Glucosamine Sulfate

The most commonly asked questions about glucosamine are listed below.

• What is Glucosamine? Glucosamine is a nutritional supplement that can stimulate specific components of your cartilage to thrive and reproduce. Glucosamine has been used for decades in Europe for the treatment of arthritis with favorable results. Glucosamine has also been used for many years by veterinarians to treat arthritis in dogs, horses and other pets. It became popular in the United States for humans in the mid nineties after Jane Brody, a prominent New York Times Columnist, wrote about its benefits for her dog. The interest exploded after the book "The Arthritis Cure" by Jason Theodosakis hit the best seller list in 1997. Glucosamine comes from chitin that is the covering of shellfish or insects. Chitin contains the highest concentration of Glucosamine sulfate in nature and is a very safe form of this nutritional supplement.
• Are there Different Types of Glucosamine? There are basically three forms of Glucosamine available today. These are:
  • Glucosamine Sulfate
  • Glucosamine Hydrochloride
  • Glucosamine NAS
  Glucosamine Sulfate is the preferred form of Glucosamine available today due to its ability to easily travel from your gut into your joint. The other forms of Glucosamine have very limited or no evidence of their ability to be absorbed by your body and to help your body heal itself. This is known as bioavailabilty. Some of the other forms may be less expensive, however there is little or no scientific evidence that it works. Although Glucosamine Sulfate has the word sulfa, as it's root, it is not related to sulfa drugs, and if you have allergies to sulfa drugs you do not have to worry about ingesting this natural supplement.
• 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.
• How Long Do I need to Take Glucosamine Sulfate? Most people report that their pain starts to decrease after taking Glucosamine Sulfate for approximately 2 months. Thus, don't be discouraged if your pain is not immediately reduced. You should take Glucosamine Sulfate for at least three months at the maximum recommended dose. Once your pain begins to subside, you may start to slowly decrease the amount of your Glucosamine Sulfate. If your pain returns, you should increase your dosage to the maximum dosage for another two to three months.
• What is the Average dosage of Glucosamine Sulfate? Although there is no "official recommended dose", most experts using Glucosamine Sulfate would recommend the following, based on your weight:
  • 200 lbs. (91 kg) or less - 1,500mg of Glucosamine Sulfate per day
  • Over 200 lbs.(91 kg) - 2,000mg- 2,250mg per day

• Are There Side Effects to Glucosamine? One of the best attributes of Glucosamine Sulfate is its ability to target the underlying cause of your arthritis with causing very few unwanted side effects. Anti inflammatories (known as NSAIDS) such as Ibuprofen (Motrin^TM) or aspirin are traditionally used by physicians to treat the pain associated with arthritis. However, these medications do not address the underlying cause of your arthritis. They just cover-up your pain. In addition, they cause unwanted side effects such as stomach ulcers; as well as kidney and liver failure. Furthermore, most NSAIDS actually decrease your body's production of new cartilage. This is very disturbing information because you may be actually making your problem worse by taking these NSAIDS.

  In recent scientific studies, Glucosamine Sulfate has been shown to have a significantly lower rate of unwanted side effects while producing superior long-term relief of pain associated with osteoarthritis. The most commonly reported side effect was gastrointestinal discomfort (upset stomach) which was well below the reported side effects of NSAIDS. There has also been some question of the ability of Glucosamine Sulfate to elevate blood sugars; however, there has been no substantial evidence to support this claim. NOTE: If you are considering the use of Glucosamine Sulfate or any other nutritional supplement, you should discuss this with your physician.

• What about Chodroitin Sulfate? Chondroitin Sulfate is another nutritional supplement that is usually added to glucosamine formulations. Chondroitin is speculated to work together with the glucosamine to protect your cartilage from further destruction and to draw in more moisture into the cartilage. However, some earlier studies on the absorption of Chondroitin Sulfate from your intestines has shown that it is very poorly absorbed and a majority of the product was excreted through your urine. The major source of Chondroitin is from the trachea (wind pipe) of cows. Thus, if you are a vegetarian or you are concerned about the detrimental effects of beef, especially such things as "mad cow disease", you may want to avoid Chondroitin Sulfate. In addition, you can obtain chondroitin from other sources in your diet such as the gristle found around the bones of meat.
• Are there any other supplements I should take for arthritis? Yes, there are! Such supplements as vitamin C, D and E have proven benefits in reducing the progression of your osteoarthritis. The mineral maganese has some evidence suggesting that it may be helpful in the recovery from arthritis. Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a biologic form of sulfur that has some preliminary evidence of its ability to reduce pain in-patients with arthritis. Please see our Joint Builder for more information on why these other supplements may be helpful.
• Does it make a difference where I buy my Glucosamine or which brand I buy? Yes, it certainly does. The vitamin and food supplement market is not very regulated by the FDA, as the prescription drug market it. There are hundreds of different brands out there made by hundreds of different manufacturers. Unfortunately, not all these brands have pure glucosamine sulfate, produced to pharmaceutical grade standards. That explains why some people have better luck with one brand over another. Our glucosamine formula, JointBuilder, has been clinically tested and is of the highest quality pharmaceutical-grade glucosamine on the market. It is the exact formulation we recommend to our patients. We see it work for them on a daily basis and therefore can recommend it without hesitation.

