Hey Doctors: What's Your Take on Pills such as...

[Ben]

I'm looking for opinions from the physicians out there. Fish Oil, One A Day, Glucosamine/Chondroitin, etc. Are these things really beneficial to ones health? I can see the One-A-Day pills serving a purpose, but what's really up with Fish Oil and G/C?

[Boyder]

I'd be very interested in hearing opinions on these too as i tend to suffer/deal with sore joints and stiff muscles on a regular basis .... I'm OK as long as i am moving, but once I slow down, things get pretty stiff and painful (ie - walking 18 holes or more).

[Johnnyooze]

Im a construction worker and i can vouch for glucosamine for joint support. It helps my knees because i walk on concrete for 8 hrs a day when im on commercial jobs. It takes about a month to build in your system to really notice the effects but it will make a difference in the soreness of joints and for injury prevention. Potassium helps for sore muscles and cramping after excercise. This can be caused be an electrolyte imbalance, so if your muscles are cramping up after golf. Drink gatorade while playing to stay hydrated. Hope i helped!

[Ben]

Thanks for the input Johnny. I was taking G/C for a while. The theory being, that I need to protect my joints to keep my game pain-free for as long as possible, I'd like to still be playing professionally into my 60s. I stopped using G/C, I didn't really feel an affect one way or the other. I figure I'd like a physician's reply, to get down to the scientific side's opinion. "Yes", these type pills help. Or "no", this is simply your mind's power at work. These pills aren't terribly cheap and if they are money better spent, I'd rather, better spend.

Originally Posted by Johnnyooze

Im a construction worker and i can vouch for glucosamine for joint support. It helps my knees because i walk on concrete for 8 hrs a day when im on commercial jobs. It takes about a month to build in your system to really notice the effects but it will make a difference in the soreness of joints and for injury prevention. Potassium helps for sore muscles and cramping after excercise. This can be caused be an electrolyte imbalance, so if your muscles are cramping up after golf. Drink gatorade while playing to stay hydrated. Hope i helped!

[uttexas]

The following is an opinion:

Out of all the dietary supplements you mentioned, considering the average American/western diet, I'd recommend fish oil.

see journal article and references here http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/106/21/2747

Of course, fish oil and other supplements will do you no good if you sit on a couch, drink a six pack a day, smoke cigarettes, and consume cheeseburgers and chimichangas.  Ben, I've seen your swing videos; you appear to be in very good health.

Regarding arthritis, staying close to your ideal body weight is very important.  The more mass on your weight bearing joints, the quicker the joint will suffer cartilage loss.  The people that I've seen improve the most from arthritic pain are those that have made sustainable, successful, healthy changes in their diet and exercise habits with appropriate weight loss (very difficult to permanently change these habits)

http://www.hopkins-arthritis.org/arthritis-info/osteoarthritis/weight-management.html

Very important point here:  There are no guidelines for dietary supplements.  The FDA does not classify supplements as pharmaceuticals, thus the purity/quantity/potency of supplements are not regulated.  In free market capitalism, a successful company makes a profit.  A dietary supplement company may make more profit by saving money on the purity/quantity/potency of an active ingredient.

Glucosamine/chondroitin studies have been mixed, but the best designed studies suggest no better than placebo or maybe slightly better than placebo effect. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa052771 Glucosamine/chondroitin supplements will not increase cartilage production or prevent cartilage loss.

[Ben]

That sounds a little more sciency. Thanks uttexas. I like the ideas stated about keeping a healthy weight. That makes sense in protecting body parts from breaking down easily. Also to exercise, or stay physically mobile at the least. Keep your parts used to moving.

Do we even have any doctors in The Sand Trap? I can't remember reading through a profession's thread.

[westcyderydin]

does omega 3 fish oil help at all for ADD symptoms?

i have heard from some places that it helps a little, then from a pharmasist that theyve never heard that....

a little off topic, but definately effects the golf game from time to time.

[zeg]

Originally Posted by Ben

Do we even have any doctors in The Sand Trap? I can't remember reading through a profession's thread.

My wife is a doctor.  Unfortunately, I don't think a Doctor of Astronomy and Astrophysics can help with this question.  :-P

[boogielicious]

I am using Glucosamine currently and it was recommended by my orthopaedic surgeon.  It will not build up cartilage as some suggest.  What it does it affect the fluid in the joint to help motion and improve the slip of the surfaces.  I have patella femoral joint issues in both knees and a torn meniscus.  I tried stopping for a week when I traveled to Asisa and noticed after a few days issues worstening.  I went back when I got home and it improved again.  It is not a cure all, but an aid.  You still have to do your PT exercises and keep your muscles and support tissues strong.

I take the triple strength GC from Vitamin Shoppe.

Hope that helps.