FAQs

HuMOLYTE FAQs

  • Medical foods are foods that are specially formulated and intended for the dietary management of a disease or a health condition that has distinctive nutritional needs that cannot be met by normal diet alone. Medical food must be consumed under the supervision of a licensed medical professional.

  • No, the 2’-FL is not isolated from human milk although it was originally discovered as a complex sugar circulating in mother’s milk.

  • The recommended dose is 1 scoop (4.5 g/scoop) mixed in 8 -10 fl.oz of water, taken 2-3 times a day. Individual doses may vary.

  • Yes, although traces of lactose can be present in the 2’-FL. Many individuals with lactose intolerance have safely consumed 2’-FL.

  • GRAS is an acronym for Generally Recognized as Safe. FDA recognizes a food or a food additive to be GRAS based on scientific data. More information is available on FDA’s website.

  • We recommend starting HuMOLYTE™ at least a day before starting chemotherapy. This allows electrolytes to build up and the 2’-FL to be present before the gut is subjected to chemotherapy. However, not all chemotherapy causes equivalent amount of gut cell injury, so results may vary.

  • No, we have worked hard to keep preservatives out of all of our formulas.

  • Yes. However, HuMOLYTE™ is naturally flavored to yield a fresh fruity beverage when mixed with cold water. Hence, it is recommended to be mixed with cold water prior to consumption

  • Occasionally, some individuals can experience some flatulence (or gas) when 2’-FL is first consumed. In the clinical trial (Elison et al, 2016) where adults consumed from 5-20 grams of 2’-FL per day, the side effects were dose dependent and consisted of flatulence predominantly.

  • HMOs are non-digestible sugars that were first isolated in human milk. There are many different types of HMOs, the most abundant being 2'-fucosyllactose.

    HMOs serve as the food for the "good bacteria" in newborn gut and help strengthen the gastrointestinal cell lining so human can absorb nutrients.

  • HMOs strengthen the lining (epithelium or the absorptive cells) of the gastrointestinal tract and feed the good bacteria in the large intestine, also called microbiome.

    A healthy microbiome is linked to a lesser degree of chronic diseased conditions.

  • The goal of using HuMOLYTE is to improve at-home hydration of patients undergoing chemotherapy. A lower degree of dehydration can help you feel stronger and keep your electrolytes within normal levels. This can reduce your need to get IV hydration or IV electrolytes such as potassium and magnesium. HuMOLYTE, in our animal studies, has shown to protect the gastrointestinal tract in presence of chemotherapy. This data is being presented and will be published in the coming months.

  • Our team has performed studies in vitro (in test tubes/cell cultures), and in vivo (on animals) under similar conditions; ie. exposure to chemotherapy. A snapshot is presented in the "About HuMOLYTE" section.

    Our studies demonstrated a protective effect of HuMOLYTE on the gastrointestinal tract of animals exposed to all common chemotherapeutic drugs. This data is being prepared for publication in scientific journals.

  • Yes, there are numerous scientific publications on HMOs. See the references listed below.

  • HuMOLYTE is infused with magnesium, sodium and potassium, common electrolytes that are lost in dehydration during diarrhea.

  • Each serving or a scoop of HuMOLYTE provides 80 mg of elemental magnesium as magnesium citrate salt (which is equivalent to 450 mg of total magnesium citrate salt). Magnesium citrate may be better tolerated than magnesium oxide which often causes diarrhea.

  • Typically, magnesium citrate is easier on the stomach and magnesium in this form is slightly easier to absorb. 450 mg of magnesium citrate is unlikely to cause diarrhea but much higher doses of magnesium (800-1000 mg) can make diarrhea worse.

  • Yes, HuMOLYTE is certified gluten-free.

References

Oral supplementation of healthy adults with 2′-O-fucosyllactose and lacto-N-neotetraose is well tolerated and shifts the intestinal microbiota, Elison, E. et al. 2016, Br J Nutr; 116(8):1356-1368.

Effects of Human Milk Oligosaccharides on the Adult Gut Microbiota and Barrier Function. Tanja Šuligoj, Louise Kristine Vigsnæs, Pieter Van den Abbeele, et al. Nutrients. 2020 Sep; 12(9): 2808.

Human Milk Oligosaccharides: Every baby needs a sugar mama. Bode, L. Glycobiology. 2012 Sep;22(9):1147-62.

Human milk oligosaccharides: The role in the fine-tuning of innate immune responses. Kulinich, A, Liu, L. Carbohydrate Research, 2016 Sep 2;432:62-70.

Similar to Those Who Are Breastfed, Infants Fed a Formula Containing 2’-Fucosyllactose Have Lower Inflammatory Cytokines in a Randomized Controlled Trial. Goehring, K, Marriage, B, Oliver, J et al. J Nutr. 2016 Dec;146(12):2559-2566.

Human Milk Oligosaccharides: 2’-Fucosyllactose (2’-FL) and Lacto-N-Neotetraose (LNnT) in Infant Formula. Vandenplas Y, Berger B, Carnielli VP, et al. Nutrients. 2018 Aug 24;10(9):1161.

2’-Fucosyllactose Ameliorates Chemotherapy-Induced Intestinal Mucositis by Protecting Intestinal Epithelial Cells Against Apoptosis. Gang Zhao , Jessica Williams , M Kay Washington , Yaohua Yang , Jirong Long , Steven D Townsend, Fang Yan. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Oct 2;13(2):441–457. 

Effects of Infant Formula with Human Milk Oligosaccharides on Growth and Morbidity: A Randomized Multicenter Trial. Giuseppe Puccio, Philippe Alliet, Cinzia Cajozzo, et al. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2017 Apr;64(4):624-631.