Ben writes:
<Complex saccharides such as Mannose, Fucose, Galactose, Xylose,
N-acetylgalactosamine, N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylneuraminic Acid are no
longer found in the western diet. >

The saccharide saga is becoming quite interesting.
The 3 "N"s mentioned above are classed as amino sugars [a sub-class of
monosaccharide?] along with others like glucosamine.  They sit on the ends
of glycoproteins [whatever they are] and act as signalling mechanisms as Ben
says.  Small amounts can be found in milk, eggs and also the edible bird
nests of oriental fame.

various polysaccharides such as mannose, fucose, arabinose and xylose are
found in healing herbs such as the mushrooms, solomon seal, which boost the
immune system.  Maybe they work synergistically with the amino sugars.

bird's nest and mushroom soup...would be cheaper than Mannatech.

Andrew