Diets of most people have become deficient in foods that contain simple sugars. Glyconutrients are foods that have a chemical composition of simple sugars which means that these sugars are readily usable by the digestive system for cell replacement and structural repair. While glyconutrients are easily used without much processing by the stomach's efforts to break down foods and separate simple sugars from fibers, few people actually have a diet sufficient in glyconutrients. The modern day focus on quick foods has led many people to eating fast foods that are quickly had in most people's environment. These quick foods are sometimes thought of as being simple nutrients. The fact is that these fast foods are actually made of complex nutrients that result from over processing foods. The simplicity of foods that are basically composed of simple sugars is that the nutrient itself is natural in the food whereas fast foods might be over processed which does not simplify the digestive system's function of processing foods ingested but actually complicates the digestive process which accounts for the fact that many people feel fatigue after eating rather than energetic.

Foods eaten contain nutrients. The body needs nutrients to maintain its functions. Some nutrients are produced naturally by the body and are called non-essential nutrients since the body can manufacture that particular nutrient without the need of eating food specific to that nutrient like cholesterol. There are also essential nutrients which include all of the groups of vitamins, minerals; fatty amino acids that can only be had through eating foods that contain these nutrients or to take supplements that contain these essential nutrients. The stomach has enzymes that are made by the body to change carbohydrates to glucose which is the simple sugar nutrient needed by the body to function and without which the body would die.

The point with getting the right kinds of sugars is what the problem with our diets is really. Many people eat more than enough sugar in their diet. The problem is that the body needs simple sugars in order to perform at optimum level. These simple sugars are called saccharides, fucose, xylose, glucose, N - acetylglucosamine, N - acetylagalctosamine, gelactose, mannose and N acetylneuraminic acid. These sugars are necessary for our body to use fats and proteins, and all eight of these sugars are required to properly process fats and proteins for their nutrient value and to maintain the body. The theory behind using glyconutrient supplementation is that the body can only change glucose into only six of the eight sugars that it needs to function. There is one sugar that is essential, in other words it is produced by the body itself, lactose. Lactose is needed for enzymes to break down into glucose and galactose. The fact that the sugar is essential does not mean that the body can produce lactose on its own. Complex carbohydrates are needed to get lactose which is then acted upon by enzymes to make the needed glucose and galactose. If the body lacks the food it needs to make all of these eight sugars, it can become deficient in simple sugars or glyconutrients.