Could a supplement be as effective as exercise at protecting health?

Among the participants, 658, or nearly 4%, had taken glucosamine/chondroitin for a year or longer.When Dr. King and Xiang merged the NHANES data with 2015 mortality figures, they found that there had been 3,366 deaths among the participants and that 674 deaths had resulted from cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. The authors caution that the 39% reduction in all-cause mortality and 65% reduction in death from cardiovascular disease that they observed among the participants who took glucosamine/chondroitin may have a simple explanation: People who use supplements may generally take more care with their health and be healthier overall.However, the researchers stress that they did control for variables such as age, race, sex, education, and the frequency of exercise, making the simple explanation less likely.“Once we took everything into account, the impact was pretty significant.”– Dr. Dana KingDr. King became curious about glucosamine/chondroitin, which he takes, after learning that every member of his local cyclists’ club also took the supplement.