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Reversing Arthritis

by Dr. Julian Whitaker

Published 04/22/09

Glucosamine Stimulates Your Body to Heal Arthritis

When osteoarthritis progresses, it causes a "loss of joint space," and the cartilage covering the articular surfaces of bone shows up "lucent" on the X-ray, compared to the "opaque" whiteness of bone. However, if the mechanism of the body to make cartilage and other connective tissues is intact, osteoarthritis will sometimes stabilize and actually begin to reverse itself. This results in "joint space recovery," which can happen even if the entire joint space has been lost.

In order to repair the ravages of arthritis, the body must be able to produce connective tissue, the fibrous network that holds everything together and is the primary substance of the cartilage. The first step for creating connective tissue is the conversion of glucose to glucosamine.

Glucosamine is to connective tissue what wheat is to bread. Actually it is more than that. Found in high concentrations in the joint space, glucosamine stimulates connective tissue production and the repair of the arthritic joint.

Numerous double-blind placebo-controlled trials conducted in Europe have shown that glucosamine is not only better than a placebo but also superior to the commonly prescribed arthritis drugs.

Arthritis Drugs Are 1,000 to 4,000 Times More Toxic Than Glucosamine

Dr. Antonio Lopez Vaz from St. John Hospital in Oporto, Portugal, divided 48 patients, all with arthritis in only one knee, into two groups, one receiving 1.5 grams of glucosamine, the other receiving 1.2 grams of ibuprofen (Motrin) daily for eight weeks.

The Motrin users had a rapid decrease in pain over the first two weeks, but at the end of eight weeks, their arthritis pain was on the rise again. The glucosamine users had less dramatic pain relief in the first two weeks, but at eight weeks they had significantly less pain than the Motrin group.

Italian Drs. I. Setnikar, M. Pacini, and L. Revel compared glucosamine to Indocin in three groups of rats induced with inflammation similar to rheumatic inflammation in humans. Glucosamine did alter the inflammatory response in the three groups, but Indocin was much more potent, requiring a dose 50 to 300 times lower. Indeed, the toxicity of Indocin is 1,000 to 4,000 times greater than glucosamine, which has no measured toxicity. Taking this into account, the researchers found that treatment of inflammatory disorders with glucosamine is 10 to 30 times better than treatment with Indocin. "Glucosamine sulfate can therefore be considered as a drug of choice for prolonged oral treatment of rheumatic disorders," they concluded.

Osteoarthritis often requires long-term therapy. The effectiveness or potency of the long-term therapy should be weighed against its potential for toxicity. It makes little sense to me to dispense highly dangerous drugs when natural and nontoxic agents that increase the healing and repair of the joint surface are available. Glucosamine is only one of them. Arthritis patients should also receive a wide spectrum of nutritional support, including the vitamins and minerals found in a high-quality multinutrient. Only modern docs think in terms of "the cure" by using a single agent, yet when the body sets out to heal itself, it needs and uses everything.

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