You could have knocked me over with a feather! This morning on Good Morning America, a guy was on singing the praises, as I do, about the wonders of Glucosamine and Chondroiton. A new study out shows in a blind study how not only does this combination keep up mobility, but also keeps catilage in the joints! Great for arthritis sufferers. I use it for my hands, from years of milking. They said relief was accomplished with only 1200mg of Chondroiton each day and 1500mg of Glucosamine, which is much less than I have been using.

So....................whats this got to do with anything, and especially anything that I post to this forum? How about that Chondroiton is obtained from the trachea of cattle! Yep clear as day from the trachea of cattle! Perhaps I will see how just Glucosamine works :) Anybody know any other herbs that are animal derived? Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 10, 2001

Answers

Vicki, does this surprise you? I always read the info for any supplement,, good and bad,, and always find oput where it manufactured.

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), April 10, 2001.

Actually Stan yes it surprised me. And I have never heard this information before, it certainly isn't on any of the bottles, or inserts of the bottles. The manufacturer is the same one that makes my Echinacea, so there is no clue there. I know that all the talk of these drugs with MSM, used by many of us and given by us to our animals, never once has anybody said, "Vicki you don't feed animal products, did you know that................" So I am certainly not the only person who doesn't know this. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 10, 2001.

Vicki, do you know what glucosamine is made from? Usually from some type of shell-fish, but occasionally from bovine. I hear alfalfa and/or MSM both provide relief for arthritis. Try to get organically grown alfalfa tablets. The homeopathic remedy oscillocoxinum is derived from either duck or goose liver, can't remember which, and is used for the flue.

-- Cathy in NY (hrnofplnty@yahoo.com), April 11, 2001.

Glucosamine is not an herb, it's a supplement. Don't forget that herbs come from plants and supplements from other sources. Glucosamine is an amino sugar and helps form connective tissue, such as tendons. Chondroitin sulfate is a mucopolysaccaride and helps build cartilage and is usually extracted from sharks or cow trachea cartilage.

What herbs I don't grow and gather myself, I buy from Jeans Green's in NOrway, NY and tinctures/extracts from Herbalist and Alchemist in NJ. I buy vitamins and supplements from our health food store, usually NOW brand (sold through Northeast food Co=op) or any other *organically* derived product. I don't buy anything from the grocery store or Walmart. If you are ever worried about using an animal product-derived supplement, then buy organically produced. You can surely find a quality source of these supplements which may put your mind at ease re: the animal derivation (unless of course you are a vegetarian whereby you may want to avoid these all together).

-- amy (acook@in4web.com), April 11, 2001.

A Wisconsin company called Standard Process makes excellent quality products. They are usually only available through a health care pro, and are more costly, but to me they're worth it. All animal-derived products are made from natural and locally-grown animals, and their supplements are complete, not isolated vitamins/minerals. I have stopped taking regular (cheap) vitamin c , for instance, cuz almost all of it is manufactured in a factory from GEO corn.

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), April 11, 2001.

Where do mine come from??? My back yard. If I don't grow it, I really try VERY hard not to take it - medicines, that is...

Well - at least they found a way to use more parts from the cattle - the ultimate in recycling. I usually don't read up on medical studies. I have a cookbook by a doctor from during WWII... It recommends a diet with 40 - 60% fat.

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), April 11, 2001.