First: What is An Essential Nutrient?
A nutrient is termed "essential" in nutrition when it must be consumed daily for structure and function. It is not produced internally by the body. As such, we must know where it is found in the food chain, and how to incorporate in into our daily diet.
The Rainbow Porgram assists us with incorporating Emily Isaacson's research into our daily diets by suggesting that we get one serving of every colour group daily. The essential immune system building blocks she has been researching for over twenty years are found in the "CLEAR" category.
To cite an example: Vitamin C is made internally by all animals except bats, guinea pigs, and primates. As such, we as humans must consume it every day, to equal the quantity made internally by other animals. Vitamin C is considered an essential nutrient, as are all the other fat and water soluble vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals. They must be present in our daily diet.
Second: How is an essential nutrient discovered?
An essential nutrient is named "essential" when a scientist discovers through their provings that it cannot be adequately made in the human body. It also cannot be made on the level to support human nutrition and wellness. Every vitamin and mineral needed in the human body is "essential." They are present in food that we consume. The more nutrient-rich a food is the more essential nutrients it has.
Essential saccharides or Essential Glyco-Nutrients (EGN's) are a newly discovered "essential" nutrient named by nutritionist Emily Isaacson. These saccharides and polysaccharides are found in fibers of certain primal foods and are necessary for immune function and recognition. The word 'Glyco' refers to sugar. Emily Isaacson has determined that these 8 sugars are necessary to consume each day for immune system function.
Particularly when the body is compromised, if the person has a disease, or auto-immune disease, the body is already showing signs that it is unable to metabolize these essential sugars through conversion from glucose. Even if the eight essential sugars are provided in food form, the person who is ill still may not be able to use them in the metabolic system. If this is the case, rather than be caught in a vicious cycle of not getting the nutrients you need, it would be wise to supplement these sugars with a product like Mannatech's Ambrotose. This comes in both bulk powder and capsules and provides essential sugars.