Glucosamine or collagen?

     I’ve had a number of clients complain of knee pain. So this morning I spent some time researching a couple of supplements that I take for joint pain so I could make some recommendations.

    I’m not going to hold any punches back on this first recommendation. My first recommendation is to lose body fat and reach an ideal body composition for your height and build. Every extra pound of fat you have on your body increases the impact on your joints. You lose fat at the table not in the gym. Your diet is going to be the most important factor in reaching your ideal body composition.

    I’ve mentioned glucosamine in the classes many times as a supplement to use for joint pain. But I’d first like to cover a supplement that I haven’t mentioned that is probably more effective and beneficial than glucosamine. It seems collagen has had better results in clinical trails than glucosamine. I’ve taken collagen off and on over the years and really not paid much attention to it. I was recently given a couple sample of collagen at PaleoFX 2014. I was given samples from Vital Proteins of their collagen peptides. It is 100% South American pastured raised bovine hide collagen peptides. It is promoted as a all natural anti-aging drink powder dietary supplement.

    I don’t have a lot of joint pain so I haven’t really paid much attention to collagen as a joint pain/rebuilding supplement. I’ve taking it for its anti-aging reputation and other benefits. I had heard last year at the Superhuman Live Event that doctors were having great results rebuilding knee joints with injections of collagen in a procedure called Prolotherapy. It sounded interesting but it is costly and finding a doctor that is in this area is impossible. One would have to travel elsewhere to get the treatment.

    Collagen is the main structural protein of the various connective tissues in animals. It is the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up from 25% to 35% of the whole-body protein content.  Gelatin is collagen that has been irreversibly hydrolyzed.   

    Collagen supplies essential proteins that our bodies use to build and repair our bones, joint surfaces, skin, teeth, eyes, arteries, inter-vertebral disks, and much more. Collagen traditionally made its way into our diets through bone-broths, slow-cooked organ meats, kidney pie, baked beef heart, whole crustaceans, and whole fish soups and stews. But now, few people prepare foods with this source of meats. Collagen contains specific amino acids – Glycine, Proline, Hydroxyproline and Arginine.

    Collagen is unique and it has a couple of studies that have shown it to be effective in relieving pain and rebuilding joints. This 24 week study from 2008, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18416885, results of this study have implications for the use of collagen hydrolysate to support joint health and possibly reduce the risk of joint deterioration in a high-risk group. This study from 2000, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11071580, showed that collagen hydrolysate is of interest as a therapeutic agent of potential utility in the treatment of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. Its high level of safety makes it attractive as an agent for long-term use in these chronic disorders. This is a good article that sums up the trials:

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/collagen-an-implausible-supplement-for-joint-pain/

     You can find collagen at Walmart, Walgreens, and just about everywhere supplements are sold. The product that was used in some of this trials was Biocell Collagen. I don’t know if it is really better or not. That will be for you to decide. But I think it would be best to supplement with collagen ahead of glucosamine. Collagen has trials that say it works. Glucosamine the trials are still up in the air.

    Glucosamine sulfate is a naturally occurring chemical found in the human body. It is in the fluid that is around joints. Glucosamine sulfate is commonly used for arthritis. Scientists have studied it extensively for this use. It is most often used for a type of arthritis called osteoarthritis. This is the most common type of arthritis. There are different forms of glucosamine including glucosamine sulfate, glucosamine hydrochloride, and N-acetyl-glucosamine. These different chemicals have some similarities; however, they may not have the same effects when taken as a dietary supplement. Most of the scientific research done on glucosamine has been done on glucosamine sulfate.

     I currently have been taking glucosamine hydrochloride because my wife is allergic to sulfate. After looking at the studies and putting this article together I have decided that I’m going to switch to glucosamine sulfate. Just remember that if you are sensitive to sulfides or sulfates you might have to use glucosamine sulfate or N-acetyl-glucosamine. Also if you are allergic to shellfish you will need to use a different form of glucosamine because glucosamine sulfate is made out of shellfish. The sad part about that is that some researchers think that it might be the sulfate that is actually the beneficial ingredient.

