Saturday, June 30, 2007

Glucosamine - Capsules or Liquid?

There's been a lot of argument about how to take glucosamine.

Should we take it in liquid or capsule form?

The argument for liquid is that it gets absorbed faster and more effectively in the digestive system than glucosamine and chondroitin within capsules.

However, some glucosamine capsules have become more effective in recent years than they were. This comes after advancements in capsule coatings which allow for 'timed release' which protect the contents until after they have passed the harsh environment of the stomach.

However, instead of asking whether liquid or capsule glucosamine is best, we should instead look at the product itself.

For example, some joint supplements only contain glucosamine and chondroitin, whereas I've seen one which contains over 35 ingredients.

Some supplements are 100% natural and some aren't.

Some have only one type of glucosamine in them. Some have four types.

Some have pharmaceutical grade glucosamine and others don't.

These are the important points. The icing on the cake for glucosamine capsules though is a good quality 'enteric' coating. See if the manufacturers say anything.

Also, look at the quantity of the glucosamine per suggested daily dose. There are capsules that serve up more than many liquid products.

Personally, I would go for a capsule supplement that meets the criteria above rather than a liquid supplement that only meets a few of them.

Capsules must work - most of the studies which demonstrate the success of glucosamine and chondroitin were trials done with glucosamine in capsules!

See Glucosamine HCl

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