- Glucosamine is a substance used by your body to make connective tissues, such as cartilage and synovial tissue.
- In seven double-blind studies involving over 1,000 participants, glucosamine appears to provide symptomatic relief of osteoarthritis that was better than placebo and at least as effective as low-dose NSAID treatment.
- In test-tube studies, glucosamine has been found to stimulate the production of proteoglycans and collagen by cartilage cells. Glucosamine may also help protect cartilage from enzymes that break it down. This finding has led to the hope that glucosamine may be a chondroprotective agent (one that stops arthritis from getting worse or at least slows it down). Unfortunately, we don’t as yet have any direct evidence for this exciting possibility.
- The recommended dose of glucosamine is 1,500 mg per day. This can be taken in divided doses or as one dose in a powdered form mixed with juice.
- Glucosamine causes few side effects, other than occasional mild stomach upset.
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