Health Farm

-- Does it work?

For the millions of people looking to relieve creaky or arthritic joints, oral glucosamine – a natural supplement marketed for joint health and pain – is the first remedy that springs to mind.

But does it work?

A raft of studies say, no, concluding that glucosamine is no more effective than a placebo.

Poking around the internet, the most compelling advice comes from a combined investigation involving The Osteoarthritis Research Society International and the U.S. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Researchers analysed data from randomised, controlled trials conducted between 1994 and 2014.

Of the 21 studies they found on the subject, only six shared data through the OA Trial Bank – an international collection of data from trials conducted worldwide.

Five of the trials, which altogether included more than 1,600 patients, compared glucosamine with a placebo.

Five of the six studies investigated knee osteoarthritis, and one looked at hip osteoarthritis.

Overall, the effects of glucosamine and the placebo on pain and physical functioning didn’t differ, either in the short-term or one or two years later.

The supplement was also no better than placebo among subgroups based on pain severity, severity of osteoarthritis, age, body mass index, gender, or signs of inflammation.

Makers of glucosamine supplements should blush with shame.

But why would they when people continue to spend billions of dollars on glucosamine supplements.

A report from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics found that Americans spent nearly $13 billion in 2012 on natural product supplements, with glucosamine one of the most popular.

VERDICT: Snake oil.