Supplement Safety

[YankeeBeckham]

My friend recently recommended that I take Glucosamine and Chondroitin for joint pain, but I am skeptical of its efficacy. What is your opinion on the matter? What about fish oil and Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation? Are they effective supplements, or do they cause more harm than good?

[Purple98Lady]

I would like to know that answer. I'm not convinced taking separate supplements is of any benefit unless you've been tested and found to be deficient. I know people who supplement themselves to death and swear by them but I wonder too if its all just a mind set. My personal opinion is if you eat healthy all food groups, exercise your probably getting all you need. If you just can't eat healthily all the time or dislike certain food groups a good multivitamin supplement with the recommended required daily amount of each vitamin and minerals is a good idea. I think your body would pick up what its lacking and discard the rest. A lot of seniors are being told by their Dr.s to take calcium supplements. I drink milk. Who knows but for me I'm not talking anything until I told I'm lacking and I despise pills anyway :P

Purple98Lady

[YankeeBeckham]

Yeah, that tends be my stance, as well. Most vitamins and minerals can be found in food, and I think your body is able to absorb them readily in the natural form. There is also the problem of determining purity and the problem of toxicity when dealing with supplements. I understand the use of supplements in some instances--Vitamin B12 in a vegetarian shown to be deficient, ot calcium in the lactose intolerant. My doctor recommend iron supplements for my anemia because how many cooked beans and lentils can one eat? I'm curious about glucosamine because I don't know if it can be found inaturally in food, and while it seems to have a better reputation than most, I'm not sure if there's actually been any scientific study behind it as to whether it actually makes a difference.

[Purple98Lady]

look at this :-\http://www.webmd.com/hw/arthritis/tp21139.asp You know when eating fried shrimp I tend to chew a few tails as well, I wonder is this helps? I also eat sardines, the ones in mustard, you can see the bones. Of course they are soft after processing and I eat them as well. lol good luck

[Dr. Joshua]

Dr. Joshua's verdict:

Glucosamine -
FACT-ish: Glucosamine for 6 weeks reduces pain in osteoarthritis REF: http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab002946.html

Fact-ish, because there is conflicting data and the jury is still out.

BUT....in YankeeBechkams case...there is evidence only in osteoarthritis, which you as a young person probably do not have, so in your case - FICTION

FICTION: Glucosamine for 2-3 months reduces pain in osteoarthritis (no, it does not)
FICTION: Glucosamine improves physical ability (function) in osteoarthritis (no, it does not)

FICTION: Chondroitin alone, glucosamine alone, or their combination eases knee pain in osteoarthritis (no, they don't, although a small group of patients may benefit) REF: Clegg et al., N Engl J Med. 2006 Feb 23;354(8):795-808.)

FACT: These supplements are safe. They have not been shown to be harmful.

When I was doing my PhD, my professor used to say "If there's a clear effect, you can always see it". These are words of wisdom, and when applied to the matter of dietary supplements for joint pain, the abundance of conflicting data and speculation suggest to me that these supplements have no clear effect, and are probably not very helpful in trying to treat these diseases.

[kristahayes]

I am always on the go, work, kids, shopping, just life in general. I never had enough time or energy to always remember to take my Lactaid before every meal. Especially being a mom, things like softball dinners at pizza places always left me in the cold, especially if I forgot my stuff. Then, another mom introduced me to Lactagen because she had taken it and she said it practically got rid of all her symptoms! As a parting gift after the season she had bought me a bottle and I completed the program. In short, I still have extremely reduced symptoms or none at all! I love that I can participate in everything for my kids now; makes me feel even better as a mom!