Most of us have probably heard of glucosamine and chondroitin and are aware that they are nutritional supplements taken to assist with joint problems. But how do glucosamine and chondroitin work?

Both glucosamine and chondroitin occur naturally in our bodies. Both play an important role in the production of cartilage, the material that covers the ends of our bones, protecting them and allowing them to move smoothly against each other where they meet in our joints. Chondroitin is believed to help to keep the cartilage spongy by drawing water into it.

Cartilage is worn down due to everyday wear and tear, and our bodies rebuild it. However, this rebuilding process is fairly slow and, as we age, our bodies have trouble keeping up, especially if we don’t have enough of the substances required for production. This can lead to pain and osteoarthritis.

Glucosamine and chondroitin supplements work by providing more of the building blocks required for cartilage production than our bodies are able to produce naturally, thus reducing the amount of cartilage lost as we age and keeping our joints in good condition for longer.

Glucosamine supplements are available as either glucosamine sulfate or glucosamine hydrochloride. The sulfate compound appears to be the more effective.

Studies have shown that chondroitin on its own has little effect on reducing cartilage degeneration. However, glucosamine and chondroitin do seem to work well together when combined and many supplements available contain both ingredients.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 7:25 am and is filed under Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.