Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin Review: Don’t Buy Before You Read This!
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What is it?
Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin is a daily dietary supplement formulated to provide cushioning and lubrication for the body’s joint and muscle tissue. It’s advertising claims that its proprietary formula helps protect cartilage and reduce the inflammation that comes from wear and overuse. Their extra strength tablets help promote healthy cartilage, synovial fluid (the gelatinous substance that surrounds the joints), and ligament tissue, as well as general bodily wellness.
Our panel of nutritional experts currently believes that the most effective over the counter supplement for improving connective system health is Flexitrinol. Their blend of ingredients addresses a variety of joint, connective tissue, and skeletal health needs and has been shown to reduce inflammation as well. Click here to learn more about what makes Flexitrinol so effective.
Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin Ingredients and Side Effects
Glucosamine: One of the most common ingredients found in joint health supplements due to its ability to stimulate collagen production.
Glucosamine occurs naturally in the body’s synovial fluid, but it can also be derived from some forms of shellfish or synthesized in a lab. As we age our bodies make less and less of it on their own and it may become more important to seek outside sources of glucosamine.
Glucosamine is safe for human consumption and there are generally no side effects associated with ingesting it. The glucosamine in Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin is derived from shellfish, so there is always a chance that those with shellfish sensitivities could experience an allergic reaction, however those effects are usually mild.
Chondroitin: Another common joint health supplement additive due to its key role in cartilage production. Chondroitin has been used medicinally for a number of purposes including treating cataracts and the inflammation due to osteoarthritis.
Chondroitin is safe for humans and there are no serious side effects associated with its consumption.
Our panel of health and wellness experts has performed a battery of tests on the leading joint health supplements and you can view their results by clicking here.
Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin Quality of Ingredients
If you had to have a joint supplement with only two ingredients, these would be the two. They are both naturally occurring chemicals in the body that are key parts of our connective tissue’s ability to repair and renew itself.
They are also both healthy and side effect-free for both short and long term consumption, which is critical for a daily supplement.
They are so good for the body’s joints, in fact, that almost every joint health supplement on the market today utilizes them. Therein lies the problem for Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin – it is just what it says in its name and no more. There is no MSM or vitamin C, there are no anti-inflammatory agents like boron or Omega-3 fatty acids; there are none of the many other popular and effective additives that might set Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin apart from the hundreds of other joint health supplements on the market right now.
It does not even contain particularly high dosage levels – 1,500 mg of glucosamine and 1,200 mg of chondroitin – pretty much industry standard for supplements of this nature.
There is also an incredibly long list of inactive ingredients in Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin, far longer than is found in most over the counter supplements. These inactive or “filler” ingredients make it cheaper and easier to manufacture and distribute pills, however they carry with them no medicinal value and can occasionally have health consequences of their own.
There is no stated reason for why Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin requires so many different inactive ingredients, however customers with sensitivities should examine the list of additives just to ensure their safety.
Click here to learn more about which joint health supplements tested the highest for increasing users’ range of motion and decreasing inflammation levels.
The Price and Quality of Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin
The price is the most notable feature of Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin. On their website it retails for:
- 1 220-count bottle Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin tablets: $22.99
The bottle recommends two tablets per day, so each bottle is approximately a 110-day supply. This makes Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin potentially the cheapest joint health supplement on the market today.
That is probably a reasonable price, given the extremely limited nature of the supplements ingredients list, but it does make Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin an appealing option for anyone who is specifically looking for value. It is also cheap enough that other customers may choose to add a secondary supplement to their daily routine to support it. Those individuals with extreme joint pain and stiffness may especially benefit from pairing it with a blend that is formulated for fighting inflammation.
Follow this link to see which over the counter joint health supplements are the best at increasing flexibility, mobility, and ease of motion.
Business of Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin
Kirkland is the name that wholesale giant Costco uses for many of their in-house brands, from beer to toilet paper to nutritional supplements. Their contact information is listed as:
Phone Number: (800) 744-2678
Address: PO Box 34331
Seattle, WA 98124
Email: Costco does not choose to make an email address publically available on their website, however they do have a customer comment for that can be submitted.
There have been literally thousands of formal complaints against Costco and Kirkland brands filed with the BBB, and over 600 in the last three years alone. Some of those complaints are related to customer service and billing issues, but over 400 of them are directly related to dissatisfaction with their products.
Costco is currently being sued by a number of different entities on a variety of charges. Two separate former employees have filed claims through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that they received different treatment because of their religious orientation and gender, respectively.
Costco has also had a suit filed against them for selling fraudulent diamonds under the Tiffany brand and, perhaps most disturbingly, there is a case currently under review alleging that they are slavery profiteers that knowingly purchase and resell products that were produced using forced labor. There was no comment from Costco when we attempted to contact them regarding these allegations.
Click here to see our team of wellness experts’ entire list of the best joint health supplements available to consumers without a prescription.
Customer Opinions of Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin
The reviews of Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin range from mildly positive to disappointed, with some users experiencing moderate improvement in joint pain and others failing to notice any changes at all. A survey of some of the customer feedback found online repeated these main themes:
“I gave them a fair chance – two months, nearly half the bottle – and I saw nothing in terms of improvement in my joints.”
“The pills were enormous and I nearly gagged every time I took one – not that they ever seemed to actually do anything.”
“Total waste of my money, but I guess you get what you pay for. At least it was cheap.”
The main complaint that customers had with Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin was its lack of effectiveness. There were also quite a few reviews that mentioned its abnormally large pill size and their difficulty in swallowing them.
To see the complete list of results from our panel of experts’ joint health supplement tests, follow this link.
Conclusion – Does Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin Work?
As a company, Costco is known primarily for one thing: value. If you are currently looking for the least expensive glucosamine and chondroitin supplement on the market today, this may be it.
Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin is a zero-frills joint health supplement that has only the most basic active ingredients (yet somehow the longest list of inactive ingredients).
Their two active ingredients are highly effective and so there is a good chance that users will experience some benefits to their joint health, however those benefits may be slight or imperceptible. For consumers that require more support, especially those that are dealing with any kind of pain in their joints, a secondary supplement may be required that has more anti-inflammatory capabilities.
Our panel of experts does not believe that Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin can be an effective tool for treating more serious joint and inflammation disorders such as arthritis, tendonitis, and bursitis, and patients with those conditions should seek out different forms of supplements or medication.
Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin is a relatively mild supplement in terms of its effect on users’ systems, and may be an effective option for those individuals with highly sensitive stomachs or that are more prone to experiencing side effects. The chances of consumers experiencing any negative effects due to the consumption of Kirkland Glucosamine & Chondroitin are small, though it is a mild allergy risk in some rare cases.
Our panel currently rates Flexitrinol as the most effective joint health supplement on the market. Their blend of ingredients works to stimulate the connective tissue’s natural repair and regeneration processes while also reducing the pain and stiffness that are related to inflammation. Click here to see what make Flexitrinol so effective at improving overall joint health.
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