Joint Builder^TM uses cutting edge technology to provide your body with these nutritional supplements through their patented technology called Quick-Solv^TM tablets which dissolve within several minutes after ingestion. Some of the more commercial forms of glucosamine have waxes and coatings that make them look nice, but the absorption is severely reduced and you end up flushing away these nutrients down the drain. Quick-Solv^TM tablets are only found with Joint Builder^TM. This is our preferred brand of Glucosamine Sulfate with MSM and other vitamins to help heal injured cartilage.

Glucosamine Sulfate is a stable, clinically studied source of glucosamine that stimulates the production of glycosaminoglycans that are the fundamental building blocks required for cartilage growth. Glucosamine is also and essential building block of proteoglycans, hyluronaic acid (a component of joint lubrication) and glycolipids. It is essential for the proper formation of tendons, ligaments, synovial fluid, bones, nails and blood vessels. Joint Builders^TM glucosamine is naturally water soluble and low in molecular weight, thereby offering rapid and high absorption (over 90%). For more information about glucosamine in general, see our Glucosamine Page.

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) is a naturally occurring substance found in most freshly cut or picked plants. MSM is a sulfur donor. When a plant is cut such as grass, this sulfur is released and this is why you have that wonderful smell. However, MSM is volatile and is rapidly lost after fruits and vegetables are harvested. MSM may be lacking in our modern diet since we rarely have the opportunity to eat freshly harvested fruits and vegetables. MSM may have some favorable benefits in the treatment of arthritis. MSM donates its vital sulfur to allow your body to utilize such essential vitamins as Vitamin B, which are essential for cartilage growth. MSM has also been theorized to reduce inflammation by increasing the effectiveness of cortisol, which is the body's own natural inflammation fighter. MSM is relatively safe even at large doses and has little known and documented side effects.

Manganese is a mineral important for the synthesis of cartilage components and is also considered an antioxidant because it is vital to the function of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). Maganese has been used in Europe to treat inflammation of joints, tendons and ligaments. Maganese is found naturally in many whole foods such as nuts, beans, oatmeal, and beef liver. However, it is usually lacking in processed foods.

Vitamin C is the most famous vitamin known for its ability to act as an antioxidant. However, it is also very important in cartilage production as well as protecting your cartilage from free-radical breakdown. We normally obtain our vitamin C from citrus fruits, but the high contents of vitamin C are usually lost when we discard the outer skins or leaves.

Vitamin D3 is an essential vitamin linked to healthy bones and joints. Lack of vitamin D usually leads to poor utilization of calcium. We have recently found that women with lower levels of vitamin D3 have alterations in their genetic code causing more rapid progression of arthritis on x-rays. We have also found that women with lower levels of vitamin D exhibited a three-fold increase in the progression of their arthritis. The best natural source of vitamin D is cold water fish, butter and eggs. However, the concern of many women about low fat diets has caused many to seek other forms of vitamin D such as supplements.

When comparing to other brands, please make sure you're comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges:

• Does the other brand have all the other vitamins that JointBuilder contains (MSM, manganese, Vit C & D)? You may pay a lot more to get these in addition and have to take more pills.
• How many milligrams (mg) of glucosamine does the other brand provide? Some will only provide 500mg; you'll need to take at least 3 of those a day!
• How many months will one bottle last you, assuming that you take 1500mg a day? Joint Builder provides you with a two month supply in one bottle! Most other brands provide you with a month or less.
• Is the other glucosamine you're considering a generic or unknown company brand? You want to be sure that you're getting pharmaceutical-grade, high quality glucosamine and not some quickie formulation with untested quality.
• What about chondroitin? Please see our feelings about this in the Glucosamine FAQ tab.

This is our preferred brand of Glucosamine Sulfate with MSM and other vitamins to help heal injured cartilage.

To learn more about Glucosamine in general, please see Glucosamine FAQ tab.

JointHealing.Com has selected Joint Builder^TM because of its superior quality and affordable price. Joint Builder's manufacturing process and purity specifications have passed stringent independent tests ensuring you the highest quality product on the market. Joint Builder^TM was also chosen because it contains most of the vital supplements your cartilage requires to repair itself in one bottle. Two tablets of Joint Builder^TM contain: