Osteoarthritis Chemicals
and the Diet- Glucosamine & Chondroitin
Dr. Norman F.
Childers, Ph.D.
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Several of our Diet cooperators have been asking about the two "New"
chemical treatments to control osteoarthritis: Glucosamine sulphate and
chondroitin sulphate.* A few of our cooperators on the No-Nightshades Diet
have reported that after taking the pills for awhile, they believe they can see
a difference. Some even see a definite difference. Basically, the
theory appears to be sound. It could be a worthy adjunct to the
No-Nightshades Diet program. No side effects, but caution is
advisable. The minerals are not drugs and thus can be obtained on the open
market. The chemicals are part of the process of producing gelatin,**
which is obtained by boiling at length the leftovers in the slaughter house such
as hoofs, bones, tendons, etc. (long known to us ole timers). The product
may be in pill, powder, or liquid form. In the more common pill form, it
is being sold in bottles of 40 pills at $15 to $20 a bottle. One recommendation
is 3 pills in the morning and 3 in the evening after meals, until the desired
difference is reached, then begin to reduce the pills according to need,
possibly stopping them for awhile.
One of our Foundation Trustees, Edwin J. Wendlocher, Sr., has been working
for some 10 years on this treatment with two medical doctors at Lehigh
University, Easton, PA. We first knew of this treatment from the health
spokesman for WOR-TV Radio, NY City. People have been using the treatment
in that listening area for several years. It first came from Europe where
it has been used for quite some time. Why not sooner in the USA and Canada
is not known. When our Diet book first came out in 1977, quite a number of
copies went to Europe where apparently this could have started a leaning toward
nutrition research for arthritis. The standard treatment had been the use
of pain-killing drugs and surgery since the actual cause of arthritis had not
been discovered. Mr. Wendlocher recently published a small book of their
results. He, along with a gentleman from Ohio, wanted to work with people
on our mailing list, offering to donate up to $5,000 to our Foundation.
However, without good data to show significant benefits of the treatment, I held
back. Mr. Wendlocher, and others, recently told me that you must be
on the No-Nightshades Diet to get the desired benefits of the two
"new" chemicals for osteoarthritis. Depending on your condition
at the start, it could take seniors up to three to five years to move around
noticeably better. I believe this situation could be possible. If
you are not on the No-Nightshades Diet, it is probable the new chemicals could
have a problem adequately countering the destructive action (excess Vitamin D3,
etc.) of the nightshades. You would need, as we always have said, to be
rigidly on the Diet. We need more time to evaluate people continuing to
eat the nightshades as usual along with and taking the pills to get rid of
arthritis. It is interesting to note that there are many cases when dogs
have stopped limping after their owners have started giving them the
glucosamine-chondroitin pills regularly. Young people with early arthritis may see benefits soon,
but seniors not on our Diet who have progressed with the disease may need more
time with only pills to show benefits, if any. The results likely will be
variable. There will be disappointments.
*Glucosamine is a crystalline amine closely related to sucrose (a sugar)
obtained from the decomposition of chitin [hard outer coating of the crustaceans
(marine or fresh water), mucin (as stomach lining), etc.] occurring usually as a
sulphate.
Chondroitin is a gummy nitrogenous polysaccharide acid from cartilage, usually
in sulphate form.
**Gelatin is a tasteless, odorless animal jelly or glutenous material, a
collagen (protein) obtained by prolonged boiling of animal skins, tendons,
hoofs, ligaments, cartilage, bones, hard shell support tissues of livestock and
marine inhabitants etc. Several new products are coming on the market as
Knox Nutra-Joint from Nabisco which is a long-known ungelled gelatin with added
calcium and vitamin C, claiming "to help keep joints flexible and
healthful."
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