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Glucosamine is very beneficial in easing the pain of arthritis and this has been proven in numerous double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. In these studies, Glucosamine has been shown to assist in the rehabilitation of cartilage, reducing the progression of osteoarthritis, and significantly lessening the pain from arthritis. However, one Glucosamine product can be very different from another.

When your health is at stake, you need to know how to choose between competing products and see through the marketing hype. There are six factors that you need to take into your decision making process before purchasing any Glucosamine product.

These are:

• Amount of Glucosamine per daily dose
• Type of Glucosamine
• Quality of Ingredients
• Delivery System
• Synergistic Ingredients
• Price Per Day

Quick tip:

• It is very important to compare price per day and not price per product, as many companies try to fool you by providing 60 capsules or 32 oz. and not telling you until after you purchased that you must use 6 capsules or 2 oz. per day. Be careful
  to always compare price per day.

Capsules or Liquid?

Did you know that nutritional supplements like Glucosamine are usually absorbed faster and become bioavailable quicker in liquid form than in pill form? In addition, with pills you run the risks that binders and fillers are in the pills, reducing the actual amount of the beneficial supplement, causing the pill to be less absorbable and less bioavailable than Glucosamine in liquid form and, as a result, passing through your digestive system without having the intended beneficial effect on your osteoarthritis.The outside coating of pills and capsules can cause a barrier in the breakdown of the supplement, meaning that the supplement may pass through your digestive track before it is able to dissolve fully.

Comments about our rating system
Clinical studies have indicated that when Glucosamine is delivered into your body in liquid form, it is absorbed much more quickly than in pill or capsule form. For that reason, a liquid formula provides faster relief.

For that reason, we have given two ratings for capsule products since the comparison is between "apples and oranges." The capsule or pill ratings stand based on our evaluation of them in that form.

There are websites being operated on the internet that purport to be neutral in their product evaluations. However, most fail to alert consumers that in fact, they are promoting their own products without fully disclosing their interest. It is our feeling that this is unfair to the consumer. For that reason, we want to advise you that this evaluation is being provided by Synflex America, Inc., the makers of Synflex®. We have had years of experience in this industry and our interest is in providing you with information that we hope will be useful in making an informed decision about the product you select. We also suggest that you take a careful look at product comparisons on other websites and try to ascertain who is funding each such website. If someone is failing to disclose their identity on an endorsement, then they may be willing to hide other information important to your purchasing decision.

First, let's review the leading liquid Glucosamine formulas:

Synflex® 1500

Synflex® 1500 Amount of Glucosamine per daily dose: 1,500 mg Type of Glucosamine: both Glucosamine Sulfate and Glucosamine HCL Quality of Glucosamine: Pharmaceutical Quality Delivery System: Liquid Synergistic Ingredients: White Willow Bark for greater anti-inflammatory impact; Chrondroitin Sulfate, Boswellin, Yucca Powder, Manganese, Ascorbate, Bromelain, Vitamin C, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Omega 6 Fatty Acid, Vitamin A, Vitamin E. Price per day: $.91 Rating Rationale: More Glucosamine to an already successful formula and delivered in liquid form to ensure maximum absorption. The 11 synergistic ingredients that have all been shown to aid in the fight against arthritis make this a great product. Plus a great naturally Orange flavor! * Doctor Recommended Website: http://www.synflexamerica.com Syn-flex® 1500 is not recommended for pets. Use only the original formula Synflex® for pets or the beef flavored Synflex® for pets.

Synflex®

Synflex® Amount of Glucosamine per daily dose: 1,250 mg Type of Glucosamine: both Glucosamine Sulfate and Glucosamine HCL Quality of Glucosamine: Pharmaceutical Quality Delivery System: Liquid Synergistic Ingredients: Chondroitin Sulfate, Boswellin, Yucca Powder, Manganese Ascorbate, Bromelain, Vitamin C, Omega 3 Fatty Acid, Omega 6 Fatty Acid, Vitamin A, Vitamin E Price per day: $.91 Rating Rationale: A good amount of both forms of Glucosamine delivered by liquid, will ensure maximum absorption. The high quality Glucosamine, and 10 synergistic ingredients, have all been shown to aid in the fight against arthritis. The combination makes a very good product. * Doctor and Veterinarian Recommended Website: http://www.synflexamerica.com

Corta-Flex™

Corta-Flex™ Amount of Glucosamine per daily dose: 100 mg Type of Glucosamine: Glucosamine Sulfate Quality of Glucosamine: not known Delivery System: Liquid Synergistic Ingredients: 6 calories, 1.4 grams of Carbohydrate, 8 mg. of Vitamin C, 300 mg. of Mucopolysaccharides, 100 mg. of Glucosamine Potassium Sulfate, and 100 mg. of MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane). Other ingredients include Filtered Water, Fructose, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Red Cabbage Extract (for color), Sodium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness) Price per day: $1.00 Rating rationale: A low amount of Glucosamine, unknown quality of ingredients, an alternate system of chondroitin delivery. The product has very little in it besides fruit flavoring. The thing this product has going for it is that it is in liquid form.

