2 replies to this topic

[manofsan]

Hi,

This is the first time I'm posting in here, since I've never ventured outside the Biotech forum before.

Anyway, I'd like to ask about the effect of taking GAGs (Glycosaminoglycans) such as Chondroitin, while being on a CR diet.

The reason why I single out GAGs, is because they are particularly important for maintaining the health of joints and connective tissues, which are bodily tissues particularly subject to wear and tear, and are not renewable. The thing is that GAGs are large and complex molecules which cost a lot of metabolic effort for the body to manufacture, so that their levels would likely be significantly impacted by CR-induced metabolic slowdown.

I'm wondering if taking chondroitin pills would help to maintain the health of joint tissues for a person on a CR diet. But I'm not sure if taking chondroitin would undermine the CR effects themselves. If you took chondroitin while on CR, would your body try to break the chondroitin down and re-use it as a general protein source? Or could you "have your cake and eat it too," with your body using the chondroitin mainly to maintain health of its joints, while still maintaining metabolic slowdown and other beneficial CR effects?

Anyone care to comment, even speculatively?

[xanadu]

Take the chondroitin pills, it will certainly not harm your CR diet. Glucosamine is another good one to take.

[manofsan]

Hi Xanadu, I'd say that you have to be more careful with glucosamine.

At best, one should perhaps take them together.

The thing about glucosamine is that its role is to "shampoo" your connective tissue fibers, while chondroitin is the "conditioner" that helps to firm them up. Obviously, if you over-shampoo, then your hair will get stripped down. So I wouldn't recommend taking much glucosamine if you're on CR, because when you're in a low metabolic state, you're not going to be rebuilding your tissue fibers very quickly.

One thing I remember reading about GAGs though, was that you produce a lot of the stuff as a child, but as you enter puberty and approach adulthood the amount you produce radically falls off.

I think that taking both together would significantly reduce your metabolic burdern of having to manufacture these complex molecules yourself.