Glucosamine and Chondroitin
Glucosamine and chondroitin are two different supplements, and yet each are consistently found together, made by many manufacturers, to promote healthy joint function. Healthy joint function is critically important to top-flight sporting dogs, as well as it is critically important in the graceful aging of our geriatric dogs as they advance in their autumn years.
Not too many people really stop to think about how their dogs feel as they get old. This is a sad, but true commentary on the “thoughtfulness” of most dogmen. However, most people at least care about their money, and when one’s money is on the line in an athletic event, involving optimally-conditioned sporting dogs, he really ought to think about strengthening his charge’s joints, both before and during the rigors of an intensive exercise regimen. Healthy cartilage requires four things. They are:
1. Water for lubrication and nourishment.
2. Proteoglycans to attract and hold water.
3. Collagen to hold proteoglycans in place.
4. Chondrocytes to clean away old proteoglycans and collagen, while producing new ones.
When any one of these elements is missing, cartilage can deteriorate and osteoarthritis (bone and joint inflammation) will begin to develop. However, with effective nutritional supplements, and an adequate diet, much of this can be prevented (and also rehabilitated) if your dog is currently suffering from osteoarthritis or any sort of joint lameness.
Glucosamine:
One of the most effective supplements for osteoarthritis is a compound called. Glucosamine is an amino sugar produced from the shells (chitin) of shellfish and it is a key component of cartilage. Glucosamine works to stimulate joint function and repair. It has been proven effective in numerous scientific trials for easing osteoarthritis pain, aiding in the rehabilitation of cartilage, renewing synovial fluid, and repairing joints that have been damaged from osteoarthritis.
Each animal (or person) produces a certain amount of glucosamine within its body. When an animal grows older, its body loses its capacity to make enough glucosamine for itself. Having ample glucosamine in the body is essential to producing the nutrients needed to stimulate the production of synovial fluid, the fluid which lubricates cartilage and keeps joints healthy.
Without enough glucosamine, the cartilage in the weight-bearing joints (such as the hips, stifles, and wrists) deteriorates. The cartilage then hardens and forms bone spurs, deformed joints, with resulting limited joint movement. This is how the debilitating disease of osteoarthritis develops. In an over-worked, and under-supplemented animal, the joints also “age” due to a workload that rapidly puts a toll on unprepared joint structures. In either case, this is where glucosamine supplementation figures in. So how does glucosamine figure into healthy cartilage? Here are some facts:
• Glucosamine is a major building block of proteoglycans.
• Glucosamine is needed to make glycosaminoglycans, proteins that bind water in the cartilage matrix.
• Glucosamine is a source of nutrients for the synthesis of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans.
• Glucosamine is a stimulant to chondrocytes.
• Glucosamine is a key factor in determining how many proteoglycans are produced by the chondrocytes.
• Glucosamine is needed to spur chondrocytes to produce more collagen and proteoglycans.
• Glucosamine is a regulator of cartilage metabolism which helps to keep cartilage from breaking down.
In humans, glucosamine has been shown to reduce pain for osteoarthritis sufferers and improves the joint structure. There is no doubt that it also produces the same results in dogs. Thus there is no doubt that glucosamine is a very important factor in maintaining and rehabilitating healthy cartilage in your dogs. However, glucosamine products can be very different.
When purchasing glucosamine, a prospective buyer is deluged with a wide array of options. In order to maximize benefit, here is a list of key flags to look for prior to purchase:
1. Make sure you purchase the highest quality glucosamine available. This means pharmaceutical-quality Glucosamine sulphate, not glucosamine HCL.
2. Glucosamine produces better results as a liquid; the liquid form promotes quicker and fuller absorption.
3. Try to look for products that contain other beneficial ingredients like chondroitin, boswellin, bromelain, omega 3 & 6 essential fatty acids (fish oils), yucca, manganese, and vitamins A, C, and E.
