Ningxia Wolfberry: Glyconutrient Powerhouse of Proteins and Polysaccharides

Why does the small, red fruit of Lycium barbarum, the Ningxia wolfberry, hold such healing and immune-stimulating power? Looking beyond marketing hype to hard science, could the power of this berry reside in its protein and polysaccharide content? Are proteins and polysaccharides a new "dynamic duo?"

To better understand the science of polysaccharides, it is important to review some definitions. Saccharides are sugars. Researchers call a single sugar a "monosaccharide." Several (up to six) are called "oligosaccharides." Many saccharides joined in a long-chain are called "polysaccharides."

All of these molecules are complex carbohydrates (sugars). An important fact to keep in mind is that not all sugars are sweet—some are actually bitter. Also important to note is the fact that, unlike unhealthy refined white sugar, the Ningxia wolfberry sugars have many health benefits.

In just the last decade, scientists have discovered vital roles that saccharides fill that were not even dreamed of in years past.

For instance, it is saccharides that determine whether you are the blood type O, A, B, or AB.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was quoted in the February 2003 edition of Technology Review saying that glycobiology (the biology of sugar) was "one of the ten emerging technologies that will change the world." (emphasis added.)

Glycobiology is one of the last scientific frontiers to be conquered. Glycobiologists coined the term "glycoimmunology" in 1990 to express the growing importance of immune-stimulating and supportive glyconutrients.

A group of more than 40 academics from a number of disciplines called The Consortium of Functional Glycomics has been given a $34 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health to unlock the code to sugar structures so they can be synthesized into drugs to boost the immune system and heal disease. (Remember, because food cannot be patented, the pharmaceuticals study what works in nature and then attempt to recreate the natural compounds synthetically.)

Next: The Modern Diet and Missing Sugars

This text excerpted from "The Power's in the Poly", Young Living Magazine, Apr-Jun 2005. Reprinted with permission of Young Living Essential Oils, LC, Lehi, UT 84043 U.S.A. No other reprinting without the express written permission of Young Living Essential Oils, LC is allowed. Young Living is not responsible for the content posted on this Web site.

Wolfberry's Miracle Sugars
NingXia Wolfberry:
Glyconutrient Powerhouse
The Modern Diet
and Missing Sugars
Phytochemicals in Fruits:
Key to Cellular Communication
Wolfberry Glyconutrients: Strengthens Immunity

Don't Be Confused
Companies like to connect their products to specific terms to make it appear as if they have a corner on the market. While some of these terms have slightly different meanings, generally they can be used interchangeably:
 - glyconutrients
 - glycoproteins
 - polysaccharides
 - monosaccharides
 - healthy sugars
 - essential sugars
 - miracle sugars

Of the eight essential sugars, the NingXia wolfberry has six. NingXia Red delivers these sugars as part of WHOLE foods rather than as a concoction of isolated ingredients often marketed. Considering that it also contains blueberries, raspberries, pomegranates, apricots, and dark grapes—all of which are well known for their health benefits— NingXia Red is, in fact, a wonderful source of all eight essential sugars. Glucose and Galactose have the ability to convert into the missing Fucos and Neuramic, but minerals are necessary to make the coversion. NingXia Red has an abundance of minerals in forms most easily assimulated.