    Here is the links to a couple of the big studies on glucosamine.

http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/gait/qa.htm
  
https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/glucosamine

     Some of the latest research has shown exercise to be more effective in knee health than glucosamine.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/10/14/231451187/exercise-may-help-knees-more-than-glucosamine-and-chondroitin

   So my choice for now is to maintain an ideal body composition, supplement with collagen, and exercise. I’m going to switch to glucosamine sulfate and see if anything changes. If not I might drop glucosamine altogether. I don’t eat bone broth,organ meats, whole crustaceans, and whole fish soups often so I think collagen will be a good idea for me to supplement with to prevent cartilage loss.

    That will end this blog post but I think I will follow it up soon with an article on cartilage repair. There are some new findings and treatments in cartilage repair.

The Events at PaleoFX 2014

Paleofx 2014 more thoughts

The categories from PaleoFX:

Diet/Nutrition
Health/Wellness (not specified but included physical, mental, and emotional)
Community Building
Cooking Demos
Fitness/Exercise
Sustainability
Think Tank
Families and Kids
Women’s Health

Here are some of the titles from the talks:

Why we really get fat and what to do about it.
Cherry tarragon breakfast sausages
The gut and gluten
Carbohydrate cycling for Health, Performance, and Longevity
Building Incredible Willpower
Hacking Stress
Miserably Healthy
Salmon Cakes
Sleep and performance optimization
When sugar is your Mother
The Road Ahead: Obstacles to Popularizing the Ancestral Health Movement
Ketogenic Diets for traumatic brain injury.
Examining the physiological effects of Crossfit
Building not burning Bridges in the Paleo Movement
US healthcare: in Crisis or Chaos?

The list is very long for a full list and description go to:

http://www.paleofx.com/paleo-events/2014-austin/sessions

   I was at PaleoFX from Thurdays to Saturday. I had to get home and missed all of Sunday. I also attended a couple of the movement/exercise classes so I missed out on at least 4 lectures during that time. But this is the list of events and sessions I attended:

Thursday I attended the Opening Night Party, Powered by Pecha Kucha. It was a great party with paleo drinks and Heavy hors d’oeuvres.

Heavy Hors d'oeuvres Menu:
Presented by Caveman Cafeteria
Carmines Spicy Italian Sausage Stuffed Crimini Mushrooms***Chafer roll top-palm plate
Rock Shrimp Ceviche, Coconut-Lime Marinated***palm bowl
Chicken satay with pineapple red fresno coconut flake **chafer-palm plate
Italian style braised lamb shank-Rosemary sprigs-Chafer-plates
House Made Paleo Bacon Candied***toothpicks, serving platter room temp, banana leaves, Orchids
Stuffed Artichoke Heart bruschetta*****platter cold, grilled artichokes, balsamic reduction, Olive oil


This is a list of the sessions I attended on Friday:

Carbohydrate cycling for Health, Performance, and Longevity by John Kiefer

Primal Playout Intensity session with Darryl Edwards

Evolve, Move, play with Rafe Kelley

Hacking Stress (Under Pressure) with Jolly, Ben Greenfield, Nora Gedgaudas,
                                                    Sara Eye, and Evan Brand

Building not Burning Bridges in the Paleo Movement with Robb Wolf,
                                                     Mark Sission, Dr. Deborah Gordon, Diana
                                                     Rodgers, and Jonathan Bailor

Adrenals; Key to Restoring Optimum Health with Dr. Daniel Kalish

Ketogenic Diets for Traumatic Brain Injury: Keeping the Baby with the
                                             Bathwater by Robb Wolf

   Friday night we had supper at the Whole Foods Headquarters with some other PaleoFX quest. It is a huge store, bar, and restaurant. They were having a movie on the second story patio that night. They were showing “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. Weird, Huh? You would think they would be showing “Forks over Knives”.

