A number of manufacturers have come out with sugar supplements - sporting names such as Manapol and AloeVera. What do they contain?

Manapol
Manapol is a specific nutrient manufactured by Carrington Laboratories. You can see its information at the AloeVera Website.

$19.95/jar for 30 day supply
40mg/capsule 2 times a day

Manapol is indeed the #2 ingredient in Ambrotose (behind the Galactose, which came from Arabinogalactan). Manapol is patented, and is described as an extracted version of the aloe vera plant. Meaning that it is (big surprise?) Mannose. Get it? Manapol? Mannose? :)

Note - A visitor wrote me with this update - "It is not just the [Mannose] sugar that is important but the beta[1,4] actylated mannans that is the critical ingredient. Mannose does in fact contain some of these important long chain polysaccrides. Also, the name Manapol(r) gets its name from the mannans, not the mannose."

At 2 capsules a day at 40mg each, you are getting 80mg of mannose a day. That's just about the same mannose you're getting with Ambrotose, even though ingredients #2 *and* #3 of Ambrotose are both mannose. I estimate Ambrotose gives you about 100mg of mannose a day. Ambrotose costs just about twice as much.

Mannose is naturally found in celery, cucumbers, mushrooms and other fresh foods so you should actually be getting plenty in a balanced diet. The recommendations I'd found for mannose were in the 10g a day (i.e. 10,000mg) so both the 80mg of Manapol and the (guesstimate) 100mg/day from Ambrotose seem to be a bit low.

Compare with Ambrotose
Compare with Arabinogalactan

Sugars are Essential for Health
The Eight Essential Sugars
Healthy Amounts of Sugar to Eat


Lisa Shea's Library of Low Carb Books