In this section
- Collagen Aids Fight Against Osteoarthritis - Go Healthy, Autumn, 2004
- My knee is so much better - Woman, August 16, 2004
- Take supplements - Woman's Weekly, July 6, 2004
- How a collagen pill can beat arthritis - Daily Mail, Tuesday, August 5, 2003
- Nutritional Intervention for Joint Health - Berlin, Germany, October 17, 2003
- Impact of Collagen Fragments on the Extracellular Matrix Metabolism - Steffen Oesser, PhD, Surgical Research Department of General Surgery and Thoracic Surgery, University of Kiel, Germany
- The Role of Nutrition In Joint Health - Kristine Clark, PhD, RD, FACSM, Director of Sports Nutrition, Penn State Orthopedics, The Pennsylvania State University
- Joint Health and Osteoarthritis: The Facts.
- New highlights from research on gelatine - Natural prevention of osteoarthritis possible - Eberbach, Germany, April 22, 2003.
- Champneys Magazine Ad - Summer 2004
The Role of Nutrition In Joint Health
Kristine Clark, PhD, RD, FACSM
Director of Sports Nutrition, Penn State Orthopedics
The Pennsylvania
State University
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive, degenerative joint disease characterized by a breakdown of the joint’s cartilage, causing bones to rub against one another, which may lead to loos of movement and pain.
Degenerative joint diseases have many causes including normal wear and tear of the cartilage with age, overweightor obesity, acute or chronic stress to the cartilage, joint abnormalities or mal-aligned joints and infectious or neuropathological changes. OA affects nearly 21 million Americans. It is the most common type of arthritis; almost all individuals show signs of mile OA by the time they reach age 70. Currently, there is no medical cure for OA, only treatments to alleviate pain and symptoms. Accumulating evidence indicates that promising preventative measures such as nutrition may help slow down the onset of disease, improve symptoms and delay disease progression.
The diet of an individual can therefore play a critical role in the prevention of disorders that can influence joint disease. Food choices that offer optimal levels of calcium, vitamin C, protein, phosphorus, and vitamin D contribute to normal formation of the extra cellular matrix and articular cartilage required for healthy joint movement. In addition, weight management would help reduce any negative impact on the joints. In the United States alone, 64% of all adults are either overweight or obese. By the year 2008 obesity alone is predicted to reach 39% of all U.S. adults and 26% of children.
Though more clinical research is needed to determine the level of efficacy of various dietary supplements on improving measures of joint disease, research results on many have also shown promise. Ingredients such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, ginger and glucosamine with chondroitin sulphate are shown to relieve some degree of discomfort with joint stiffness, pain and inflammation. In addition, studies suggest that collagen hydrolysate, safe for use in food and gelatine supplements, may positively influence articular cartilage regeneration and support OA therapy.
Speaker Biography
Kristine Clark, PhD, RD, FACSM
Director of Sports Nutrition, Penn State
Orthopedics
The Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Kristine Clark is the Director of Sports Nutrition for Pen State University’s Athletic Dept. where she counsels over 800 varsity athletes from 29 teams. In addition, she advises head coaches, team physicians, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, and athletic administration on policies regarding eating disorders, weight management, and supplement use among athletes. While most of Dr. Clark’s time is devoted to athletics, she also holds a faculty position as an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at Penn State teaching a course titled, “Nutrition for Exercise and Sport”.
Dr. Clark was appointed to the Sports Medicine Advisory Board of the United States Olympic Committee in 1999. She began working as the nutritionist for the United States Women’s Soccer Team in 1995 and continues as the Sports Nutritionist for the United States Soccer Federation, which includes all Olympic Develop Teams for female soccer players (5 age divisions). Dr. Clark advised the under 19 Women National Team and coaches as their nutritionist during the first ever World Cup event for this age group, which they won September 2002.
Dr. Clark holds a PhD in Nutrition Science from Penn State University, a MS degree in Health Education from the University of Wisconsin, and a BS degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Viterbo College, LaCrosse, WI. Her research interests include food choices, timing of eating, athletic performance, and weight management. Currently, she is conducting a study on pre-exercise snacks and perceived benefits on running. Clark, a registered dietician, is a past president of the American Dietetic Association’s practice group of Sports Nutritionists, a Fellow in and Trustee Member of the American College of Sports Medicine, and a frequent lecturer at national health, fitness and nutrition conferences throughout the United States. In addition, Clark serves as one of five spokespersons for the International Food Information Council and as such provides nutrition, exercise and fitness information to the media on a daily basis.
Suggested mechanism of collagen hydrolysate in joint function
CH essentially has the same amino acid composition as collagen in the joint cartilage thus making it a viable stimulus for collagen production and therefore cartilage regeneration.
In the spring of 2003 scientists from the German University Hospital of Kiel, for the first time, published evidence that collagen hydrolysate stimulates collagen synthesis in cartilage cells. In this study they added bovine chondrocytes – the cells responsibe for generating cartilage – to a cell culture medium enriched with collagen hydrolysate. After three days a dose-dependent increase of collagen synthesis was observed and the CH treated cell cultures revealed a 2.5 fold higher increase in collagen stimulation compared to that of control cells.
This is the first time a cell culture model has shown that the presence of CH leads to an increase in cartilage formation and provides a scientific rationale for the improvements seen in clinical studies.
Treatment of osteoarthritis with collagen hydrolysate
Osteoarthritis is characterised by an imbalance between the generation and degradation of cartilage in the joint that yields to greater wearing away than production of the cartilage. Different causes for the imbalance have been cited such as the aging process, increased body weight, severe mechanical and repetitive strain or a developmental abnormality. Despite decades of research there is still no cure.
Joint degradation begins when people are in their 20s and 30s and affects most people by the age of 60. The number of people with degenerative joint and bone diseases is expected to increase because among other things, people are living longer and weighing more.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of degenerative joint disease in the world. In the United States, it is estimated that eight million people have arthritis, osteoarthritis being the most common.
Natural prevention of osteoarthritis
Collagen hydrolysate is a nutritional supplement, which may be able to benefit people who suffer from osteoarthritis. While there are no official recommendations yet, scientific research suggests that 10gms of CH per day for at least three months has been beneficial. Research also shows that symptoms may reoccur if use of the supplement is discontinued.
Proven safety profile
As CH is free from cholesterol, saturated fatty acids and purines, it offers an ideal supplement profile. Collagen hydrolysate was awarded GRAS status (Generally Recognised As Safe) in 1999 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed in July this year again, which affirms its safety for long-term use in degenerative joint diseases.
