What is in this article?:
Two mechanisms are usually targeted for joint health: supporting cartilage structure via glucosamine and its relatives, and quelling inflammation with more novel ingredients such as curcumin and astaxanthin. Jack Challem investigates a baker's dozen of natural nutrients to consider.
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Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, affects approximately 12 per cent of adults (21 million people) in the United States.1 In Great Britain, about six per cent of adults (2.6 million) have frequent knee pain and X-ray evidence of osteoarthritis; this number increases to 12 per cent (5.2 million) among people over age 65.2 The disease is characterized by a thinning of the cartilage pads in the knees and, less frequently, at other joints. Symptoms include pain, stiffness, inflammation and a lack of physical mobility.
Two nutritional approaches, or a combination of them, offer many benefits to people with osteoarthritis. As such, they provide a conceptual framework for formulating dietary supplements.
One approach focuses on nutritional compounds that enhance the structure of articular (joint) cartilage, which provides both cushioning and lubrication at joints. The rationale is that the body's physical structure and biochemistry ultimately depend on nutrition. Nutritional precursors to cartilage can help the body maintain and sometimes stimulate the regeneration of articular cartilage.
The other approach reduces inflammation to control pain and limit the breakdown of cartilage. Inflammation is part of the body's natural mechanism to remove dead or damaged chondrocytes, the body's cartilage-making cells. However, chronic inflammation leads to the breakdown of cartilage, and it can result from an imbalance in the body's pro- and anti-inflammatory compounds, such as prostaglandins and leuko-trienes. Once again, these substances depend on nutritional precursors.