Question:
In recent weeks we’ve been busy in our yard in Corsica, I got a thorn in the joint of my thumb, it got inflamed, nothing really worked. Got x-rays done, with the result: osteoarthritis! I kind of knew that of course, but it’s pretty severe in my hands now (because I use a lot of pincers in the yard). My physician told me to take mud baths in order to stop osteoarthritis. Does that really work? Now my question to you: is it better to take Arthro-5 in combination with glucosamine? Or just Arthro-5?
Answer:
When it comes to osteoarthritis we don’t expect too much from mud baths. It may provide some relief, but it does not tackle the cause.
Glucosamine works pretty well in osteoarthritis. This also applies to Arthro-5. Besides glucosamine it also contains 4 other ingredients which are tested in osteoarthritis (and found effectively). If you’re using Arthro-5 and glucosamine you may take in too much glucosamine. Therefore it’s best to use Arthro-5 instead of glucosamine.
Regarding osteoarthritis, Arthro-5 is a lot more effective than glucosamine. However, your situation is unique. There is osteoarthritis, but it may be that the pain at the moment is mainly due to the inflammation caused by the thorn. Do you know if it is a sterile inflammation? If there is a certain bacteria it could be pretty serious. In that case antibiotics may be necessary (it’s best to let your doctor inform you about that).
If it is a sterile inflammation, then there are a variety of alternative methods available to subdue the inflammatory response. One is glucosamine or Arthro-5. But also eating lots of vegetables and avoiding refined sugars, refined carbohydrates and sweet drinks may have a positive result.
Occasionally eating a fatty fish can also reduce the inflammation. Some people prefer fish oil (omega-3) capsules over eating fatty fish. Omega-3 works especially well when people normally have a diet that contains a lot of omega-6 fatty acids.
Question:
I’ve been using your glucosamine for several years. Now I’ve met a few people who use their local (Portuguese) glucosamine and their pharmacist has told them to stop taking it at least once a year. Does the same apply to your product? I couldn’t find anything about it on the internet.
Answer:
We don’t know of any indications that could infer ceasing the use of glucosamine. Long term studies have been conducted for 2 and 3 years. Glucosamine is safe in that time period. Epidemiological studies have even found that people who use glucosamine have a slightly reduced mortality rate and a lesser chance to get cancer.
A recent study in mice shows that these animals live longer when they get glucosamine administered. These researchers published their findings in the renowned Nature magazine. The researchers suspect based on the presumed mechanism (influencing the carbohydrate metabolism) that glucosamine extends the life of humans.
Converted to human years, the mice received glucosamine from their 65 year. These mice lived an average of at least 7 years longer than the control group (also converted into ‘human years’).
Question:
I have an injury on my big toe (slight stiffness in joint), possible due to the many exercises/running. With x-rays a reduction of cartilage is found. On your advice I started glucosamine (two jars), and I notice a significant improvement.
My goal is of course to reach 100%, and that’s why I ask for your advice. Can glucosamine combined with chondroitin ensure further improvements or should I directly switch to Arthro-5?.Or should just continue to use glucosamine?
Is it also possible with these supplements that recovery of the cartilage will take place, and that any further wear will come to a halt?
Answer:
It’s good to hear that glucosamine benefits you. Whether this actually repairs cartilage is hard to say. It is known that the condition of the cartilage not necessarily corresponds to the pain that someone experiences.
Glucosamine can work quite strongly against pain. It improves the lubrication and damping of the joints and possibly inhibits inflammation somewhat. Glucosamine could slow the wear approximately 4 times in knee osteoarthritis (on average). But a delay doesn’t automatically mean a recovery.
If you want to maximize the chances of real cartilage repair than Arthro-5 is probably your best bet. I do want to point out that no official scientific evidence for cartilage repair is found. We only know of a few confirmed isolated cases.
My belief is that the combination of a lot of exercise without overloading and Arthro-5 the odds are in your favor. Obviously, the joint shouldn’t be ‘too far gone’ when you start. I think that the cartilage in your toe is still in reasonably good condition.
Question:
I use Arthro-5. Not so much against osteoarthritis, it is more a prevention, but as a supplement that covers a broad range in a general, to maintain the overall system of my body. Am I doing it right?
Answer:
The ingredients in Arthro-5 are specifically tested how it’s affecting osteoarthritis. But even without this diagnosis, many people benefit from this supplement. People that suffer from morning stiffness of the joints often notice improvements. In those people there’s not really osteoarthritis present yet, but the joints don’t function optimally anymore. There could be a reduced production of synovial fluid for instance. Then the lubrication and cushioning aren’t what they should be.
