Glucosamine is a nutritional supplement that can stimulate specific components of your cartilage to thrive and reproduce. Glucosamine has been used for decades in Europe for the treatment of arthritis with favorable results. Glucosamine has also been used for many years by veterinarians to treat arthritis in dogs, horses and other pets. It became popular in the United States for humans in the mid nineties after Jane Brody, a prominent New York Times Columnist, wrote about its benefits for her dog.
Glucosamine comes from chitin that is the covering of shellfish or insects.
Chitin contains the highest concentration of Glucosamine sulfate in nature and is a very safe form of this nutritional supplement. There are basically three forms of Glucosamine available today. The other forms of Glucosamine have very limited or no evidence of their ability to be absorbed by your body and to help your body heal itself. This is known as bioavailabilty . Some of the other forms may be less expensive, however there is little or no scientific evidence that it works.