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The best glucosamine

13 November 2001

The last several years have seen a revolution in the treatment of arthritis with the discovery that cell communication takes place through carbohydrates (sugars) attached to amino acids in the proteins located on the surface of every cell in your body.

Glucosamine is among the eight sugars required to make these ‘glycoproteins’. Researchers have theorised that arthritis is the result of abnormal glucosamine metabolism, a malformation in their glycoforms.

As a chief component of proteoglycans (which make cartilage), glucosamine seems able to stop proteoglycan breakdown, rebuild damaged cartilage (Orthop Praxis, 1970; 9: 225) and stimulate the production of glycosaminoglycans such as chondroitin, another building block of cartilage.

For years, we’ve known that sulphur is vital for preventing joint degeneration (J Bone Joint Surg, 1934; 16: 119-25). For this reason, glucosamine is usually given with sulphate to strengthen its effec...

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