User's Guide to Glucosamine and Chondroitin: Don't Be a Dummy - Become an Expert on What Glucosamine & Chondroitin Can Do (Basic Health Publications User's Guide) (Paperback)

by Victoria Dolby Toews (Author)
Key Phrases: chondroitin supplements, glucosamine supplements, taking glucosamine, User's Guide, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The User's Guide to Glucosamine & Chondroitin explains how these supplements can help you overcome the pain of arthritis.

About the Author
Victoria D Toews is a Basic Health Books author.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Basic Health Publications (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591200059
• ISBN-13: 978-1591200055
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 4.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,649,546 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DON'T LET THIS BOOKLET BE YOUR ONLY SOURCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT GLUCOSAMINE & CHONDROITIN , June 2, 2008

By	Rasih Bensan (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are researching information about Glucosamine & Chondroitin & MSM for any reason I recommend that you read the booklet titled " User's Guide to Glucosamine & Chondroitin " by Victoria Dolby Toews, M.P.H. which is one of the few books on the subject. It comprises concise, clear, easily readable and understandable information for people who are not specialized in medicine. However, I highly recommend that you don't limit your research to this booklet and additionally find information on the internet from websites such as www.medicinenet.com, the websites of the University of Maryland Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, Wikipedia, Web MD etc. If you search under the names of Glucosamine & Chondroitin & MSM in those websites you will find many short and clearly written reports about the topic by various doctors who mention not only the benefits but also some likely side effects of Glucosamine & Chondroitin that have been too lightly mentioned in this booklet.

It is vital that we non - doctors have complete and unbiased information about these supplements covering not only their benefits but also their side effects before we decide with our doctor in what doses to take them or whether to take them at all. This book falls short of meeting this need because although it provides very good information about the benefits of these supplements it seems to exaggarate the scope of these benefits and the safety of Glucosamine & Chondroitin. In her book Victoria Dolby Toews very clearly explains the structure, functions and diseases of joints in the human skeleton. She also gives important information about Glucosamine & Chondroitin and how they help cure osteoarthritis and build cartilage. She strongly supports the use of these supplements claiming that they are very safe. Moreover, she points out that pain relieving drugs such as non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDs ) and aspirin are ineffective in curing osteoarthritis and may even further decay damaged cartilage in the joints. She also asserts that Glucosamine & Chondroitin are also effective in lowering cholesterol, curing kidney stones, eliminating snoring, alleviating migraine, dry eyes, curing ulsers, healing wounds etc. She claims that there are very mild and rare side effects experienced by people taking these supplements ( less than one percent ) such as constipation,drowsiness, edema, headache, skin reactions and in the case of Chondroitin a low risk of internal bleeding and 3 percent of users report nausea or stomach upset. She also states that people allergic to shellfish should not take glucosamine pills because that's what they are made of.

If you analyze other reports by other doctors on the same topic from the web sites I mentined above you will see that there is somewhat agreement with this author's assertions. However, you will also notice some major differences with this author about the scope of benefits and severity and type of side effects. Firstly, I came across no other medical report that these supplements, in addition to repairing damaged cartilage in the joints, lower cholesterol, cure kidney stones, eliminate snoring, alleviate migraine and dry eyes,cure ulcers and heal wounds. Secondly, this book claims that medical studies performed on humans demonstrated that it was safe for people with diabetis to take glucosamine. The author says that this eliminated suspicions from earlier studies that were performed on rats which had showed that high doses led to insulin resistance. According to the author subsequent studies performed on humans were much more effective and of longer duration and showed that these elements did not cause an increase in blood sugar levels, in fact they even lowered blood sugar levels in some people. However, if you search under the name of Chondroitin in medicinenet.com you will find a dialog between Dr Lee and Dr Shiel. There it is mentioned that medical studies show that glucosamine might elevate insulin levels in diabetic people.. the opposite of what this author claims. In the same dialog one of the doctors says that in his personal experience only a limited group of his patients with osteoarthritis seem to benefit from glucosamine & chondroitin. He does not specify a percentage. Still, this is a much less optimistic success rate than that claimed by the author of this book. I am not saying who is right or wrong, I am not a doctor. I am just a 50 year old person whose doctor prescribed him glucosamine & chondroitin & MSM ( Triflex ) for his mild knee ache and is therefore researching the subject.

In other reports in the websites mentioned above you will come across the mentioning of the possibility of high blood pressure caused by glucosamine in some people sensitive to salt because of its sodium content. Also that heart palpitations can be seen in some people. A very important possible side effect is internal bleeding especially in the brain if the person is taking blood thinning medication at the same time. In this book the author mentions a mild risk of internal bleeding with chondroitin alone claiming that there is no risk of internal bleeding associated with glucosamine. However, one of the other reports I read says that glucosamine also may increase risk of internal bleeding.

I am so glad that I read the other reports in additon to this booklet. Because until then for a month I was taking one pill ( 500 mg ) of Glucosamine & Chondroitin in addition to 160 mg of Aspirin daily to thin my blood and 2000 mg of Omega 3 fish oil pills for its health benefits. I was unaware of the increased risk of internal bleeding this combination creates especially in the brain until I researched Glucosamine & Chondroitin, Aspirin and Omega 3 from reliable sources on the internet. Reliable medical reports on the internet about Aspirin, Omega 3 and Glucosamine & Chondroitin all mention the risk of internal bleeding arising from the combination of these elements or in high doses of any one of these elements. The dosage of the combination must be set by your doctor for safety. Yet this book recommends starting without even consulting your doctor glucosamine & chondroitin at 1500 mg daily ( 3 pills ) and gradually decreasing it unless the symptoms reappear. In other sections of the book it gives disclaimers about the recommendations and that everyone should consult their health care providers. I am always annoyed to see authors of such books make sweeping claims throughout the book and make disclaimers in a footnote somewhere to cover themselves. This is insencere and contradictory.

Moreover the book, despite all the comprehensive information it gives does not mention this risk of bleeding from interaction with other supplements and medications except a mild risk associated with Chondroitin. Endowed with this information I immediately significantly decreased my aspirin and Omega 3 intake. I am continuing to take the 500 mg ( one pill daily ) of Glucosamine & Chondroitin& MSM that my orthopedist prescribed me. I did not start taking this supplement on my own in spite of my drug store salesman's insistence that it was safe. The chemist claimed that there was no need to ask my doctor, despite an article I showed him written by a famous doctor where he strongly recommends consulting with your doctor before starting to use Glucosamine & Chondroitin & MSM. The chemist further claimed that Glucosamine & Chondroitin & MSM was more effective when taken together with Omega 3 pills. But as I previously mentioned this combination even in moderate doses may create a risk of internal bleeding. These important risks are not mentioned at all in this book. These risks are not myths, as I said before I found them in serious medical reports written by doctors and published in the websites mentioned.

There are many books on the market about dietary supplements such as this one. Some of them are very informative. But they often do not tell the whole story. Some of them are highly in favor of taking dietary supplements and lightly skim over the risks, others are completely against and tell us to stay away from dietary supplements. If we are not doctors ourselves it is vital that we do not act based on information on a single book no matter how convincingly written. In addition to reading these books we must research from trustable hospital and other medical sources on the internet written by doctors for people not specialized in medicine, learn all the pros and cons and then discuss with our doctor to decide if and at what doses we should take the supplements. Otherwise we could jeopardize our health. Moreover we must not forget that dietary supplements are not subject to FDA inspection and approval. That does not make them necessarily bad or good. But it is another reason why we must be extra prudent without being paranoic.