Nutraceuticals and food supplements
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An enormous range of products are used as food supplements to aid
mobility and give pain relief. Most are based on herbs and
other products that contain chemicals with pain relieving qualities.
However these products are poorly regulated and different brands often
control different amounts of the active ingredients. It can be helpful
to know which products are most effective, and how they work.
Glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate are nutraceuticals which are often
used to help treat conditions associated with arthritis and
degenerative joint disease. There is good evidence for the activity of
glucosamine in particular helping to reduce joint inflammation and pain
in animals with arthritic conditions. However the quality of the
product and the amount of active ingredient is also important.
Essential fatty acid supplements and fish oils may also help to reduce
inflamamtion in joints and
can be helpful in some cases.
Homeopathy is more difficult to characterise and proving it's efficacy
or otherwise remains a problem. It involves the use of various products
at high dilution to treat a wide range of conditions with few side
effects. Homeopathic treatment of animals should only be carried out by
vets registered to practice homeopathy.