Re: [at-l] Glucosamine and chondroitin

["W F Thorneloe, MD" <thornel@attglobal.net>]

I had planned to stay out of this, but once invited....

I also knew that Glucosamine and chondroitin did nothing. However, there 
have been some good studies in good journals indicating benefit and safety. 
There is no good reason to expect that these agents should be absorbed and 
deposited into cartilage. The best literature is excellent for glucosamine, 
and not so good for chondroitin (which is more expensive). We know with 
animals and people that there is improvement in function and pain, although 
whether actual joint repair occurs is still a controversy.

The adult dose of glucosamine is 1500 mg daily (3 500 mg tabs). There is no 
indication of benefit with any particular brand, and no clear indication of 
quality between brands and batches. It is much cheaper, and at least as 
effective as combinations or single use of chondroitin.

OrangeBug
Atlanta, GA

At 08:46 AM 2/5/2000 -0500, Sharon Sharpe wrote:
>.  However I have been giving these to my 10 year old dog (they are
>approved for veterinary use) with hip arthritis and she is really getting
>younger before my eyes!  These two compounds are supposed to supply your
>body with the building blocks of cartilage (Orange Bug - jump in here
>anytime to correct me, I probably need it) which is supposed to slow the
>degenerative process in joints.  I know humans are not dogs (no value
>judgements here ;-) ), so the effects may not be the same, but some folks
>swear by this stuff - available in health food stores and now even at CVS!
>   It is a little pricey, however.

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