Health and Nutrition Info
By Didrik J. Sopler, Ph.D, L.Ac.
12-16-08

What you need to know about glucosamine.

Through the years numerous studies have been conducted on glucosamine and the relief of pain from osteoarthritis. There have even been studies indicating that further degeneration of the joint cartilage was halted by the use of glucosamine sulfate (Reginster JY, et al, 2001, Pavelka K, et al, 2002).

Glucosamine has also been written up in the news not too long ago with headlines that it is no better than a placebo pill, in other words it would not be effective, neither by itself nor in combination with chondroitin. This is of course a surprise since earlier research and patients have reported that it is effective and is producing good results. The news media referred to two studies, one was a continuation of the first study, and both articles reported some benefits of glucosamine and chondroitin, but not a lot (Clegg Do, et al, 2006, Sawitzke AD, et al, 2008).

These two studies were done on glucosamine and chondroitin used in combination. There are those who believe that chondroitin may interfere with the absorption of glucosamine when taken together.

What a lot of people are not aware of is that glucosamine can come in more than one form. The original form of glucosamine was glucosamine sulfate, but that was not what was used in these studies, they used glucosamine hydrochloride. Glucosamine sulfate has been documented to be effective both when it comes to relieving pain and slowing down cartilage degeneration.

The two other forms of glucosamine are glucoseamine hydrochloride (glucosamine HCL) and N-acetyl glucosamine (NAG). N-acetyl glucosamine has not been used in any studies for people with osteoarthritis. Glucosamine hydrochloride is cheaper, but has not been shown to be effective in any published studies.

The sulfate component of glucosamine sulfate is believed to be an important factor.

Why would somebody conducting a study choose a form of glucosamine which has not been well researched when they could have used a form with a lot of research behind it? Your guess is as good as mine.

There is something to learn from this, News headlines do not always tell the whole story or the true story, that is something we need to keep in mind.

A good supplement for joint support is the BMJ formula. That includes glucosamine sulfate and also many other substances for support of cartilage, bone and other connective tissue.

For more information log on to our website at www.TissueRecovery.com or call us at 800-883-1252.

Wishing you the best of health,

Didrik

References:

Clegg DO, et al. Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and the two in combination for painful knee osteoarthritis. N Engl J Med. 2006 Feb 23;354(8):795-808.

Pavelka K, et al. Glucosamine sulfate use and delay of progression of knee osteoarthritis: a 3-year, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Arch Intern Med. 2002 Oct 14;164(18):2113-23.

Reginster JY, et al. Long-term effects of glucosamine sulphate on osteoarthritis progression: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Lancet. 2001 Jan 27;357(9252):251-6.