Care for your joints and bones

ALICE K is 41 years old but after years of playing badminton, followed by weight gain and sport injuries, her knees are stressed out.

She began to feel her knees “creaking” and have intermittent pain in the joints and stiffness after getting out of bed in the morning.

Alice’s experience is part of an ageing trend – osteoarthritis ( OA) – a progressive joint disease that affects the cartilage – the rubbery cushion covering bones in the joints.

According to the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study, 251 million people suffered from knee OA worldwide.

Studies conducted in Pakistan, China, South Korea and Japan concluded that women, elderly and obese groups have higher risk of getting knee OA.

Secondary OA can also develop from illness, sport injury, rheumatoid arthritis, joint injury and is hereditary in some cases.

The diagnosis of OA is through medical history, physical examination, X- rays, MRI and other tests whenever necessary.

Lifestyle modification and medications are available to help improve the condition. Surgery is considered if OA significantly affects quality of life.

Apart from medications, glucosamine and chondroitin are nutritional compounds clinically proven to help relieve joint pain, improve joint function and delay the structural progression of OA.

Glucosamine is found naturally in human cartilage and is important in repairing and promoting the formation of new cartilage.

Chondroitin is another component in the cartilage which helps promote water retention and inhibit the enzyme that breaks down cartilage.

Start to take action to prevent from getting osteoarthritis and osteoporosis before it is too late.

The combined dose of glucosamine and chondroitin is based on doses largely studied by the United States National Institute of Health.

The Glucosamine/ chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial ( GAIT) is the first large- scale, multicentre clinical trial conducted in the United States to investigate the use of glucosamine and/ or chondroitin in treating knee OA.

It revealed that a combination of 500mg glucosamine and 400mg chondroitin three times daily is more effective in treating moderate- to- severe OA knee pain than

Celecoxib ( NSAID).

Meanwhile, osteoporosis is another common disease among women.

Osteoporosis is a condition where bones become less dense and more likely to fracture. It is a silent disease that can progress undetected for many years without symptoms that can cause serious complication of bone fractures particularly in the spine and hip.

It is recommended to ensure adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D to prevent osteoporosis. Calcium is the core mineral that builds the bones while vitamin D is

responsible for regulating calcium absorption in the body.

According to the Recommended Nutrient Intake ( RNI) guideline for Malaysia, a woman between 19 and 50 years old requires 800mg of calcium daily, while adolescents and elderly require 1000mg.

It is recommended to supplement calcium for those not getting sufficient from their daily diet.

Calcium is also important for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers as babies require plenty of calcium to develop his skeleton in the mother’s womb and to replenish nutrients lost during breastfeeding.

Calcium citrate has been shown to have up to 27% better absorption rate compared to other form of calcium sources such as calcium carbonate and milk.

Unlike calcium carbonate, it can be taken with or without food, as it does not depend on stomach acid to dissolve and absorb.

Therefore, particularly for women, start to take action to prevent from getting OA and osteoporosis before it is too late.

Always be aware of the signs and symptoms of risk factors that contribute to OA and osteoporosis.

For those with moderate to severe OA, the right combination of glucosamine with chondroitin supplementation can help relieve joint pain, improve joint function and delay the structural progression of OA for healthier joints.

This article is brought to you by BiO- LiFE Marketing Sdn Bhd.

For details, call Customer Care at 03- 7882 8888 or visit www. biolife. com. my