More Supplement Bashing by Mass Media

February 25, 2008

Posted by Mina Shahriary

“…results of a new study suggest that glucosamine has no clinically meaningful effect.”

In the midst of recent alarmist headlines like “The Vitamin Hoax” and “Antioxidants Increase Risk of Death,” we weren’t too surprised to come across “Glucosamine Fails to Ease Hip Arthritis.” It seems now that all too often, the inconclusive results of a single study are publicized in the mass media in a manner aimed at discrediting safe, widely-used alternatives to the pharmaceuticals frequently prescribed for the health concerns most prevalent among Americans.

Naturally, we immediately wanted to know more about the findings of a study which seemed to directly contradict both our personal experiences with glucosamine and the findings of other clinical research we’ve reported on. What we learned was that the Reuter’s article, which appeared on MSNBC.com and other news sites last week, left out some pretty important details about the study. The article also made no mention of the numerous studies which have shown that glucosamine can help people suffering from joint pain lead better lives.

The writers of an editorial which accompanied the study advised against reading too much into its results, since it included just 222 subjects with mild, or early, arthritis, meaning that they did not have very much pain to begin with. The writers also cautioned that the results of this study can only be applied to arthritis of the hip joint, and not to arthritic hands or knees.

“The study was conducted without drug company funding.”

Conspiracy theorists might be quick to point out that this statement covers only direct funding of the study, not funding of the news media. We certainly found it interesting that ads for the NSAID drug, Celebrex, appeared both smack dab in the middle of the article and at the top of the page containing the article on msnbc.com.

We’re not sure whether articles like this represent journalistic carelessness or deliberate attempts to please high-dollar advertisers, but as Jean Carper once wrote, “…there is enough reasonable suspicion to make you wonder when you see so many blatantly anti-supplement reports. And they are likely to increase, along with the flood of pharmaceutical dollars that go to prop up and corrupt our main sources of medical and health information.”

The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: Supplemental glucosamine has drastically improved the mobility and quality of life for many people with arthritis. Unfortunately, the options for treating arthritis are very limited and NSAID drugs like Celebrex can have dangerous side effects. Glucosamine should remain an option for people experiencing pain associated with arthritis. The Stop Aging Now Nutrition Experts recommend that people with arthritis symptoms give glucosamine a three month trial period to see if it can offer them any relief from joint pain and inflammation.

Click here to read the article on MSNBC.com.