Glucosamine & Chondroitin

[Deleted User]

Hi all.

My local Chemist sells Glucosamine (400mg) & Chondroitin (100g) tablets; selling at around £1.60 for 30 tablets.
An advert in last months RW from 'Meltdown sports' sells 30 for £14.98.  The advert say's you get what you pay for and normally I would agree with that statement; but, am I getting anything better apart from a lighter wallet?

Cheers in advance.

Mick

[Deleted User]

You need to check the levels on lots of tablets, it's the same with most of them, the higher the concentration the more expensive they will be.  I would not waste your money on  the very cheap ones as they probably won't have enough in them

I get mine online from Natures Best.....www.naturesbest.co.uk

They deliver free and have some good offers on, and most things they sell have a high potency, and it's cheaper than somewhere like Holland and Barratt.

Hope that helps

Good luck

[Deleted User]

Mick, Boots have a 3 for 2 offer on their's all the time so you get 3 months supply for around £40. they are 500 Glucosamin, 400 chondrotin, MSM, fish oils and rosehip. Each day is 2 tablets and I swear by them. They might look expensive but its less than 50p a day and if you do a lot of running and have dodgy joints they are more than worth it

[Deleted User]

I believe the jury is still out as to their efficacy so you could save your money entirely!

[Deleted User]

Cheers for the advice.

[Deleted User]

just checked the Nature Best website. 
They recomend 2-3 tablets a day with each tablet containing 665mg Glucosamine and 100mg Chondroitin; compared with my single tablet a day of 400mg and 100mg.  Not sure my current ones will have any effect at all with such a small dose!

Cheers again.

[Deleted User]

baron, you may say the jury still out but for me they definitely work. I used to get up in a morning and walk around like a penguin with very little flexibility in my ankles until I 'warmed up'. Now I have no such problem and if I go any length of time without taking them I notice an increase in stiffness. Horses for courses

LS21

I agree with Nigel on this based on personal experience. I used to have quite a few problems with my knees. I tried Glucosamine on its own with little effect, so then tried it with Chondoitrin - it has definitely made a difference to me. It may well not be for everyone and may well be a waste of money for some, but for me personally it works well.

[Deleted User]

I use Chondromax from healthspan highly recommended, kness feel great

[Deleted User]

I have got mine from asda!, they have 500mg of Glucosamine and 400mg of Chondroitin and you only take one tablet a day (which is great as they are like bleedin' bullets!) and they are £12.75 for 90 days supply which seems like a bargain here

[Deleted User]

Nigel - as a very wise person once said to me, the plural of anecdote is not fact. Plus the placebo effect is well documented and amazingly effective. I'll wait until the scientists can conclusively prove it works before splashing the cash (and I say this as someone with arthritis in my right knee).

[Deleted User]

Quackwatch has a good summary of the studies so far:

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/glucosamine.html

Hog-mouse

I have been told that you need 1500mg daily in order to gain any benefit. If you want to give it a go buy from a manufacturer that you trust.

Whole Health MD

Bandolier

I always read quackwatch to inform my choices. But I use these other two sites as well.

My opinion is, if it might di some good and I can afford it, then I'll try it.

[Deleted User]

greenback you wait as long as you want..for every 'quack' story there's one of these too

http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/news/20040315/glucosamine-stops-knee-arthritis-in-women

or one of these

http://www.drbriffa.com/blog/2008/03/10/glucosamine-sulphate-supplementation-seems-to-help-keep-people-of-the-operating-table/

and they are just the first 2 in a 1 min google search

as a very wise person once said to me 'those with eyes closed can't see the gorilla in front of them' 

[Deleted User]

I know this is still anecdotal and is not scientific evidence but....

If Charlie (an arthritis sufferer) doesn't take his Glucosomine & Chondroitin tablets for a while then he's noticeably stiffer and limps more.

Charlie is my dog so I doubt it's the placebo effect at work!

Greenback, you have every right to be sceptical and it's good to have open debate on this type of thing  and FWIW, I don't take them myself.....

RunningCommentary

I've used glucosamine for a couple of years and it's helped me a lot. 1000-1500mg a day is the recommended dosage, and it will take a few weeks to have a noticeable effect.

Don't overypay, and don't get duped by marketing that claims a link between cost and effectiveness!

I always use Zipvit (www.zipvit.com). I prefer the one-a-day 1500mg tablets. I got a year's supply (360) from zipvit for under £10 if I remember rightly. If some company is trying to sell you 30 tablets for £15, I would stay well clear.

Check out zipvit, and do definitely try glucosamine. It works.

OO54

I've got glucosamine only tablets 500mg. 90 capsules from Home Bargains was about £4. My main supplement however is cod liver oil. I just buy a big bottle and drink it neat followed by a swig of fruit juice to take away the taste. Not nice but it saves a fortune. Sainsburys sell it quite cheap but I usually wait until I see it on special e.g. at Holland and Barratt.

I have knee trouble and which is greatly eased by the cod liver oil. I wouldn't waste my money if I didn't get a benefit but you've got to try it to find out. How anyone can sit in pain waiting for scientific proof is just plain stupid trust yourself not others .     

[Deleted User]

I've ordered some from naturesbest, (thank you redpanda for the link)
I'll try them for a month and report back if they do or don't make a difference.

[Deleted User]

I'm not sitting in pain OlneyOne, they just don't work for me. I could equally level at you that you're stupid for wasting your money. But I'm not arrogant enough to dismiss the placebo effect (which is incredibly powerful and well documented as having an effect in animals, bizarrely). I would like to see wider scale research done on all these supplements with proper control groups, properly peer reviewed and well clear of funding provided by companies with vested interests. God, I sound like a conspiracy theorist lol!

Nigel - you're quite right that you can google links on both sides of the efficacy argument. Which is precisely the problem. If it was clear cut then we wouldn't be discussing this in the first place

[Deleted User]

Olney- you might be better with a mixed fish oil rather than pure cod liver oil.  I used to work with a medic who did some of the original research on the anit-inflammatory effect of cod liver oil and to achieve a therapeutic dose with codliver oil it is toxic (I think to liver, I think too much Vt A or D), much better to find a mixed  fish oil version.

I get my glucosamine/chondroitin in Costco.  Think it helps my knees, not getting any younger and nor is Mr FL.

[Deleted User]

baron a lot of what you say is true and to be honest I'm not bothered whether its the tablets or the placebo effect, taking em definitely helps my ankles a lot and if I stop taking them there will be no placebo effect.

one area where there is no research is how long can a placebo effect last. I've been taking them for 4 years + now and there is no test lasting that long. Common sense would tell me that a placebo effect might occur for a short period of time but definitely not 4 years?

[Deleted User]

I brought some of thoose Meltdown sports ones as it was 2 for 1 so worked out to be roughly the same cost as the ones from Holland and Barratt.

Seemed ok but the dosage is based on your body weight. Under 7 stone is 1 tablet, under 11 is 2 and over 11 is 3. No ill affects and taste ok (you need to suck and chew them).

Just about to run out so glad I found this thread. Just ordered from Natures Best instead. Have similar levels plus extra stuff (MSM, Rose Hip and Ginger). You get 4 months supply for under £30.

I will let you know if they are any good.

AMinter

I use the Glucosamine from https://www.naturesupplies.co.uk. Thats relatively cheap. Would definitely reccommend it!