Chondroitin sulfate benefits

Chondroitin sulfate is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composed of a chain of alternating sugars. Along with glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate has become a widely used dietary supplement for treatment of osteoarthritis. Chondroitin sulfate was originally isolated well before the structure was characterised, leading to changes in terminology with time.

Chondroitin sulfate chains are unbranched polysaccharides of variable length containing two alternating monosaccharides: D-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine. Chondroitin sulfate is a chemical that is normally found in cartilage around joints in the body. Chondroitin sulfate is manufactured from animal sources, such as cow cartilage.

Chondroitin sulfate is available as an eye drop for dry eyes. That would mean that any benefit from these creams and ointments is due to some other ingredient. Low-cost chondroitin products seem to contain little chondroitin, but some higher-priced products may also contain less chondroitin than claimed. In addition, it is used during cataract surgery, and as a solution for preserving corneas used for transplants. It is approved by the FDA for these uses.

Chondroitin sulfate is a chemical that is normally found in cartilage around joints in the body. When used with conventional anti-inflammatory medications such as food additive. Chondroitin sulfate is often sold in combination products that also contain glucosamine sulfate. Buying a combination product is probably not worth any extra cost.

Others: Collagen             Creatine Monohydrate

By law, only permitted food additives can be used. There are different food authorities in various countries like FDA in USA, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that provides E numbers to all the additives and such other agencies. Generally, before becoming permitted food additives, they must be subjected to many tests before they are allowed to be used for foodstuff. A wide range of tests are done on animals as well as other tests have also been devised to assess every conceivable risk of food additives to the consumer. These food safety tests assess how the additives react in the body and also work to find any toxic effects at the levels the additive is to be used in foods. However, test on all segments of human population is not possible before providing food safety certificates and categorizing a safe food additive. So, what is the solution then, for avoiding the harmful effects of food additives? There are two ways for this- one, to know what all are the safe additives and what food additives are extremely risky. Second, minimizing the harmful effects of food additives by taking certain precautions.

July 28, 2010- Understanding food additives has really become a tough task. First of all because different people talk differently about all types of food additives. Secondly, we come across various research reports talking altogether differently about the same food additive- one says its a safe additive and the others say it is not a safe food additive. Thirdly, even if we know that a certain food additive is not safe and one should avoid it, we are totally at a loss of doing anything- cause these days, food additives are found in almost all foodstuff sold anywhere! So, what to do about understanding food additives and to ensure that they are safe for us? Read on to know the same.

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