Archive for the ‘Joint Health Supplements’ Category
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
A joint health supplement is a safe and inexpensive treatment for arthritis. Glucosamine has been used for twenty years to help with joint pain. Nutramax is the manufacturer of CosaminDS and other glucosamine and chondroitin based joint health supplements.
The joint health supplement industry is not regulated. That means companies can basically design and engineer their products however they see fit. Nutramax follows pharmaceutical guidelines at their facility. That means they produce, package, and ship their glucosamine products following the same regulations that drug companies must obey.
Nutramax has been in business since 1992. They were the first company to market and sell glucosamine to treat osteoarthritis. You now why they are still in business and growing? The answer is simple. Their products work.
Glucosamine for Arthritis
Glucosamine is a “building block” molecule that your body produces naturally. Glucosamine is essential in the production of proteins important to joint health.
Glucosamine stimulates the production of cartilage. In young healthy bodies cartilage cells reproduce and protect themselves. As we age cartilage cells die and are not replaced. Glucosamine helps stop the break-down of cartilage and reduce knee pain.
Glucosamine can be obtained over the counter and is a safe joint health supplement.
Cosamin_ds
The Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) published guidelines for knee osteoarthritis. These guidelines confirmed that Glucosamine has an excellent safety profile. Glucosamine is classified as a dietary supplement in the United States.
This means that safety and formulation are solely the responsibility of the manufacturer. There aren’t any government guidelines dictating how Glucosamine is processed and manufactured. Evidence of safety and efficacy is only required if the Glucosamine is being advertised as a treatment for a medical condition.
Even though they are not required to, Nutramax follows the same stringent standards and protocols practiced by the pharmaceutical industry. They manufacture their products like pharmaceuticals, not supplements.
Cosamin-DS
Glucosamine is an amino sugar or building block molecule produced by the body for the production of structures important to cartilage and joint health. These structures are called proteoglycans. Glucosamine helps proteoglycans.
Taken orally, supplemental glucosamine can reduce pain, improve function, and enhance quality of life in as little as eight weeks. It can absolutely help your knee osteoarthritis.
People have been taking Glucosamine safely for over 20 years. Clinical studies since the early 1980s consistently report that glucosamine is safe. However there are a few considerations:
- Glucosamine is usually derived from shellfish. Those allergic should avoid it.
- Diabetics can experience changes in their insulin levels with glucosamine, even though the body cannot convert glucosamine into glucose. In diabetics many factors can lead to fluctuations with insulin levels, so it important to check with your doctor before taking the joint health supplement.
- Pregnant women should avoid glucosamine.
Arthritis is very crippling and painful. There are treatments that can help lesson the pain, but not take it away totally. One of the treatments for knee osteoarthritis is glucosamine. Glucosamine is one of the most non-vitamin, non-mineral, dietary supplements used by adults in the United States.
As with any vitamins, there are different ways that you can take it. Liquid glucosamine is easy to digest, especially if you don’t take pills well. This alternative might be better suited for you. Sinceis usually derived from the shells of shellfish while the allergen is within the flesh of the animals, it is probably safe to use, even if you have a shellfish allergy.
chondrocyte
A chondrocyte is a cell found within cartilage. Chondrocytes are like small factories that produce collagen and proteoglycans – the main ingredients in the cartilaginous matrix.
Collagen is a thin, ropey protein that is the primary component of connective tissue.
Proteoglycans fill in the spaces between the collagen cells. Glucosamine and chondroitin help strengthen the cartilaginous matrix and help control knee osteoarthritis on the cellular level.
Contrary to popular belief, exercising does not wear out joints. Joints start to wear out for a variety of reasons, usually due to age, arthritis or other medical conditions, and injuries accumulated over a lifetime. Activity is rarely the culprit, as joints are designed to move. When joints aren’t moved, they begin to stiffen up.
It’s sort of a catch-22. Joint pain leads people to move less because movement can hurt, but without movement the pain can become more severe. One way to battle pain is to take joint health supplements, then, get moving! Even a walk around the neighborhood once a day can help keep your joints from stiffening up further.
Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, is one of my personal heroes. It’s not so much his politics that I admire, but his appetite for living life to its fullest. He didn’t let childhood asthma get in his way; in fact, he led a more strenuous life because of his ailment, just to prove that he could.
I, too, try to live my life to the fullest each day and have a love of adventuring in the great outdoors. Unfortunately, as I’ve aged all of my outdoor activities have really done a number on my joints. Rather than simply push through the knee pain as Roosevelt might have, I’ve followed the advice of my doctor and now take a joint health supplement. The supplements have helped protect healthy cartilage in my joints, which will hopefully afford me a long life full of grand adventures of the type that my favorite president may have enjoyed.
Good News
Chondroitin Sulphate reduces the volume of cartilage loss. This is what was proven by a group of Canadian researchers. They published a clinical trial that shows for the first time the disease modifying effects of chondroitin sulfate. The study looked at quantifying changes in cartilage, over time, by utilizing MRI results.
Patients with knee osteoarthritis were divided into two groups. One group took chondroitin sulfate, the control group took a placebo. After six months MRI results showed that the group of patients taking chondroitin sulfate showed a significant decrease in the loss of articular cartilage.
The lead researcher, Professor Jean-Pierre Pelletier said, “Chondroitin Sulfate is a safe drug with an overall positive effect on OA.”
This study was conducted at the Osteoarthritis Research Unit at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre, and published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases.
Glucosamine is an amino sugar. In case it’s been a while since you took a biology class, amino sugar is a critical building block for the creation of connective tissue and healthy cartilage in the body. People who suffer from osteoarthritis have deteriorating cartilage that fails to repair itself.
Cartilage is worn away as the body moves, and the cartilage will restore itself to its normal shape when a healthy body is at rest. For osteoarthritis patients a glucosamine supplement promotes the creation of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans that improve the natural repair process. Even if you don’t suffer from osteoarthritis, taking a glucosamine supplement is still a good idea. Take as a preventative measure, glucosamine supplements can minimize the possibility of suffering from arthritis later.