Naturally the idea of supplementing with glucosamine raised some questions. Do I really need glucosamine at my age? Is glucosamine suitable as a long-term supplement? Is there any harm in supplemting with it?
I started by going to a number of my "go-to" sites. From wikipedia I learned that a study performed in 2009 showed that glucosamine, or a glucosamine/chondroitin combination, fared no better than a placebo in easing joint pain. However, Dr. Weil addressed this study specifically, going into more depth and helping to clarify the study's results. In his conclusion he recommends supplementing with a glucosamine/chondroitin combination.
The doctors of Realage.com, Drs. Oz and Roizen, wrote extensively about glucosamine/chondroitin in their book, You: The Owner's Manual. They liken glucosamine to either rain or wiper fluid for your windshield wipers--to prevent your wiper blades from burning up, they need some sort of lubrication. While there is no age recommendation for supplementing with glucosamine, the impression I get from reading their book is that supplementing with it is generally a good idea.
As far as side effects go, glucosamine appears to be relatively safe. About.com's alternative medicine lists a number of low-grade side effects, all of which can be aleviated by discontinuing use. More significantly, in rare cases, glucosamine causes high blood pressure and/or heart palpatations. Of course, you wouldn't notice the high blood pressure unless you monitor regularly, and if you get heart palpatations, then you probably should stop taking it. About.com also says that glucosamine can theoretically cause increased risk of bleeding, so if you're on any kind of blood thinning medication or are supplementing with something that can already cause increased risk of bleeding, proceed with caution. I've been supplementing with garlic, one of the supplements that supposedly increases the risk of bleeding, so I'll have to re-evaluate that aspect of my supplement plan.
I also learned that standard glucosamine supplements are made using the shells of shellfish. The use of glucosamine is actually debatable if you have a shellfish alergy; one side argues that the alergy is triggered by the meat of the shellfish, in which case glucosamine derrived from the shells shoudl be fine. The other side argues that you should just avoid glucosamine altogether if you have a shellfish alergy, as there are non-shellfish derivatives on the market.
Finally, there used to be a concern that glucosamine, being a amine sugar (glucosamine = glucose + amine), could contribute to insulin resistance/diabetes. Several studies have since concluded that glucosamine does not cause insulin resistance/diabetes, and the concern currently appears to be a non-issue.
I came across a message board where a 23 year old, who was experiencing no joint pain, was taking glucosamine as a preventative measure and was wondering if he should continue supplementing with it. The response he received was very helpful. A man in his 60s, who had a family history of joint issues, started supplementing with glucosamine/chondroitin in his 50s as a preventative measure. After suffering a minor knee injury 10 years later, his orthopedic surgeon reported that his joint cartilidge was in good shape and that he would probably never have to undergo the same joint replacements that his parents did.
So call me an old fart, but I think I'm going to continue supplementing with glucosamine/chondroitin as a daily preventative measure. After doing some quick math, the cost of this routine supplement would run me about $5k over the next 30 years. I don't know how much a hip or knee replacement costs, but can you really put a price on never needing a joint replaced?
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