John Arts Abundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz

If you use a joint supplement for osteoarthritis then stop reading and get the bottle and check the amount of Chondroitin Sulphate in the daily dose. Most older-style formula will have up to 20 per cent CS in the formula, typically about 200mg in a daily dose. Chondroitin is a structural component of cartilage adding strength and resistance to compression.

The study that changed it all for me was published in the ‘Annals of Rheumatic Diseases' journal. the study title is: ‘Chondroitin sulphate reduces both cartilage volume loss and bone marrow lesions in knee osteoarthritis patients starting as early as six months after initiation of therapy: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study using MRI' (Wildi et al, 2011).

Eighty people with similar grades of knee osteoarthritis were chosen. Half of the participants were given 800mg of CS as 400mg twice daily for six months. The other group was given a placebo. The two groups were compared after six months. The group using CS had much less cartilage loss.

The next phase then gave all of the participants 800mg of CS for another six months. The same results occurred. Those who had been on the placebo showed a reduction in cartilage loss while the group that had taken CS for 12 months continued with much less cartilage loss.

As a consequence I reformulated my joint support formula and lifted CS to around the levels used in the study. I also added a potent anti-inflammatory 95 per cent curcumin extract, from turmeric.

The success of the formula completely exceeded my expectations. Most people noticed real improvements in three months. I now have clients who have been on this for more than one year, who continue to improve. Give me a call or email john@abundant.co.nz if you need more information. Join my full weekly newsletter at www.abundant.co.nz

John Arts is a qualified nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health. Contact John on 0800 423 559. To read more go to: www.sunlive.co.nz