When I first started in chiropractic practice a few years (more like a few decades) ago, glucosamine was touted as a wonder supplement that would ease the pain of arthritis and even regrow cartilage in degenerating joints. A lot of these proposed benefits were supported by laboratory research, but after some studies of the effects of glucosamine in actual human beings, the benefits became a lot more questionable.

There is still some evidence that glucosamine has a mild anti-inflammatory effect, but there are other, more effective natural antiinflammatories out there. It may also have some mild cartilage-sparing effects, but it definitely doesn’t restore lost cartilage.

Even so, glucosamine remains a pretty popular supplement. While its benefits are probably pretty small in most cases, it’s generally been considered pretty safe because it is a naturally-occurring substance in the body. So, many have taken an “it can’t hurt” approach to including it in their supplement regimen.

I look at things from a risk to benefit standpoint and, until recently, I would have said glucosamine had a decent risk to benefit ratio – despite the relatively low potential benefit. Essentially no risk compared to a small benefit is still a reasonable trade-off, if you’re not concerned with the financial cost of the supplements.

But some new findings on glucosamine have changed my mind. A recent study has found a risk of increased progression of neurodegeneration and an increased death rate in people with Alzheimer’s Disease who take glucosamine as compared to those who don’t.

Now, when the news organizations report on this, the headline is probably going to suggest that glucosamine causes Alzheimer’s, and that’s not what the research showed. It appeared to accelerate changes in neurological tissue in those who already had the disease. The proposed mechanism for this is that glucosamine supplementation increases available raw materials for a process called glycosylation.

Glycosylation is a process in which sugar molecules are attached to proteins and it is a normal and necessary function in the body. But people with Alzheimer’s have abnormal glycosylation. So by increasing the amount of materials for glycosylation, glucosamine supplementation potentially results in more amyloid plaques, neuroinflammation, and other pathological changes.

So, while glucosamine supplementation is probably still quite safe for the majority of people, it probably should be avoided by those with Alzheimer’s or those who have a family history risk of it.

Because the potential benefit of glucosamine supplementation is pretty low in most cases, and given this newly found risk (even though it currently appears that it’s just for those with Alzheimer’s), I’d recommend discontinuing it unless you’ve noticed a significant improvement in your joints with taking it.

If you stop taking glucosamine and your joints start to hurt, you can always go back on the supplements. Otherwise, you can avoid the risk, limited though it might be, and save yourself a little money that could be invested in something else that might be of greater benefit.

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.