What time of day should you take glucosamine chondroitin?

When should I take glucosamine and chondroitin?

This is a very important question for anyone looking to reduce joint pain and promote healthy connective tissues. Both glucosamine and chondroitin are expensive supplements. They also take quite a long time to start working, or at least to start producing meaningful, noticeable benefits. Users therefore want to maximize results and increase value for money while taking glucosamine and chondroitin.

What time of day should I take glucosamine and chondroitin?

Does it matter when you take these powerful joint health supplements?

Is there a “right” time to take glucosamine or chondroitin?

Let’s look at how glucosamine and chondroitin work to see if it matters when you take these joint supplements.

How does glucosamine help your joints?

Glucosamine is an amino sugar. It is the most abundant amino sugar in the body, where it acts as a primary structural component of your connective tissues: ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and more.

Glucosamine also supports chondrocyte cells which reside within your connective tissues.

These cells repair and regenerate cartilage, which is extremely important for maintaining healthy joints. You do not actually consume any glucosamine from your diet; it is just not found in meaningful amounts in food (unless you regularly eat prawn shells).

As such, people suffering from joint pain are advised to supplement with a high-quality glucosamine supplement on a regular basis for a prolonged period of time; ideally four weeks minimum.

How does chondroitin help your joints?

Chondroitin is a very interesting joint supplement. Chondroitin is a molecule complex which runs through your cartilage’s extracellular matrix, like a kind of lattice or scaffholding. Chondroitin has a strong negative charge; this negative charge means it readily attracts and binds to water molecules. This effect means chondroitin helps keep your cartilage lubricated and rigid, as well as providing some shock-absorbing stability for your cartilage.

Chondroitin also supports healthy cartilage production and maintenance. This is extremely important for minimizing damage caused to joints by repeated impacts or heavy wear-and-tear, as well as easing joint pain caused by connective tissue erosion (from running, weight lifting, etc.).

Studies have found that supplementing with chondroitin significantly improves joint mobility and improves measures of joint pain.

When should you take glucosamine and chondroitin?

Does it matter what time of day you take glucosamine or chondroitin?

No!

Of course not!

Neither glucosamine nor chondroitin need to be taken at a specific time to work.

The time of day you take glucosamine or chondroitin doesn’t alter their efficacy in any way.

These kinds of joint supplements do not have immediate effects. They work by slowly building up the raw materials you need to properly maintain, repair, and create new connective tissues (which then protect your joints).

It therefore doesn’t matter what time of day you take them; what matters is that you take them consistently over several weeks and months to properly maximize glucosamine and chondroitin availability in your joints.

Taking glucosamine and chondroitin first thing in the morning is usually the best option for most people. This is the time when most people will remember to take their supplements, and consistency is key with glucosamine and chondroitin. This is also when other supplements are best consumed, so you might want to take your joint supplements at the same time.