Glucosamine Sulphate Helps Reduce Arthritis …
| 02 March 2010
Glucosamine is a naturally occurring amino sugar that is needed for the production of certain chemicals involved in reducing inflammation. It is a natural building block of joint cartilage. It is found naturally in chitin from prawns and other crustaceans. There have been 20 trials supporting its effectiveness in reducing the symptoms of osteoarthritis but it really came to prominence following the publication of a groundbreaking study in 2001.
The study put rest to the debate. It showed emphatically that glucosamine sulphate not only helps the symptoms of osteoarthritis but also was shown to stop the progression of this painful condition.
The study,published in the prestigious Lancet journal showed that taking 1500 mg of glucosamine sulphate per day over a three years significantly slowed the of progression of osteoarthritis. The team of researchers headed by Professor Reginster found that people that took the glucosamine sulphate maintained the same joint space in their knees and reported a reduction in their symptoms when compared to the placebo. The control group who received the placebo showed had an average 0.31mm loss of joint space in their knees and exhibited a continual worsening of symptoms.
This created quite a stir in the natural health industry. Before long health practitioners, pharmacies and health food stores were being bombarded with all sorts of glucosamine products. I have always been skeptical of new fads and trends in the natural health arena so a few years ago I decided to investigate the glucosamine phenomenon in detail.
What I found was a phenomenal amount of pseudoscience and hype that has resulted in millions of people feeling duped and dispirited. The problem wasn’t glucosamine sulphate. The science is quite clear that glucosamine sulphate works. The problem was only one brand of glucosamine sulphate has been proven to work. In fact all other brands have been shown to be ineffective.
Antioxidant supplementation can delay recovery from muscle damage
| 01 July 2009
After the initial euphoria of finishing my first marathon my fatigued legs began to let me know what they thought of being put through such an ordeal. Walking more like one of the characters from the Muppets, I gingerly made my way to a nearby public pool where I spent the next hour wading in water to help my aching muscles recover. Everyone knows that exercise is good for your health and is a vital component to an energetic and productive lifestyle. But exercise can also cause some harm your body. It can cause muscle damage, fatigue and inflammation. In fact, if not properly managed, exercise can become a form of stress.
Research shows that the more exercise you do, the better your body becomes at minimizing any harmful effects from exercise. Every health professional, elite athlete and weekend warrior has their ideas on what can help your body cope with these rigours of exercise. One commonly prescribed suggestion was to supplement your diet with antioxidants. The thinking was since antioxidants in your blood are a key component to repairing damage in your body, then surely if you flood your body with even more antioxidants, then it should assist in this repairing process.
Researchers at the University of Porto in Portugal1 decided to see if antioxidant supplementation can assist in the recovery of aching muscles. They researched 20 athletes (14 men and 6 women) from the national kayaking and canoeing teams. These elite athletes were engaged in a controlled competitive period of training for the European Championships.