4. 1500 mg/day is recommended for people, so about half to a third of that (750 mg/day, or 500mg/day) is recommended for dogs.
In conclusion, if you are serious about adequately-preparing your charge to be in top physical condition prior to top athletic physical prowess, you will make it your business to supplement with glucosamine. And, if you are one of the few who pays attention to and cares about your older, geriatric animals who begin to stiffen and slow down with age, glucosamine supplementation can give a whole new and vibrant outlook to a debilitated animal ... and more importantly ... prevent the debilitation from occurring in the first place.
Chondroitin:
Chondroitin sulfate is part of a large protein molecule (proteoglycan) that gives cartilage elasticity. Based upon the above reading, proteoglycans are the key to joint health, so supplementing with the most essential component (chondroitin sulphate) of this large protein molecule is critical. Chondroitin basically promotes water retention and elasticity in cartilage, and it inhibits the enzymes that break down cartilage. Chondroitin sulfate as a supplement is typically extracted from animal cartilage, such as bovine tracheas, porcine tracheas, and chicken necks ... and sometimes even shark cartilage. (This is also why shark cartilage is touted as a joint supplement.)
The only potential drawback to chondroitin supplementation is that it can heighten bleeding. Chondroitin sulphate is similar in structure to the blood-thinning drug heparin, and supplementation may promote excessive bleeding. As such, it should be discontinued the last week of any keep, with an injection of vitamin K given a week out to counter-act this influence. The only other reported side-effect to chondroitin use is gas and softened stool, but these should be minimal if you keep your dose low.
Chondroitin is an expensive material, so experts have been concerned about the quality and quantity of the ingredient in supplements. Because chondroitin typically comes from cow cartilage, an additional concern has been whether the products may be contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalitis, the causative agent (a “prion”) of Mad Cow Disease. The risk, however, seems to be miniscule for several reasons: First, the chondroitin would have to come from an infected cow, of which none has been reported in the United States. However, imports of chondroitin haven’t received the same scrutiny as meat products. Second, the prion is known to exist only in very low levels in cartilage; it’s most abundant in nervous and glandular tissues. Third, some manufacturers have stated that the process used to make chondroitin supplements should inactivate the prion—although this hasn’t been shown conclusively. Unfortunately, there’s no simple way to test for BSE prion contamination in supplements. A way around paranoia over this would be to simply make sure that your chondroitin supplement does not come from bovine tissue.
Conclusion:
Of the two joint supplements, glucosamine sulphate and chondroitin sulphate, glucosamine is the most important. By itself, chondroitin has not been as impressive in clinical findings, though it certainly is useful in its own right. Glucosamine by itself, though, has shown to be quite effective. However, it is when these two supplements are combined that the full synergistic effect takes place. When these two substances are combined, each compliments and augments the properties of the other, which is called “synergy.” For humans, the most synergistic ratio for these two supplements to be used in conjunction is a 1500mg/1200mg ratio of glucosamine/chondroitin respectively. In dogs, a ratio of 750mg/600mg (or 500mg/400mg) would seem of optimal proportion. And again, if you can get these supplements in the liquid form, and pharmaceutical grade, this would be ideal.
In closing, remember that trying to get the most mileage out of a dog with bad joints is about as realistic as winning a motocross race on a bike with bad shocks. You owe it to your athletes (and your wallet) to make sure that your animals’ joints are in optimal shape to handle the grueling rigors of intense exercise and beyond. Moreover, the next time you notice one of your older studs or older bitches moving stiffly, obviously arthritic, remember that you can make a difference in the quality of the rest of their lives by supplementing with glucosamine and chondroitin. Not only is this the humane thing to do, but it may just squeeze a few more years out of their lives, being comfortable and happy instead of uncomfortable and miserable ... and that comfortable and happy old bulldog may just sire or whelp a few more good ones for you.
California Jack
(Written for the Jan/Feb 2004 issue of my Healthy Bulldog magazine)
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