Elizabeth Bailey
Galactose is a simple sugar – just like glucose or fructose. Nevertheless, it is a very special sugar. Galactose is highly recommended for diabetics – and also for people with Alzheimer’s. Galactose is ideal for athletes and even protects teeth from tooth decay. That sounds like the perfect sugar. Is galactose really that perfect? Or are there also disadvantages?
What are galactose, D-galactose, and mucus sugar?
Galactose is a carbohydrate, namely a simple sugar (monosaccharide) – just like glucose (dextrose) or fructose (fruit sugar). In German, galactose is also referred to as slime sugar because galactose is found in the mucous membranes, among other things.
Galactose can also be written with a “k”, i.e. galactose. The spelling of “k” comes from the Greek gálaktos. In technical jargon, the spelling galactose is used.
D-galactose is also often read. You can read what that means in the next section. However, if only galactose is said or written, it always means D-galactose.
What are the uses of galactose?
Galactose has three main uses:
- The energy source for the brain and thus for the supportive prevention and therapy of Alzheimer’s, dementia, and depression
- The energy source for athletes, diabetics, and people who are currently experiencing a low performance (11 o’clock hole or afternoon low).
- Insulin-independent and blood sugar-friendly sweetener (albeit with a weak sweetening power)
How does galactose work?
Galactose supplies the cells (also in the brain) with energy, but only if it is consumed in the recommended amount. The galactose blood level must therefore reach a certain concentration. Only then does galactose enter the cells, where it can be quickly converted into glucose and then into energy with the help of two enzymes (galactokinase and uridyl transferase).
Galactose is therefore a fast source of energy and is therefore also often used as a pick-me-up when performance is low or in sports. Because galactose is metabolized without the blood sugar fluctuations known to occur with conventional sugar, which can then lead to cravings and/or attacks of tiredness.
Since galactose does not require insulin to get into the cells, it is an important source of energy, especially in diseases associated with insulin resistance or insulin deficiency (e.g. diabetes, depression, Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s).
Does galactose help with Alzheimer’s?
Alzheimer’s disease is often also referred to as type 3 diabetes because there is a metabolic disorder in sugar utilization, namely insulin resistance of the cells in the brain (due to defective insulin receptors) so that the brain can no longer be supplied with sufficient glucose and energy.
Some scientists are of the opinion that this insulin resistance of the brain cells is one of the causes of dementia. The cells can no longer produce sufficient energy and thus no longer dispose of their metabolic waste. It is only now that the dreaded deposits (plaque) form and only now do the nerve cells begin to die off.
One of these scientists was Werner Reutter, once a doctor and biochemist at the Freie Universität Berlin, who studied galactose and its effect on dementia from the late 1970s until shortly before his death in May 2016.
The brain needs a lot of energy – almost half of the carbohydrates ingested daily (or the glucose from them) are needed to feed the cells in the brain to evaluate sensory impressions, think, make decisions, etc.
Galactose is a source of energy for the brain
But if the glucose can no longer be used due to insulin resistance or the no longer functioning insulin receptors, what then? One could now offer the brain ketone bodies, which are produced by the liver from fat during the ketogenic diet. However, the ketogenic diet is not practical for many people. Galactose could be another possibility.
This is because galactose can flow into the cells without insulin. So galactose doesn’t care (just like ketone bodies) whether the insulin receptors are working or not.
Galactose prevents symptoms of dementia – in rats
Reutter and the pharmacologist Melitta Salkovic-Petrisic from the University of Zagreb used rats with type 1 diabetes, which already showed Alzheimer-like cognitive disorders due to their insulin deficiency and are therefore repeatedly used as experimental models for research into Alzheimer’s disease, to find out how regular daily oral administration works of 200 mg galactose per kg body weight affected these disorders.
Giving galactose for a month immediately after the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas died prevented the cognitive disorders (e.g. poor memory) that would otherwise have resulted from the lack of insulin.
Further investigation showed that doses between 100 and 300 mg per kg body weight were equally effective. In the brain, however, the galactose concentration after oral administration did not rise as high as with the same dose when it was administered parenterally, i.e. injected. After parenteral administration, the concentration in the brain was many times higher than after oral administration of the same dose. This is why galactose injections are also brain-damaging, while oral ingestion can benefit the brain.
How does galactose work in athletes?
When you train hard, lactic acid and ammonia build up in your muscles. Ammonia, in turn, blocks insulin receptors so sugar can’t be easily absorbed, which degrades performance. If you now take galactose, the cells can be supplied with glucose despite blocked insulin receptors, which improves performance again.
