Colin Rose is a Senior Associate Member of the Royal Society of Medicine, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
He is the Founder and Director of Research and Innovation of Uni-Vite Healthcare and author of a recent book Delay Ageing: Healthy to 100, where he reveals how to slow ageing and, therefore, help prevent later-life illness.
What are the reasons behind glucosamine's anti-ageing effect?
1. Anti-inflammatory
The effect is partly because glucosamine has anti-inflammatory properties – and a wealth of evidence confirms inflammation is a key cause of age-related diseases, and of ageing itself.
But there’s a lot more.
2. DNA protection
Other studies have shown that glucosamine can help protect against DNA damage, which is possibly the key underlying driver of ageing.
Ref: Assessment of protective effects of glucosamine and N-acetyl glucosamine against DNA damage induced by hydrogen peroxide in human lymphocytes - PubMed (nih.gov)
3. Supports new mitochondria
Even more surprising, glucosamine is now known to help support the formation of new mitochondria – the process called mitochondrial biogenesis.
Ref: Natural products targeting mitochondria: emerging therapeutics for age-associated neurological disorders - PubMed (nih.gov)
Your mitochondria are the tiny energy factories in your cells that convert your food intake into the energy molecule ATP. The decline in ATP production, and therefore cellular energy from fewer and less efficient mitochondria, is another main driver of ageing.
4. Clearing away damaged cells – autophagy
There is yet another way that glucosamine supports healthy ageing.
Your body has a system to clear away and/or recycle proteins and damaged or dysfunctional parts of cells that have come to the end of their life. In fact, some 300 billion cells die and are renewed – a day!
This necessary clearance process is called autophagy – the body’s way of eliminating damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells.
But as you get older, this process becomes less efficient, meaning proteins that should not be there can build up. We now know that glucosamine can support autophagy, which in turn supports healthy ageing.
Ref: Glucosamine induces autophagy via an mTOR-independent pathway - ScienceDirect
No wonder that yet another study finds that glucosamine supplementation can extend healthy lifespan in various creatures – including mice.
Ref: D-Glucosamine supplementation extends life span of nematodes and of ageing mice | Nature Communications
5. Improves skin appearance
Finally, glucosamine improves skin appearance.
This is not only because it inhibits inflammation processes in the skin which lead to wrinkles, but because it also increases the expression of collagen.
Ref: Efficacy of Glucosamine Sulphate in Skin Ageing: Results from an ex vivo Anti-Ageing Model and a Clinical Trial | Skin Pharmacology and Physiology | Karger Publishers
Glucosamine is part of the health protection jigsaw in NutriShield
So, it turns out we were right to include glucosamine in our flagship supplement NutriShield Premium. But no one nutrient is going to transform your health. You can think of health protection like a jigsaw. You need all the pieces to complete the picture.
That’s why we included lycopene, lutein, vitamin C, zinc and selenium and grapeseed and green tea extracts which help protect DNA. And nicotinamide, curcumin and magnesium to help repair DNA.
It’s also why we included Omega 3, green tea extract, curcumin and genistein from soy isoflavones to support autophagy and the clearance of damaged cells. How NutriShield helps promote autophagy to clear senescent cells - NutriShield
And independent research shows that NutriShield has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. You can see just how powerful this effect is from this test. It shows a dramatic reduction in a range of inflammatory markers. Vivacell Biomarker Test | NutriShield Premium
Add JointShield for even more daily glucosamine, curcumin, vitamins D and K
Although primarily an anti-arthritis supplement, JointShield, like NutriShield Premium, not only includes glucosamine but also curcumin. A 2024 study shows curcumin to have very significant longevity and anti-ageing effects. This new study states:
"Curcumin demonstrated a positive impact on slowing down the aging process by postponing age-related changes.
"It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong anti-oxidant with great potential to impact on age-related cellular proteins".
Ref: Longevity and anti-aging effects of curcumin supplementation - PMC (nih.gov)
Thanks for reading
I spend my time researching natural healthy living, including the new science of healthy, successful ageing. And how to extend health span rather than just lifespan.
And if you enjoyed it, please send the link of this article to any friend or family member who might benefit.
Colin Rose
NutriShield Premium Health Supplement
NutriShield Premium was originally designed by Dr Paul Clayton, former Chair of the Forum on Food and Health at the Royal Society of Medicine.
It contains 6 different capsules, combining a total of 43 powerful nutrients to support healthy ageing and has been updated and improved every year since 2002 based on the newest longevity research.
Delay Ageing book explains the ageing process and how you can postpone it
Medical researchers agree that if you slow ageing, you also delay the onset of age-related disease. And we know that it’s not just nutrition. Sleep, reducing stress and cardio and strength exercise are also essential to longevity and ageing well.
My book Delay Ageing: Healthy to 100, published in 2020, explains the latest ageing science in an accessible way.
It’s been rated 5-star and I am sure you will get a lot of benefit from it, as so many have already.
Click here to go to the publisher's website where you can buy the printed book or Kindle version.
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