Should a young runner take glucosamine chondroitin if he does not YET have any cartilage issues?

Question

I'm 24, run a lot and aggressively, and want to prevent the chance of cartilage breakdown. Is glucosamine chondroitin good as a PREVENTATIVE measure, or only as a coping measure?

Answer 1

It's a good idea in general for preventative measures, just to make sure your knees and hips last as long as they can while you're doing slight damage to them (the impacts from running and whatnot).

As long as you aren't allergic to Shellfish, they are perfectly safe to take on a regular basis and your body takes them like food, so there's no threat of addiction or anything... just stick with the recommendations on the bottle and you should be fine.

It's better to prevent damage than to repair it... after all, would you drive your car for 5-10 years without giving it an oil change or rotating the tired?  No. Why should you treat your car better than you treat your body?  ;-)

Answer 2

No. Glucosamine is manufactured by the body from ingredients obtained from food: glucose and the amino acid glutamine, which is produced in the liver from Ornothine & Arginine. If you eat meat, fish, eggs and/or dairy and are young, you will produce plenty of Glucosamine. If you are a vegetarian, you might consider supplementing with L-Glutamine so your body has enough of the building blocks to produce the needed cartilage (and muscle). However, it is also available in Spinach and raw Parsley.

Answer 3

No but if you do in very small doses.  FYI you should never take meds unless you need them unless it's for a preventative measure and is prescribed or reccommended by your doctor.