Joint and Cartilage Health
Longevity is really something that is determined by how well you are constructed. The human body is self-repairing to a certain degree, and ensuring it has the nutrients needed to build and maintain the most important parts of you, will determine how long these parts last until they wear out and break. At this point when things break, longevity ends. We must ensure that the supply chains in the body are able to maintain everything for as long as possible to have quality and quantity of life.
To understand the importance of glucosamine, we need to use an analogy of a high-rise building and how it is built to explain cellular biology.
When we build a building, we use scaffolding to move things around. Inside our cells, we have the cytoskeleton, which acts in the same way helping the body assemble proteins and move things around and then put these proteins outside the cell sometimes, where scaffold proteins such as fibrillin help build structures that keep us together. In the construction of buildings, we reinforce concrete with rebar–steel pieces.
The body uses special structural proteins such as collagen and elastin to hold connective tissue together while they grow and repair. These connective tissue proteins are often built using the help of fibrillin proteins. Collagen and elastin are the rebar and expansion joints of the body. If rebar and expansion joints malfunction in a building, it gets condemned as unsafe to live in. If collagen and elastin start to malfunction, or cannot be maintained properly in your body, it gets difficult to live in your body – things get stiff, painful, or break. Both condemned buildings and condemned humans end up at ground level – our use of an understanding of cellular biochemistry allows us to maintain and extend the design life of our bodies much like good maintenance saves a building.
Collagen makes up about 30% of the protein in our bodies and is the main structural protein that keeps our skin, joints, tendons, ligaments, bones, muscles, and even blood vessels working. Maintaining this protein is key to longevity.
Many people will tell you that Glucosamine and MSM are great for joint health. Then they mutter some mumbo jumbo as to why. Understanding, and ruling out causes of problems in joints and connective tissue is important before you start taking Glucosamine and MSM.
It is important to understand what is causing your joint pain or damaging cartilage health. From a microbiological perspective, it is important to have a proper screening for Lymes disease and Rickettsial infections. Even after treatment for Lyme disease, it can still cause problems in the joints. After clearing up infections that cause problems, supplements can help repair damage.
Glucosamine hydrochloride and MSM feed into the supply chain to build connective tissues such as collagen. Glucosamine is a molecule that comprises the amino acid glutamate and a glucose molecule. Because of this it can sneak into parts of our metabolic pathways and enhance the production of good-quality cartilage.
MSM – Methylsulfonylmethane - is found all over in nature and is important within cells. It has been used in various health supplement formulations(Butawan et al., 2017) since it was released onto the market in the 1980s. This molecule is useful in the management of osteoarthritis(Lopez, 2012) and has a host of other benefits, including wound healing and skin health(Muizzuddin & Benjamin, 2022).
Chondroitin sulfate(Shen et al., 2023) is a major component of cartilage. It is also important in the skin, the circulation system, tendons, ligaments, and even nervous tissue. It is a sticky molecule with a lot of charged areas on its surface and therefore is useful as a sort of glue that holds cartilage together and gives it flexibility and bounce. Supplementation with Chondroitin sulfate is an accepted treatment for joint and bone health.
Combining Glucosamine HCl, MSM, and Chondroitin in one formulation allows you to supplement your natural supply lines of these chemicals to ensure optimum health. From my own perspective having taken this supplement for years to recover from damage to my knees caused by Tick Bite Fever(Frean & Grayson, 2019) and Celiac disease has resulted in healthy knees.
It is important to emphasize that supplements are precisely that. We take supplements as a bonus to complement a healthy diet. You are what you eat – if you eat junk, no matter how many supplements you take, sadly you will still be just that. Quality food enhances our ability to absorb supplements.
In general, the effects of these supplements are slow and steady – and the effect of a lack of these supplements is also a slow and steady decline. We are talking multi-decade plateau (optimal) or in the absence of supplements, gradual declines. For longevity management, we want to leave nothing to chance, hence regular supplementation to keep the structural components of your body connected and strong makes sense. To juxtapose good building and body maintenance – if you keep your concrete painted (Chondroitin) the structural components (Cartilage, bone) will last. If there are signs of rust leaking through cracks, we apply treatments to stop this (MSM in us).
The use of MSM Glucosamine Chondroitin formulations to loosen up the joints, keep the spring in one’s step, and preserve flexibility and longevity is a sensible choice.
Here at Pristine’s, we care about your health. Therefore, Pristine’s recommends that you consult with your doctor before embarking on any significant alterations in your eating habits, nutritional supplement intake, or exercise routine. Our blogs are not able, nor intended, to substitute for professional, personalized medical advice. We ask that you discuss any points of interest raised in these blogs with a trusted medical professional.
We wish you optimal longevity and health.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Garth Cambray, PhD in Microbiology.
References
Butawan, M., Benjamin, R. L., & Bloomer, R. J. (2017). Methylsulfonylmethane: Applications and Safety of a Novel Dietary Supplement. Nutrients, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9030290
Lopez, H. L. (2012). Nutritional interventions to prevent and treat osteoarthritis. Part II: focus on micronutrients and supportive nutraceuticals. PM & R : The Journal of Injury, Function, and Rehabilitation, 4(5 Suppl), S155-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2012.02.023
Muizzuddin, N., & Benjamin, R. (2022). Beauty from within: Oral administration of a sulfur-containing supplement methylsulfonylmethane improves signs of skin ageing. International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research. Internationale Zeitschrift Fur Vitamin- Und Ernahrungsforschung. Journal International de Vitaminologie et de Nutrition, 92(3–4), 182–191. https://doi.org/10.1024/0300-9831/a000643
Shen, Q., Guo, Y., Wang, K., Zhang, C., & Ma, Y. (2023). A Review of Chondroitin Sulfate’s Preparation, Properties, Functions, and Applications. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 28(20). https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28207093
Frean, J., & Grayson, W. (2019). South African Tick Bite Fever: An Overview. Dermatopathology (Basel, Switzerland), 6(2), 70–76. https://doi.org/10.1159/000495475