BUT TWO OF THEM DO: Good news, at least, for arthritis sufferers

But there’s good news, too, for alternative remedies. Glucosamine and chondroitin have almost taken on the status of urban myth as remedies for osteoarthritis – but do they actually work?

In a meta-analysis of 15 studies, which involved 1775 patients, both remedies had a ‘pronounced effect’ on symptoms, including mobility and inflammation. In all, it seemed to work well on 1 in 5 patients, or 20 per cent of everyone who took the supplements.

(Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2003; 163: 1514-2).