Arti-Flex™

Arti-flex™ Amount of Glucosamine per daily dose: 2,100 mg Type of Glucosamine: Glucosamine HCL Quality of Glucosamine: pharmaceutical-grade Delivery System: Liquid Synergistic Ingredients: 600 mg of Chondroitin Sulfate, 600 mg of MSM, 1.9 mg of Manganese, 500mg of Vitamin C, 20 mg of Yucca, 15 mg of Boswellic Acid Price per day: $1.06 - $2.12 Rating Rationale: A good mix of ingredients with a good supply of Glucosamine. The Glucosamine is Glucosamine HCL. It has MSM; there are very few studies of the effects of MSM on humans. Those who advocate using MSM to relieve arthritis pain say that you should take from 1,000 mg to 6,000 mg per day to realize its benefits. It also has a little Manganese, and 833% of the RDA of Vitamin C, which may cause a severely upset stomach for many. The very high price will rule it out for most budgets, but if you can afford it, it may give you some relief, seeing that it is in liquid form.

A note on MSM: There are very few studies of the effect of MSM on humans but some do show that MSM reduces inflammation and pain if taken in an adequate daily dosage. The human studies known to us are by Dr. Lawrence at UCLA, who gave the patients 2,250 mg per day (750 mg, 3 times per day) and by P.R. Usha who gave the patients 1,500 mg (500 mg, 3 times per day). If you are going to take MSM, it appears that large dosages may be necessary to experience any pain-reducing benefits it may have.

Joint Juice™

Joint Juice™ Amount of Glucosamine per daily dose: 1,500 mg Type of Glucosamine: not stated Quality of Glucosamine: not stated Delivery System: Liquid Synergistic Ingredients: 1,500 milligrams of Glucosamine and 60 milligrams of vitamin C, with real fruit juice. Price per day: $1.00 Rating Rationale: A good supply of Glucosamine and vitamin C, however, besides those, there is very little in this product except fruit juice. It is an expensive novelty drink that provides an adequate supply of liquid Glucosamine but does not contain any additional anti-inflammatory or pain-relieving ingredients or ingredients having any synergistic beneficial effects.

The Capsule Products
Reminder: Glucosamine provided in liquid form is absorbed more quickly, much more fully, and provides greater and longer lasting relief.

Due to this, we have given two ratings for the capsule products since we need to be comparing apples with apples. The overall rating is a rating that is compared to all products. The capsule rating is a rating as it stands among only products which provide Glucosamine in pill form.

*no picture provided

Cosamin DS™ Amount of Glucosamine per daily dose: 1,000 mg Type of Glucosamine: Glucosamine HCL Quality of Glucosamine: not stated Delivery System: pill Synergistic Ingredients: 800 mg Chondroitin Sulfate, 20mg Manganese, 132 mg Ascorbate Price per daily dose: $.81 (varies slightly depending on retail outlet) Rating Rationale: A good amount of Glucosamine. It is Glucosamine HCL. There is a good amount of Chondroitin, but 750% of the RDA of Manganese, which can be harmful and cause a high intensity of basal ganglia. In pill form, the Glucosamine HCL and chondroitin sulfate may not be absorbed very well and provide less than optimal pain relief.

The below capsule products are not recommended because they:

• Failed independent testing
• Contain a mixture of herbs not known to be safe
• Put consumers at risk for lead/mercury contamination
• Contain unproved substances

The below products are not highly recommended.

Capsule Products to Avoid:

• Glucosamine Plus™
• Joint Care™
• Pain Free™
• Joint Fuel™
• Joint Rescue™
• Osteo-Joint™
• Can-Do™

The Creams

There is growing evidence that Glucosamine can actually be absorbed through the skin. For that reason, the makers of Synflex® also make available a topical analgesic which contains Glucosamine.

Synflex® Power+Plus.

Summary
In summary, we recommend products that contain pharmaceutical level, high quality, liquid Glucosamine sulfate or a mixture of both Glucosamine sulfate and Glucosamine HCL. The best products are also combined with ingredients that work synergistically with Glucosamine to help rebuild cartilage, ease pain, reduce inflammation, and increase mobility. These include:

• White Willow Bark
• Chondroitin Sulfate
• Boswellin
• Yucca Powder
• Manganese Ascorbate
• Bromelain
• Vitamin C
• Omega 3 Fatty Acid
• Omega 6 Fatty Acid
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin E

While the majority of research to date has been done on pill products, liquid products provide greater absorption and greater availability; meaning greater pain relief for osteoarthritis sufferers. Overall, there are a great many products that can assist, and it is wise to research and do your homework on what would be best for you.

As far as capsule products are concerned, we recommend Osteo-Bi-Flex and Cosamin DS, however, we recommend that first you try a liquid Glucosamine product with the qualities described above for the reasons stated above.

As noted throughout this page, Synflex America, Inc. provides this information. Synflex America, Inc. believes that good quality liquid Glucosamine products are more beneficial to osteoarthritis sufferers than are Glucosamine pills, powders, capsules or tablets. Among the liquid Glucosamine products, Synflex America believes that its product Synflex® is the best for the reasons stated above. You, of course, must exercise your own judgment about which product is the most beneficial at a reasonable cost.