All Things Natural

My lovely Mum had a bit of an accident in the early hours of Sunday morning. She’d got out of bed at 1.30am to cheer on some colleagues who were taking part in a midnight walk which happened to be passing her road. When crossing back over the road to go back in, she slipped over, crashed down and walloped her elbow and head against the tarmac. Unfortunately her elbow came out worst and was badly dislocated. Luckily there was a St Johns ambulance close by to support the runners so they saw to her until the paramedics arrived to take her to Stoke Mandeville. Big cheers for St Johns and the paramedics by the way as by all accounts they treated my Mum with excellent care. At the hospital she was dosed up with gas and morphine to take away the pain whilst they relocated her elbow but morphine can leave you with nausea which she suffered with most of yesterday.

The amazing thing is that she didn’t break any bones. At her age, 77 (although she is going on 57!), the doctors and nurses at the hospital were apparently amazed that nothing was broken at all – not her knee, which has a shiner now, nor right wrist and, not least, any bones in her arm.

Mum reckons that the supplements she takes went a long way to help the strength of her bones and meant that there were no fractures.

She’s been taking glucosamine for nearly 20 years. It was David Wilkie, the Olympic gold medallist swimmer, who found out about glucosamine whilst training in the US. He was so impressed with the results that he decided to introduce it to the UK. At the time, Mum had been suffering for years with lower back pain. My late Dad happened to see David on a tv programme talking about the product, and so Dad rang up the tv station to get some details and they proptly put him in direct contact with David. Apparently they had a very long conversation aabout glucosamine, David sent my Dad some capusules and Mum hasn’t looked back. Her back pains soon disappeared and Mum has been a picture of bone and joint health even since. Gardening, walking, running (yes, she did her first 5k aged 75!), decorating – nothing is beyond Mum.

So what’s with this glucosamine? Well, it’s found naurally in tendon, ligament and cartilage tissue and maintians strong healthy flexible bones and joints. Low levels of glucosamine can be associated with delayed repair to cartilage and studies have shown that taking glucosamine supplements can boost cartilage compound levels by up to 170%, thereby facilitating the repair process.

Research has shown that it can slow the progression of arhtiritis and in fact it is often taken by those suffering with osteoarthritis, especially that of the knee.

It’s available as glucosamine sulphate or glucosamine hydrochloride, although most studies has been done with the sulphate version. Careful though if you are allergic to shellfish as it is derived from them. There is a vegan version available made with corn. The maximum dose is 1500mg a day which can be taken in two or three smaller doses a day.

Mum has also takes omega 3 and 6 oils and for many years took cod liver oil which is rich in Vitamin D, vital for healthy bone growth.

Omega 3 and 6 are essential fatty acids, essential to human health but not produced naturally by our bodies. We therefore obtain them through food sources. Omega 3 is found in cold water fish such as tuna, mackerel and salmon whilst Omega 6 is found in vegetable oils. Studies have shown that a deficiency in essential fatty acids, can lead to severe bone loss and osteoporosis. Essential fatty acids may also enhance calcium absorption, increase calcium deposits in bones, diminish calcium loss in urine, improve bone strength, and enhance bone growth, all of which may contribute to improved bone mass and, therefore, strength.

So, if you want to be like my Mum, active with healthy strong bones well into your 70s, then follow her example and make sure you get the right nutrients in your diet, particularly via supplment form if your food intake is not as good as it should be.