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Food Discussion & Information / Re: Shark Cartilage / Flexicose/ Joint Supps in general
« on: August 31, 2005, 06:27:49 pm »
OK, I'm brand new, and don't have a dog right now. (I'm researching breeds and have to find a new apartment first anyway.) But the rest of the family does, and this whole "joint support" question is one I'm familiar with.
First: No matter what anyone tells you (even your vet), the difference in absorption rates of glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM are negligable. This is because glucosamine these substances are NOT absorbed directly into the cartilage, as vitamin c is into the blood stream where it's picked up by cellular processes. Glucosamine and the other joint supplements infuse the synovial fluid AROUND the joints, rather than being absorbed into the cartilage via the blood stream, and this happens over a long period of time, though shorter than in humans.
Second: Shark cartilage, despite it's claims, is NOT the best source of chondroitin. You're better off with a glucosamine/chondroitin mix, and leave the poor sharks in the ocean.
My sister has two enormous mixed breeds that each get 750 ml a day, mixed up in the wet food they get in the morning. My mom has an Eskie, who just loves milk, so Mom generally blends a quart of milk with a 2000 ml of glucosamine/chondroitin and 1000 ml of MSM, and lets him have about 3 ounces in a bowl in the morning while she's eating her breakfast, and another 3 ounces at night, while everyone's eating dinner. This actually works much better than the wet food plan, but my sisters dogs don't like milk.
If you're giving your dogs this stuff, I hope you're taking it too! My famiily first learned about it because my sister has had osteoarthritis since she was nine, and we discovered how much it helped her. In fact, the mere fact that she can HANDLE her large dogs, rather than the toys she had always had to have, before is because of the improvements in her joints, and her overall health because the glucosamine has made it possible for her to go on long walks and cut their nails, and hold the brush to groom them!
First: No matter what anyone tells you (even your vet), the difference in absorption rates of glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM are negligable. This is because glucosamine these substances are NOT absorbed directly into the cartilage, as vitamin c is into the blood stream where it's picked up by cellular processes. Glucosamine and the other joint supplements infuse the synovial fluid AROUND the joints, rather than being absorbed into the cartilage via the blood stream, and this happens over a long period of time, though shorter than in humans.
Second: Shark cartilage, despite it's claims, is NOT the best source of chondroitin. You're better off with a glucosamine/chondroitin mix, and leave the poor sharks in the ocean.
My sister has two enormous mixed breeds that each get 750 ml a day, mixed up in the wet food they get in the morning. My mom has an Eskie, who just loves milk, so Mom generally blends a quart of milk with a 2000 ml of glucosamine/chondroitin and 1000 ml of MSM, and lets him have about 3 ounces in a bowl in the morning while she's eating her breakfast, and another 3 ounces at night, while everyone's eating dinner. This actually works much better than the wet food plan, but my sisters dogs don't like milk.
If you're giving your dogs this stuff, I hope you're taking it too! My famiily first learned about it because my sister has had osteoarthritis since she was nine, and we discovered how much it helped her. In fact, the mere fact that she can HANDLE her large dogs, rather than the toys she had always had to have, before is because of the improvements in her joints, and her overall health because the glucosamine has made it possible for her to go on long walks and cut their nails, and hold the brush to groom them!