The effect of Arthro-5 is not for the ‘overall system’ as I interpret that term (i.e.; the entire body). The supplement does have a slightly wider effect than just the joints, but it is definitely not an all-in-one solution. The other main areas where Arthro-5 is somewhat active are the tendons, skin and bones.
If Arthro-5 is used preventatively, you can choose to use half the dosage of Arthro-5. The full dosage is meant to treat osteoarthritis.
Question:
I don’t have any knee cartilage on the inside of my right knee anymore. Does glucosamine work for this as well? If not, which other product would you recommend?
Answer:
When cartilage is no longer present, glucosamine or any of our other supplements will no longer work anymore. However, we have received positive feedback from many clients with knee osteoarthritis who supposedly ‘didn’t have any knee cartilage’ anymore. My conclusion is that the diagnosis of ‘no cartilage’ doesn’t always need to be taken as the final diagnose.
When there’s clearly damage to the cartilage I recommend the strongest supplement. That’s Arthro-5. It is best to try this at least for 3 months. You probably notice an improvement within that time. Regularly taking walks or cycling with a light resistance will support its effect. Avoid heavy loads. Also avoid excessive bending of the knee when the knee shows signs of resistance.
Optionally, you may try ‘air cycling’ where you lie with your back on the floor and make cycling motions with your legs in the air. Try to do large circles as long as the knee allows it.
If you notice improvements with Arthro-5 within 6 months it’s a good idea to continue to take it. Improvements in the quality of the cartilage appear to occur over a period of about 2 years.
Question:
I use Arthro-5 now for about 6 to 7 months (consecutively) and have to say that the pain (osteoarthritis) symptoms in my right knee is less painful. However, in the last 2 weeks it seems to have less of an effect. The pain flares up again when I rest, a nagging pain.
Besides tennis I also do fitness. I take a few supplements for this. My question is regarding the supplements. Can the hereinafter mentioned supplements speed up osteoarthritis and/or hinder Arthro-5: creatine, beta-alanine, taurine, HMB, vitamin C, vitamin D, gelatinate, whey protein, omega-3.
Answer:
The supplements do not hinder the effect of Arthro-5. As far as we know they won’t speed up osteoarthritis either. To the contrary! I assume that the vitamins and gelatin provide a positive contribution.
One exception might be creatine. Creatine may cause more muscle tension when resting. When your leg muscles are more tense you’ll experience more pressure on your knee joint throughout the day. A joint such as the knee should be under a healthy amount of pressure daily for good health and in turn needs to be completely unwound. It gets that rest by taking off the load entirely. A too high muscle tension may hinder this daily recovery.
I myself have a lot of benefit in reducing muscle tension by stretching. I stretch the muscles after I’ve pumped them up after fitness exercises.
It seems like a good idea to leave creatine out of it for the time being. You could also eat magnesium rich foods, or take a nutritional supplement containing magnesium to reduce muscle tension even more.
Question:
I use the multivitamin from *****. Plus a separate vitamin C supplement. My question is whether the multivitamin that you are offering is a good alternative compared to those of *****. I’ve tried to compare the lists of contents, but it’s confusing. There’s so much on it.
Perhaps you can shine a light on the differences between the two. And is an extra vitamin C supplement still necessary?
Answer:
In my opinion there are some downsides to this ***** multivitamin:
1) The supplement is a dry tablet. This will limit the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins compared to the oil capsule of Natural Multi.
2) The supplement contains chromium picolinate. That is a chromium compound which may have adverse health effects. Incidentally, it is unlikely that it is necessary to add chromium with a chromium supplement.
3) The multi contains not enough magnesium (32 mg), which is a necessary supplement for most people. Natural Multi contains 150 mg (40% RDV).
4) The multi contains synthetic vitamins and especially the synthetic folic acid may be a problem according to my opinion.
I think Natural Multi is a very suitable alternative. It contains many vitamins that are in lower doses than the multivitamin of *****. But in combination with your diet you can reach an adequate intake. You will not overload your body with high doses of synthetic vitamins.
The amount of vitamin C in Natural Multi is 80 mg, which corresponds to 100% of the recommended daily value. The average Western European reaches 80 mg of their daily diet. Combined with the Natural Multi this is a healthy amount.
Extra vitamin C is therefore not necessary for most people. There are some situations in which higher doses of vitamin C are beneficial (such as the treatment of glaucoma and the shortening of the duration of colds).
Sometimes it seems that higher doses of vitamin C have adverse effects. For example, vitamin C may inhibit the physical adjustments of the body.
Personally, I think that 500 to 1,000 mg in the form of a supplement is a safe threshold, provided the vitamin C is not used for the treatment of an illness. If you want, you may still supplement with extra vitamin C but you don’t have to.
