Side Effects of Glucosamine : Health Supliment

by Vibudhah June 24, 2015 0 comments Side Effects Sting

Glucosamine

Glucosamine is a natural chemical compound found in the body. As a supplement, glucosamine is most often used to try to ease the joint pain caused by arthritis.

There are two main types of glucosamine: hydrochloride and sulfate.

Why do people take glucosamine?

Glucosamine helps keep the cartilage in joints healthy. But natural glucosamine levels drop as people age. This can lead to gradual deterioration of the joint.

There's some evidence that glucosamine sulfate supplements help counteract this effect, although experts aren’t sure exactly how they work. Specifically, glucosamine has been shown in some studies to help ease the pain of mild to moderate osteoarthritis of the knee. Glucosamine may also help with other joint pain caused by osteoarthritis.

Glucosamine has also been used to try and treat rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, allergies, chronic venous insufficiency, sports injuries, temporomandibular joint problems ( TMJ), chronic low back pain, and many others. So far, these uses of glucosamine are not well supported by evidence from research studies.

How much glucosamine should you take?

For osteoarthritis, the typical dose of glucosamine used in most studies was 500 milligrams of glucosamine sulfate taken three times a day. Ask your doctor about specific dosing. Some experts recommend taking glucosamine with meals to prevent stomach upset.

Can you get glucosamine naturally from foods?

Although glucosamine sulfate supplements are often manufactured from the outer shells of shellfish, there aren't any natural food sources of glucosamine.

Risk and Side Effects

Glucosamine sulfate is LIKELY SAFE when used appropriately by mouth in adults.

Glucosamine sulfate is POSSIBLY SAFE when injected into the muscle as a shot twice weekly for up to 6 weeks or when applied to the skin in combination with chondroitin sulfate, shark cartilage, and camphor for up to 8 weeks.

Glucosamine sulfate can cause some mild side effects including nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, and constipation. Uncommon side effects are drowsiness, skin reactions, and headache. These are rare.

Special Precautions & Warnings:

Pregnancy or breast-feeding: There is not enough reliable scientific information available to know if glucosamine sulfate is safe to take during pregnancy or while breast-feeding. Until more is known, do not take glucosamine sulfate while pregnant or breast-feeding.

Asthma: There is one report linking an asthma attack with taking glucosamine. It is not known for sure if glucosamine was the cause of the asthma attack. Until more is known, people with asthma should be cautious about taking products that contain glucosamine.

Diabetes: Some early research suggested that glucosamine sulfate might raise blood sugar in people with diabetes. However, more recent and more reliable research now shows that glucosamine sulfate does not seem to affect blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes. Glucosamine appears to be safe for most people with diabetes, but blood sugar should be monitored closely.

High cholesterol: Animal research suggests that glucosamine may increase cholesterol levels. In contrast, glucosamine does not seem to increase cholesterol levels in humans. However, some early research suggests that glucosamine might increase insulin levels. This might cause cholesterol levels to increase. To be cautious, if you take glucosamine sulfate and have high cholesterol, monitor your cholesterol levels closely.

High blood pressure: Early research suggests that glucosamine sulfate can increase insulin levels. This might cause blood pressure to increase. However, more reliable research suggests that glucosamine sulfate does not increase blood pressure. To be cautious, if you take glucosamine sulfate and have high blood pressure, monitor your blood pressure closely.

Shellfish allergy: Because some glucosamine sulfate products are made from the shells of shrimp, lobsters or crabs, there is concern that glucosamine products might cause allergic reactions in people who are allergic to shellfish. However, allergic reactions in people with shellfish allergy are typically caused by the meat of shellfish, not the shell. There are no reports of allergic reactions to glucosamine in people who are allergic to shellfish. There is also some information that people with shellfish allergy can safely take glucosamine products.

Surgery: Glucosamine sulfate might affect blood sugar levels and might interfere with blood sugar control during and after surgery. Stop taking glucosamine sulfate at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.