Glucosamine side effects

Glucosamine has been available to the public since the early 1990s and it gained popularity in the mid 1990s after several best selling books were published touting the benefits of this nutrient for arthritis pain relief. Millions of people have been using glucosamine, and thus far no major side effects have been reported in the medical literature. Glucosamine also does not have blood sugar elevating side effects and can be safely used by those with diabetes.

Joint Power Rx Formulated by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
Because joint pain is so debilitating, glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate alone are often not enough. This powerful joint formula includes several additional herbal extracts and nutrients including MSM, CMO, boswellia serrata, turmeric, cat's claw extract, grape seed extract, and sea cucumber for optimal joint health.  

Joint Power Rx Supplement has:
Glucosamine sulfate (from shellfish) - glucosamine is a popular ingredient in many joint health products
Chondroitin sulfate - chondroitin is a popular ingredient in many joint health products
MSM nutrient which stands for methylsulfonylmethane
CMO complex also known as cetyl myristoleate
Boswellia serrata extract is used in Ayurvedic medicine
Turmeric is an herb that contains curcumin
Cat's claw extract comes from the Amazon jungle
Devil's claw is a plant widely used in South African traditional medicine,
Grape seed extracts have compounds called procyanidolic oligomers which are powerful antioxidants, perhaps much greater than vitamins C and E.
Sea cucumbers have a number of substances that have therapeutic value.

Glucosamine does not raise cholesterol elevating side effects
The effect of glucosamine sulphate on the blood levels of cholesterol or triglycerides--a clinical study
Ugeskr Laeger. 2007 Jan 29;169(5):407-10. Østergaard K, Hviid T, Hyllested-Winge JL. Slidgigtinstituttet A/S, Ishøj.
This study was conducted in order to determine if glucosamine sulphate taken by patients as treatment for chronic joint pain influences the fasting blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. No significant differences between the glucosamine sulphate group and the placebo group with respect to cholesterol and triglycerides were observed. There were no differences between the treatment groups with respect to side-effects. This study demonstrates that glucosamine sulphate does not significantly influence blood levels of cholesterol or triglycerides.

No glucosamine side effects regarding blood sugar elevation
Effect of glucosamine supplementation on fasting and non-fasting plasma glucose and serum insulin concentrations in healthy individuals.
Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2004 Jun;12(6):506-11. Tannis AJ, Barban J, Conquer JA. University of Guelph, Department of Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences, Ontario, Canada.
To test the hypothesis that glucose intolerance does not occur when healthy adults consume normal, recommended dosages of glucosamine sulfate. Healthy adults ingested 1500 mg of glucosamine sulfate or placebo (double blind) each day for 12 weeks. Three-hour oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were performed using 75 g of dextrose. These occurred before the start of supplementation, at 6 weeks, and at the completion of supplementation (12 weeks). There were no significant differences between fasted levels of serum insulin or blood glucose. Glucosamine sulfate supplementation did not alter serum insulin or plasma glucose during the OGTT. There were no significant differences within or between treatments, ages or gender. Glycated hemoglobin measurements at the three time points showed no significant change over time, within or between treatments, ages or gender. The lack of significant changes may have been due to large standard deviations in the data.

Home glucosamine arthritis page