Hello Built,
I'm surprised that you have not heard of this. I have done extensive research personally on this as well as many supplement-related topics as this is what I do for a living. So to give just a tad of quick info for you, I have quickly grabbed a few excerpts from a few leading websites on the subject... hope this clarifies a bit for you...
What is Glucosamine?
Glucosamine is a nutritional supplement that can stimulate specific components of your cartilage to thrive and reproduce.
How Does Glucosamine Sulfate Work?
Glucosamine Sulfate works by stimulating the production of a very important structure in your cartilage called the Glycosamine Glycans ( GAG). Your GAG acts as a nutrient base for the growth of your cartilage. Stimulating this complex will increase the production of your cartilage over time. This healing process is what reduces your pain.
Glucosamine has been used to treat osteoarthritis and helps stimulates cartilage cells to synthesize glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans. In studies oral glucosamine sulfate has had a beneficial effect on inflammation and mechanical arthritis.
Glucosamine Claims
Protect cartilage against damage from weight-bearing exercise
Slows cartilage breakdown
Stimulates cartilage growth
Cures arthritis
Research Shows
Glucosamine plays a role in maintenance and repair of cartilage
Glucosamine stimulates cartilage cells to synthesize cartilage building blocks
Glucosamine may have an anti-inflammatory action by interfering with cartilage breakdown
Glucosamine is a standard therapy in Europe, however, the U.S. suppliers are not regulated, so finding a trustworthy manufacturer can be difficult.
Synergistic effect of Glucosamine & Chondroitin
The best way to determine if a substance improves the condition of joints is to actually look at the joint tissue under a microscope after treatment. This is exactly the kind of study Dr. Louis Lippiello, M.D. presented at the 63rd annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Boston in 1999. The study was published in 2000 in the Clinical Orthopedics journal.2 Other studies report the clinical effects of the use of Glucosamine and Chondroitin in human patients.1
Since most people would not take kindly to having biopsies of cartilage removed from their already delicate joints, the researchers used rabbits. Thirty-six rabbits were split into four groups: one group was fed Glucosamine, one group Chondroitin, and one group Glucosamine and Chondroitin in addition to their regular rabbit feed. The fourth group was essentially getting a placebo (just the normal food). The rabbits were not told which were getting supplementation. All the rabbits underwent a standard surgical procedure to accelerate the progression of osteoarthritis in the rabbits??? back legs.
After 16 weeks, biopsies of the cartilage were examined and graded using a standard system. As expected, the Glucosamine and Chondroitin groups had less severe cartilage damage than the control groups with the following grades:
16.6 for controls,
12.2 for Glucosamine
11.0 for Chondroitin
4.4 for combination Glucosamine + Chondroitin
The major news comes from the combination group. Rabbits fed both Glucosamine and Chondroitin had, by far, the least signs of cartilage damage of any of the groups. This value, despite the small number of rabbits per group, was statistically significant.
In addition to the histologic (microscopic) grading of the cartilage, Dr. Lippiello and his colleagues also measured how well the supplements alone and in combination could stimulate production of cartilage components (called Glycosaminoglycans or GAGs).
0 for controls
32% increase for Glucosamine alone
32% increase for Chondroitin alone
96.6% increase for combination Glucosamine + Chondroitin
Compared to control, Glucosamine increased GAG production by 32%, Chondroitin by 32%, but the combination of Glucosamine + Chondroitin increased cartilage production by 97%! The combination of Glucosamine + Chondroitin had a significant synergistic effect.2
MSM
MSM (Methyl Sulfonyl Methane) is a biological form of sulfur that has recently attracted a great deal of attention. In particular, MSM has generated broad anecdotal support for its benefits in cases of allergies, and joint health.
In the case of joint aging or joint and ligament injuries, MSM may work through several different mechanisms. For instance, it was discovered in the 1930's that arthritis can cause below normal levels of cystine (a metabolite of cysteine) in the fingernails. This can lead to brittle or soft nails and can be an indication of either inadequate sulfur in the diet or a poor ability to manipulate dietary sulfur to match the body's needs. Interestingly, when sulfur was given to 100 arthritis patients intravenously in one trial, many found that the pain and other symptoms of their arthritis disappeared and that their fingernails returned to normal in the nail test for cystine.
Sulfur is required for the repair and maintenance of joint tissues and the construction of connective tissues more generally. Sulfur is especially important for the body's production of Chondroitin sulfate, which acts to maintain the proper water levels, and therefore the cushioning properties of cartilage in joint tissue.
Supplementing with MSM ensures that the body has adequate amounts of sulfur. Recently, a small preliminary double-blind placebo-controlled study at UCLA showed that supplementation with MSM improved joint pain in 80% of the participants tested.
I could get more and more information on this, but I think this should suffice.
These articles were quickly grabbed from a few sources, but I have done research and studies off and on over many years myself on this subject to formulate my companies own joint supplement which is why I make mention of what I used... my companies supplement works quite well compared to most.
I've been in the business of sports supplements for about 30 yrs, and i own Muscle Fitness Nutrition (a new forum sponsor found in the "Sponsor Forums" section of this site), so I hope (by now) that I know a bit of what I am talking about.
I hope this helps clarify the importance of these supplements, and to the fact that getting "quality" supplements is crucial.
