Glucosamine sulfate benefits
Today, a lot of people suffering from osteoarthritis experience a significant alleviation when including glucosamine sulfate supplements in their daily diet. The glucosamine sulfate benefits seem to be especially noticeable in individuals suffering from mild to moderate pain as a result of their osteoarthritis. Pain relief is however not the only possible glucosamine sulfate benefit; it may also reduce the speed of cartilage break down.

For some osteoarthritis patients, the glucosamine sulfate benefits have been potent enough to make them refrain from using any other medication. Others need to combine glucosamine sulfate with other forms of osteoarthritis treatment, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). There are also a substantial number of patients who do not experience any glucosamine sulfate benefits or experience only insignificant benefits when taking glucosamine sulfate supplements. Never change your current osteoarthritis treatment on your own; always discuss with your doctor first. It is also a good idea to confer with your doctor before you start taking any glucosamine sulfate supplements.

Glucosamine sulfate benefits controversy
The alleged glucosamine sulfate benefits are currently being heavily debated, because scientific studies and clinical trials keep producing conflicting results. It is therefore difficult for medical professionals to provide their clients with any certain recommendations. If you ask three different doctors about osteoarthritis and glucosamine sulfate benefits, chances are you will end up with three completely different answers.

One of the reasons (but certainly not the only one) behind this confusion might be that different studies use different forms of glucosamine. Results based on studies using glucosamine hydrochloride may not automatically be valid for glucosamine sulfate and vice versa. There are also several studies where glucosamine has been combined with chondroitin, another highly interesting substance in the field of osteoarthritis treatment.

How high a dose is necessary to experience any glucosamine sulfate benefits?
The safest way to determe which does that is ideal for you is to confer with your doctor. Since individuals have been known to react very differently to glucosamine, the dose recommended by the manufacturer may not be the perfect dose for you. During clinical trials, test persons are usually given a daily dose of 1,500 mg of glucosamine.

Studies of glucosamine sulfate benefits
One of the most frequently quoted glucosamine studies is a 6-month long multi-centre clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health. (The National Institutes of Health is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.) The test persons in this study suffered from painful knee osteoarthritis. When looking at the results from this research project it is however important to keep in mind that glucosamine sulfate was never tested, the study only used glucosamine hydrochloride, and a combination of glucosamine hydrochloride and chondroitin sulfate.