What are the things you can do for joint health?

Before I explain, I should first mention that I do not have a lot of joint or bone pain/discomfort that occurs in the absence of doing something to cause it, in other words, no throbbing or anything from just doing nothing. I'm assuming that most arthritic conditions will hurt or ache whether you are doing anything or not...is that correct?

Now, I've mentioned elsewhere that I've been doing walking and light weightlifting for the last 6 months. In doing that, I've never had any real discomfort from doing it. But, now that I'm feeling up to it, I've added jogging to my routine. I'm doing it very slowly too, I'm starting off walking a 1/4 mile, then jogging a 1/4 mile, and so on(I don't have any choice, though, because I can't yet jog much farther than that at once anyway). Despite 6 months of walking to prepare, my right knee is just not liking it. I don't know if it's weak cartilage or what, but I'm guessing it is since the problem stems from the jogging footfalls that the knee must absorb.

What are the things, then, that can be done or taken(Without a prescription) that can help joint and cartilage, and that won't cause bad side effects? Glucosamine? Pregnenolone? Or is this something that will simply have to be tolerated for a few months until I'm acclimated to the jogging and my body decides to start rebuilding the joint better? Or, said another way...IF I do tolerate for a few months will it get better without taking anything?

I will also mention that I've been off soda/pepsi(meaning more specifically the caffeine and carbonated caramel muck) for 6 months. Prior to that I'd been drinking the stuff liters per day for as long as I can remember(20+ years, me being 32). I mention this, of course, because it's rumored that soda or the caffeine in it can leech the calcium out of your bones. However, I don't know if this problem extends to joint cartilage or not, and my problem seems to be more with joint cartilage than bones specifically.

I prefer HA, hyaluronic acid, which is the collegen in your skin and joint fluid. Do not buy anything with rooster comb or chicken sternum. I take 100 mg a day. I also take a supplement that I originally bought for my horses and then found out they also make a human version. It completely got rid of the pain in my shoulder from tendonitis that had bothered me for 6 months. You can google it - called Equine Leg Magic.
It contains magnesium and B12, two things lymies need, as well as other minerals and vitamins. It is wierd how such a simple thing can be so effective but it does work. My horses are also benefiting with less pain in the lame ones and more suppleness in the others.

My Husband finds MSM and Glucosamine to be very helpful for his joints.
S. H. Buhner recommends Nettles for joint pain.

Proper footwear for jogging should also be investigated - you may need better support for your arches, heel stabilization, etc.

Good luck,