Arthritis is a pretty darn common finding as we start to get older. I’ve seen it present in the spine of an 18 year old football player and the knees of 90 year olds, with everything in between. Trauma clearly plays a role, but does not answer everything. Turns out there are some pretty powerful ways to lower our risk of developing arthritis in the future.
One of the newer hormones on the scene of body composition and risk of diabetes is adiponectin. Adiponectin is produced by the adipose (fat) cells. Despite its origins, this hormone packs a wallop when it comes to making our bodies handle glucose better, keeping us leaner and pushing us away from diabetes. Higher is better.
So what does the hormone adiponectin have to do with arthritis? Above and beyond anything else, a good healthy lifestyle will protect against arthritis, especially of the spine. In this study, those with the highest levels of adiponectin had a massive 70% lower risk of having hand arthritis, that was already present, from progressing.
Forget glucosamine and start addressing the rest of your lifestyle.