Taipei City Hospital

      Hong Ruopu, nutritionist at the Taipei City Hospital Zhongxiao Branch, says that many people are confused about the difference between the diet required for keeping bones and joints healthy and healthcare supplements. Sometimes, the more healthcare supplements you take, the worse the bones become! The healthcare of bones and joints should be strengthened through daily diet.

      Usually, people think that Viartril-S can provide nutrition to the bones. But in fact, we should first separate the problems between bones and joints. Basically, Viartril-S is good for the joints, but it does not contain any calcium at all. So it is wrong to use Viartril-S as a calcium supplement.

       How do we maintain a diet that will protect our joints? Hong points out that glucosamine is a type of nutrient for forming cartilage cells, which can repair the degradation of cartilage and strengthen joint flexibility. In clinical medicine, it is often used to treat degenerative arthritis, which chiefly promotes the production of proteinpolysaccharide and collagen inside the joints. The main components of cartilage are collagen and glucosamine.

      The collagen is just like the reinforcing bar, which establishes strong cartilage, while the glucosamine acts like the cement to fill the gap between the reinforcing bars. As the glucosamine possesses powerful water-catching property, it can make the cartilage have enough aquosity, ameliorating the impact or friction produced between the bones. The collagen and glucosamine of the joints are distributed in the constituent of mucopolysaccharides. Moreover, some antioxidant nutrients or phytochemicals should be supplemented to reduce free radicals and inflammatory responses in the joints.

      Hong reminds us that people should first understand that providing nutrients to “joints” and supplementing nutrients to “bones” are two different things, and then they won’t make mistakes!