Question:
A crack was found in the cartilage behind my kneecap (due to injury). Now I have trouble bending the knee and need to do physiotherapy. Also, the orthopedist has told me that I will develop osteoarthritis over time. I’m 36 now. Which products do you recommend for me in my case?
Answer:
Our experience is that symptoms in the back of the kneecap respond poorly to treatment with glucosamine and chondroitin. We have achieved reasonable good results with ASU Forte and Arthro-5. But that applies to people with patellofemoral chondropathy (soft and ‘bad’ cartilage at the back of kneecap). So far we have no feedback from people who have used our supplements in case of damage to the kneecap as a result of an injury.
For people with patellofemoral chondropathy the ingredient ASU seems to be an essential component to decrease the symptoms. Both ASU Forte and Arthro-5 contain ASU.
Arthro-5 is very likely stronger than ASU Forte. Arthro-5 includes the familiar ingredients glucosamine and chondroitin. In addition it contains MSM and hyaluronic acid.
You may alternate the use of Arthro-5 and ASU Forte (every 3 months). This way you can see which one inhibits the pain the best. Unfortunately, the best pain inhibition does not always mean that the cartilage is protected at its best. Of chondroitin it’s known that it often does not do much when it comes to pain, but that it can strongly inhibit wear.
Because the ingredient ASU may be used as a double dose you can even choose to use ASU Forte and Arthro-5 simultaneously.
For normal knee osteoarthritis the ingredients glucosamine and chondroitin have a strong inhibitory effect on the wear. If osteoarthritis can be postponed or delayed in your case is difficult to say. I do think Arthro-5 (possibly supplemented by ASU Forte) will be the most successful of all joint relief supplements.
Question:
The present EPA and DHA in your fish oil capsules are 1,440 mg (4 capsules) per day for joints when added together. Is that the maximum limit for people with joint problems? Because I’ve read that the ‘safe’ EPA and DHA dosage per day is 1,000 mg so do lower dosages (lower than 1,440 mg) have no effect?
Answer:
No fixed dosage has been set for fish oil like glucosamine and chondroitin supplements. A lot of research has been done about glucosamine and chondroitin and there are only a limited amount of dosages that prove their effect. Higher doses may be unsafe (glucosamine) or not extra effective (chondroitin). Also for those supplements the area is clearly limited: osteoarthritis.
For fish oil there is very limited evidence for an effect in osteoarthritis. One study found a faster effect of glucosamine when this was supplemented with 600 mg of EPA + DHA (comparable to 2 capsules).
Most research has been done in rheumatoid arthritis. For this purpose, the dosage is around 3,000 mg of EPA + DHA (similar to about 8 capsules). That dosage seems effective in studies that last for about 3 months. A high dosage of 3,000 mg should only be administered under doctor’s supervision. Incidentally, a dose of more than 1,000 mg EPA + DHA is not considered unsafe. In many countries in Europe, a much higher dose is still considered safe.
Because the effect of fish oil slowly builds up, we expect a positive effect with a lower dose of 4 capsules in rheumatoid arthritis. However, it requires a longer term than 3 months.
Question:
I’ve done promotions for another brand of glucosamine for some years. That’s how I found out about your information and now see that you even have a better product: Arthro-5. Last week my physiotherapist determined that I will suffer from a worn hip in the near future. I do notice it a little bit now that I take a brisk walk every day.
Am I out of the woods when I take Arthro-5 for the time being? And is 2 capsules a day enough?
Answer:
Arthro-5 is formulated out of five ingredients that are each tested in people with osteoarthritis. Six capsules of Arthro-5 provides the user with the same dosage of the active substances as is used during scientific studies. In these studies the result of each of the individual ingredient for the average test subject is positive. Which means less pain, less stiffness, greater freedom of movement and decrease of the wear. Of course the effects differ per person. With knee osteoarthritis for example, 2 out of 3 people benefit from glucosamine.
Arthro-5 is more effective than the individual components. For Arthro-5, we estimate that 80 to 90% of people will benefit. What is particularly striking is that people who experience a positive effect with glucosamine for example, report a further decrease in symptoms when they switch to Arthro-5.
There are also people who have been using glucosamine for years and sometimes also chondroitin but only one or more joints remain painful. When they switch to Arthro-5 they notice that their ‘untreatable’ joints become less painful. Presumably, that’s thanks to the ingredient ASU. We see the same effect on ‘untreatable’ joints when glucosamine and chondroitin are supplemented by ASU Forte.
You ask whether two capsules is sufficient. Possibly. The results vary, and the dosage as well. We recommend to use 6 capsules to achieve the maximum effect. Perhaps you can start with that dosage to see if your symptoms go away. Later, you can cut back the dosage if needed.
