Nourishment for Your Joints

There’s probably nothing more important than regular exercise for healthy aging. 

But it’s hard to be active when your joints hurt. That’s why it’s critical to take good care of our joints, and part of that is giving them the nutrition they need.

Staying away from the inflammatory Big Four—sugar, wheat and refined flour, processed oils is the first crucial step; getting adequate amounts of the healthy, anti-inflammatory oils, like flax, fish, coconut and olive oils is the next.

You’ll also want to supply your joints with an array of antioxidants from fresh fruits and vegetables and from antioxidant supplements, like vitamins A, C, D and E; minerals zinc and selenium; and MSM, green and white tea, curcumin, CoQ10 and quercetin.

Drink plenty of water. According to water expert Dr. F. Batmanghelidj, MD, dehydration can be a factor in joint pain and lower back pain. Water is one of the main components of cartilage, the slick, spongy material at the ends of bones. Cartilage cushions and lubricates the joints, allowing bone surfaces to glide freely over one another during movement. It’s when cartilage dries out, degrades and becomes thin and brittle that joint pain and stiffness arise.

Maintain systemic alkalinity; over-acidity damages tissue, including joint tissue. (See more on pH in our article archives.)

Taking calcium in the right form and in a balance with other nutrients ensures it will be incorporated into your bones rather than causing problems in your joints.

Bone broths are full of compounds that build and maintain joints. Add egg shells to it; the membrane that separates eggs from the shell is rich in these compounds. Bone broth is also very healing to the gut, and a healthy gut is very important to the health of your joints.

Sulfur, an important component of cartilage, can be obtained from onions, garlic, eggs and the cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

Beyond Health’s Joint Support Formula provides additional nutrition:

Glucosamine, found in almost all body tissues, is a basic building block for both cartilage and joint fluids. It stimulates the production of new cartilage molecules and decreases the enzymes that break it down.

Chondroitin works synergistically with glucosamine to increase production of cartilage and reduce enzymes that degrade it. It also gives cartilage strength and resilience and helps draw fluid into it, making it more elastic.

MSM provides sulfur, necessary for building joint tissue.

Very clean and bio-available sources of these primary ingredients are combined with addition ingredients that nourish joints and maintain healthy levels of inflammation.

The body is a self-repairing, self-maintaining system, but it needs the right nutrients to do its job. Do your part, and your joints should provide you with a lifetime of good service.