What are the benefits of glucosamine for arthritis?

Glucosamine is an amino sugar. It’s a combination of glucose and glutamine, which is an amino acid. Glucosamine is a precursor for cartilage and has been known to cushion and lubricate the joints. It can also help prevent the breakdown of your joints and maintain your cartilage. It’s especially important for athletes who put a lot of stress on their joints.

Other potential benefits of glucosamine:

• It supports wound healing

• It’s anti-inflammatory

• It may help reduce pain

• It may help improve varicose veins

• Some studies show it can decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes

• There is research on glucosamine improving longevity

• It may help with inflammatory gut conditions

• It may help increase heparin

• It may help reduce edema and swelling

• It may help with vascular migraines and cluster headaches

• It may help with dysfunction in the blood-brain barrier

• Some data suggests it could be good for seizures (other data suggests that large amounts could increase seizures)

The amount of glucosamine you may want to consider would be between 500 to 1,000 mg three times per day. A certain version of glucosamine called glucosamine hydrochloride should be avoided.