    Here’s the list of sessions I attended on Saturday:

Ask the Paleo Experts Mastermind with Dr. Terry Wahls, Dr. Kirk Parsley, Chris
                                 Kresser, Dallas Hartwig, and Nora Gedgaudas.

What to do When Paleo Fails with Dr. Michael Ruscio


Primal Playout Intensity session with Darryl Edwards

Evolve, Move, play with Rafe Kelley

The Ketogenic Athlete (How Low Can We Go?) with Ben Greenfield, Dr. Rocky
                                     Patel, Nate Miyaki, John Kiefer, and Joe Johnson

Living a Happy and Intentional Life with Michelle Norris, Darryl Edwards,
                                    Dean Dwyer, Hilary Bromberg, and Dr. Nicole Avena

The Robb and Mark Show with Robb Wolf and Mark Sission

   Saturday Night was the Farm to Table Charity Dinner Benefiting Urban Roots Austin at Brazos Hall on the Roof. 

Paleo Menu Created by Pink Avocado Catering

COCKTAIL HOUR PASSED APPS

APPETIZERS
Roasted Tomato & Brisket Tart
Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs


ENTREES AND SIDES
Baby Green Salad
Apples, Roasted Beets, Raspberries, Roasted Fennel, Lemon Herb Dressing

Braised Beef Short Ribs
Wilted Kale, Roasted Mushrooms

Grilled Pork Chop
Apple Butter, Wilted Arugula, Topped with Crispy Bacon

Crispy Brussels Sprouts
Bacon, Drizzle of Balsamic

DESSERT
Fudge Balls
Some with Shaved Coconut
Some with Nuts on Skewers
Chocolate Dipped Fruit

Live music was provided by Abbi Walker. Abbi Walker is a fresh, edgy, country and southern rock artist with the talent and personality as big her home state. Raised in South Texas as a Preacher's kid, Abbi was heavily influenced by gospel music, Southern culture, and Texas grit. An independent artist and songwriter, Abbi is confident, funny, and as sassy as they come. She was really good.

    Stay tuned for the next blog which will be what did I learned at PaleoFX.

Supplements from Walmart

      Clients often ask me what supplements they should take for general health, recovery, and performance. So I put together a small list of supplements I would get from Walmart if I needed something quick and inexpensive. These are some of the supplements I take if I run out of my higher quality/higher priced supplements. This is not dietary advice, just supplements I use. If you decide to try them it is at your own discretion. You should discuss any changes to your diet with your health care providers.

Multi-vitamin by Nature’s Way Alive

     I like to take a multi-vitamin that are either made from whole foods sources or made mostly from whole foods. The Nature’s way Alive Multi-vitamin contains 26 fruits and vegetables. I think they are a good choice from the selection of multi-vitamins from Walmart.

    I like to sometimes use a nitric oxide supplement before a work out to enhance performance and get a little boost. Some of the benefits from using a nitric oxide supplement are; increased recovery rate, reduced fatigue levels during higher rep protocols, enhanced endurance performance, increased availability of energy, and increased glucose use. I don’t use nitric oxide all the time, but it does seem to help if I don’t use it too regularly.

     I like to use a protein supplement sometimes after a work out or sometimes as a meal replacement. If I’m using it as a meal replacement I add vegetables, fruit, and a little fat to the drink to round out the meal. I avoid any protein supplement that uses soy as the protein source, always. I like to use whey protein. But hemp, peas, or rice protein is cool too. I don’t like the taste of stevia and I don’t like artificial sweeteners, so I avoid products with those. I would rather just have a protein with plain old sugar in it, but those are hard to find. Yes, I could blend up my own, I know. But, if I have to have a protein powder with an artificial sweetener, I’ll pick the one with sucralose.

     The Recovery Protein from EAS meets all my criteria, so I get it from Walmart if I need to in a pinch.

     So there it is folks, the supplements I use from Walmart if I need something in a hurry. I’ll be working up a blog post soon on exactly what supplements I take or have taken. I’ll tell you which ones I like and which ones I don’t like.