr See spoke at length about the body's 'natural killer cells' which are the most active part of the body's immune system - the front lines of defence. These cells constantly scavenge the body looking for bacteria, viruses, cancers. If these natural killer cells are not working correctly, or there are too few of them, our bodies become susceptible to the effects of any disease or degenerative condition.

In 1981 Hugh Pross invented a test to assay natural killer cells in the body. That average is measured in Litic Units (LUs). Pross's research reported an average of 152 LUs. In 1991 another researcher, Herberman, repeated the survey and found an average of 135 LUs.

In 1997 when See repeated the survey he found an average of 108 LUs - or a startling decrease of 25%. Dr See stated that the decline is accelerating. He attributes this to increased toxicity in our environment and the decline in certain natural substances in our food supply. (Studies have found DDT present at the North Pole and mercury contaminant at the bottom of the deepest ocean trenches). Thus it is safe to say there is no place on earth where toxins are not present and increasing.

Dr See states that over 85% of known non-normal conditions are attributable to one of two situations: (1) a compromised immunological function and/or (2) oxidative stress (free radical damage within the cells). For immune system dysfunction (and this is not an exhaustive list) he put herpes, lupus, asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, AIDS, diabetes, cancer and athlersclerostic heart disease on the list. Athlersclerotic heart disease alone is responsible for over 50% of all deaths in the US today. Further, there is a large body of evidence which says that this type of heart disease has its onset in childhood. Autopsies have found the beginning of the disease in children as young as two.

Cancer causes 25% of all deaths in the US. There are over 500,000 new cases of diabetes mellitus a year. Hepatitis C is carried by over four million Americans who don't know they are carrying it dormant. There is no known drug treatment for Hepatitis C. The rise in chronic fatigue syndrome is astronomical. About a year and a half ago Dr See first assayed a new group of natural compounds - glyconutritionals. To his surprise he was unable to determine any toxic level (you can't take too much and have a toxic reaction). When he started using these glyconutritionals with patients he found that natural killer cells went way up - on the average of over 50%.

Glycobiology is a relatively new field and the mechanisms by which glyconutrients affect the cells is only recently understood. What is known conclusively is that without glyconutrients the cells are not able to communicate completely. Without proper cellular nutrition and metabolism inside the cell oxidative stress results. Oxidative stress is the result of a deficiency of antioxidants. It may be due to inadequate diet, environmental stress, exposure to environmental toxins or any combination.

The popular antioxidants (vitamins E and C) take care of some free radicals in the body, but do not counteract free radical damage inside the cells. The only known antioxidants which can do this job are plant chemicals, phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are only present in vine ripened fruits and vegetables. Harvard Medical School studied the amount of phytochemicals present in three different classes of tomatoes: a) store purchased, b) organic store purchased and c) vine ripened. The published results state the differences were dramatic. Only vine ripened tomatoes had significant amounts of phytochemicals. The other two classes were either totally lacking or were insignificant. At first it would appear that organic produce would contain the needed phytochemicals but this proves not to be the case. The distribution system: harvest, packaging, shipment, distribution, delivery and display mean that even organic produce must be picked early enough in the ripening process to allow needed market time. As the phytochemicals found to be essential are not formed by the plant until the last stages of fruit/vegetable maturation, picking any earlier means no phytochemicals.

Obviously it is not practical nor possible to grow all of one's fruits and vegetables. There is, however, a way which preserves all the phytochemicals present in ripened product. It is a technique called flash freeze drying. Analysis of fruits and vegetables so treated reveals no loss of these vital nutrients.

Returning to immune system dysfunction, Dr See said it is now established that cell surface glycoproteins are the basis for immune function/lack of function (see Harper's Biochemistry, Chapter 56, 24th edition). One of the glyconutrients necessary for full free radical destruction is n-acetyl-glucosamine. There is a problem: in itself, it is not absorbable by the body. The only method of absorption is when it is contained in a food form.

Reprinted from Emerge, Winter 1999