In Alzheimer’s, too, there is said to be an increased level of ammonia, which could explain the insulin resistance in this form of dementia.
How does galactose work in sepsis?
The insulin receptors can not only by the above. Ammonia is blocked, but also by other substances, such as cytokines (inflammatory messengers), which are produced in excess during sepsis. In a German pilot study with 70 sepsis patients, the administration of galactose is said to have proven to be extremely helpful and to have supported the recovery of the patients very well.
Sepsis is also known as “blood poisoning”. It is an excessive reaction of the body’s own defense system in the context of an infection, in which strong inflammatory processes (cytokine storm) and functional disorders of the blood vessels occur in order to fight the respective pathogen. In extreme cases, pulmonary edema can develop and ultimately multiple organ failure.
Does galactose affect blood lipid levels?
Elevated blood fat levels (triglycerides) are an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease (calcification of the blood vessels supplying the heart). The blood lipid level after a meal indicates the cardiovascular risk better than the fasting blood lipid level. Values above 3.5 mmol/l (1 to 8 hours after a meal) triple the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to values below 1 mmol/l.
Blood lipid levels are not only influenced by the type and amount of fat consumed, but also by the type and amount of carbohydrates consumed. Fructose, for example, increases the blood fat level (more so than glucose) because it stimulates the formation of new fat from carbohydrates in the liver and at the same time slows down fat burning.
Galactose (when consumed with fat) has a similar effect on blood lipid levels as fructose, although not quite as strongly, but significantly more so than glucose. However, large amounts of sugar were used in the study in question – in the case of galactose, it was 58 g per meal.
Does galactose damage teeth?
Galactose is a sugar, but it is not harmful to teeth. On the contrary. According to a 2020 study, galactose inhibits the biofilm formation of caries-causing bacteria (Streptococcus mutans), while sugar promotes the development of harmless bacteria in the oral flora. The anti-caries effect was already observed at low concentrations of galactose, so it is so good that it is considered to use galactose in dental care products in the future.
As early as 1989, a study showed the caries-inhibiting effect of galactose. A 5% galactose solution reduces caries very well, inhibits the caries biofilm, and reduces abrasion of the chewing surfaces of the teeth – the latter possibly due to the rising calcium level in the serum, which is also attributed to the galactose.
Even a 0.5 percent galactose solution could still reduce the biofilm, but no longer caries. Galactose has the property of attaching itself to the receptors of the so-called tooth surface (pellicle) and thus preventing harmful bacteria, e.g. B. Caries bacteria attach.
The cuticle of the tooth is a thin film that forms again immediately after brushing your teeth (from proteins from the saliva, among other things) and covers the surface of the tooth to protect it. The pellicle protects against abrasion and acids, but can also provide a breeding ground for harmful bacteria and thus often forms the basis for dental plaque.
However, if galactose prevents the harmful bacteria from attaching themselves, the formation of plaque is of course also prevented.
Is galactose vegan?
Natural galactose in fruits, vegetables, and legumes is vegan. However, galactose which is sold as a dietary supplement is not generally vegan as it is derived from whey, an animal product.
The product descriptions of some galactose products incorrectly state “vegan”, which, on closer inspection, turns out to be incorrect and the manufacturer actually means “vegetarian”. When asked twice (!), another manufacturer (Vita world) claimed that its product was vegan. Although lactose is used to produce Vita world galactose, since the end product (due to the enzymatic conversion) no longer contains lactose, the product is now vegan. Even the information that vegan products may not be made from products of animal origin and that lactose-free does not necessarily mean vegan did not change the manufacturer’s point of view.
We haven’t found a galactose powder that’s actually vegan yet. If you find one, please contact us using our contact form. Thanks!
Vegan galactose would have to come from legumes, e.g. B. Chickpeas can be produced, which of all plant foods still contain the most galactose. However, the galactose content here is also very low compared to that of whey, so that the yield would be correspondingly small and the resulting galactose would be even more expensive than it already is.
If you are vegan, pay close attention not only to galactose but also to other dietary supplements and the statements made by the manufacturer and not only ask whether the product is vegan, but also what it was made of.
Why isn’t it enough just to drink a lot of milk?
Dairy products do not contain free galactose, only lactose. Some adults have lactose intolerance, meaning they cannot break down lactose into glucose and galactose. Although the other part has the corresponding enzyme (lactase), the lactase is usually not active enough, even in adults who are not lactose intolerant, to ensure a sufficiently high level of free galactose in the blood.
Because galactose is only taken up by the cells when the galactose level in the blood has reached a certain level. So it would be useless to take pure lactose (milk sugar) in larger amounts.
