I would tend to agree with you but I take a supplement with glucosamine sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, and MSM and it has really helped more than when i was just taking glucosamine and chondroitin. So I tend to believe that a combo of the three works best. *shrug* maybe that's just me though.
By Terrence S. Fox, Ph.D.
• Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)
• Chondroitin Sulfate (CS)
• Glucosamine Hydrachloride (GHCl)
• N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (NAG)
• Mixtures of these.
All of these are inferior to unadulterated glucosamine sulfate.
There are over 300 studies on glucosamine sulfate lauding its laurels. Those
on MSM, NAG, CS and GHCl are negative or published, largely unrefereed
by those wishing to sell their products.
The facts are:
1. Chondroitin sulfate is a huge molecule, molecular weight is
approximately 50,000. Its bio-availability is near zero, no more than
13% by the most favorable report. There are those that argue that they
have low weight chondroitin and therefore it is more available. Avoid
their product for there is but one molecular weight in chemistry not a
high and a low. If they believe there is such a thing they are ignorant.
If they know better they are being dishonest.
2. Chondroitin sulfate is expensive.
3. Glucosamine hydrachloride is moderately effective but is not as bioavailable
as glucosamine sulfate and it is more expensive. Recent
press has reported Glucosamine hydrachloride to be no better than
placebo.
4. There is no, absolutely no, convincing evidence that MSM is
effective. It appears that MSM is only a catchy name that has gained
a following.
5. N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (NAG) has no advantage over glucosamine
sulfate.
6. The mixtures of these things are only mixtures of things that are
expensive, don’t work well and if mixed with glucosamine sulfate
make it more expensive and the efficacy of the mixtures is less than
that of glucosamine sulfate alone.
7. Glucosamine sulfate bio-availability is 90% to 98%. Glucosamine
sulfate is the preferred form and is the least expensive.
Some researchers/authors are so down on everything but glucosamine sulfate
that they deny that glucosamine hydrachloride has any merit whatsoever.
From the literature and personal experience with horses and dogs, I believe
that glucosamine sulfate is clearly the star and other concoctions are just that....concoctions.