Re: RC: Glucosamine Question

[Tivers@aol.com]

As I usually do when stuck on some nutritional details, I consulted Jamie 
Brooks on this question. The exchange went as below:

ti

>Jamie,
>
>Before I stick my foot in my mouth, perhaps you could give me a skeletal
>philosophy here.
>
>ti
>
>Subj:	 RC:  Glucosamine Question
>Date:	4/12/99 10:31:10 AM Pacific Daylight Time
>From:	mtnridr@pacbell.net
>To:	ridecamp@endurance.net
>
>Good morning!
>
>My vet wants me to start giving my 18-year-old Arab mare a joint
>supplement. So now I've got all my catalogs out and I've been
>poring over the various products out there these days.  I found a
>supplement that is pure glucosamine--no Vitamin C, E, yucca,
>L-methionine, manganese, etc. (my vet recommended glucosamine
>only--not chondroitin sulfate).
>Question #1:  Is pure glucosamine with no additives an effective
>way to give joint supplements, or is there a synergestic thing
>going on that requires the additional vitamins?  She is already on
>Dynamite, and being fed oat/timothy/alfalfa hay and
>oats/corn/barley (dry).
>Question #2:  I am told that glucosamine sulfate is much more
>effective than glucosamine hydrochloride.  Any ideas?
>
>Thanks!
>Chris
===== Comments by jamie@vita-flex.com (jamie) at 4/12/99 5:33 pm
Sure thing. First off, it's a myth that glucosamine sulfate is better than 
glucosamine HCl - check out http://www.vita-flex.com/gsglcompare.htm and 
http://www.vita-flex.com/faqslubepage2.htm for more on this subject, and for 
info on glucosamine vs chondroitin sulfate. There's even more to the GS vs 
GHCl story, but perhaps it will suffice to add that all glucosamine 
supplements get thoroughly ionized in the stomach, so only free glucosamine 
is delivered to the small intestine, where it's absorbed. Therefore, the 
form of glucosamine does not impact absorption. Also, as you'll see at 
http://www.vita-flex.com/gsglcompare.htm, the amount of sulfur is so low it 
makes a negligible contribution to the horse's sulfur intake.

Glucosamine is an almost perfect case of a nutraceutical that serves only a 
NUTRITIONAL role - it has almost no activity in and of itself. It feeds the 
systems that create chondroitin sulfates and other GAGs, and the system that 
creates hyaluronic acid. It is also involved to a lesser extent in collagen 
formation. Because it is a building block rather than a "natural 
anti-inflammatory", it depends a good deal on overall nutritional status to 
do its job; if other building blocks and/or enzymes are in short supply, 
glucosamine won't be able to "stimulate" lubricant production to its full 
capacity.

That's why we blend glucosamine with a large (5 gm per serving) amount of 
vitamin C - a perfect match, in light of C's critical roles in GAG, PG, and 
collagen synthesis and protection. Chondroitin is also a helper nutrient, 
though its actual "synergy" is still open to debate. I think your 
correspondent will get the best results from something like Flex GL Max, 
which sells at a low price and delivers the big levels you need to get the 
job done with glucosamine. We get great reports on it.

Don't know why the vet said no CS, but we still hear of horses who do better 
on Flex Free than Flex GL or Flex GL Max - there are individual variations 
out there that are nearly impossible to predict - best rules of thumb are:

if cost is absolutely no object, feed 1) Generation and 2) Flex GL or Flex 
GL Max
if cost is not important, feed 1) Flex Free Max or Flex Free Original with 
2) Flex GL or Flex GL Max
if cost is a concern, start with either 1) Flex Free Max or Flex GL Max. Try 
for 30 - 45 days. If more relief is desired, either:
	switch from Flex Free Max to Flex GL Max or
	switch from Flex GL max to Flex Free Max or
	feed the two supplements together for another 30 days - a lot better? 
-> 
keep it up.

Hope this helps!

James Brooks
Vita-Flex Nutrition


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