Not everyone is a fan of nutritional supplements. In fact, some people view them with an almost superstitious suspicion. There are those who believe that supplements are nothing more than snake oil for the gullible. Some even believe that these supplements can be harmful to your health. For example, there have been some claims that taking glucosamine supplements for your joint health can actually affect the way that your body metabolizes glucose, raising blood sugar levels and causing harm to fetuses in vitro. But sometimes, the outrageous claims of the naysayers are just as unsubstantiated as the so-called outrageous claims of the so-called snake-oil salesmen.
A recent study by scientists who were hired by the private supplement manufacturer Cargill was published in the journal Diabetes Metabolism Research and Reviews. The study shows that taking glucosamine supplements does not significantly impact the body’s ability to metabolize glucose. It did not impact in vitro glucose metabolism in a harmful way. This goes to show that those who claim that taking glucosamine while pregnant can cause birth defects have not done any research to back up their claims. This research clearly shows that taking glucosamine does not negatively impact your ability to metabolize glucose. It is perfectly safe to use as a dietary supplement to improve your joint health.
If there had been any actual complaints that glucosamine supplements could harm you or your fetus if you’re pregnant, then the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would have had it pulled from store shelves long ago. While the FDA does not always have jurisdiction over all nutritional supplements, it is certainly authorized to pull any product from store shelves that is shown to have adverse affects on the people who take them. They conduct their own studies to discover whether or not these claims of harm are substantiated and determine whether or not the product was actually the cause of these adverse reactions.
While it has now been shown that taking glucosamine supplements will not adversely affect your ability to metabolize glucose, that doesn’t mean that all glucosamine supplements are created equal. There is a reason that so many people are so suspicious of nutritional supplement companies: there are some unscrupulous companies out there who are just trying to take advantage of people and want to make money with a worthless product. Be sure to check labels and buy only from reputable companies that you can trust.
