Best Supplements to manage Arthritis Pain, Joint Stiffness, Swelling & Rebuild Your Joints.
This is the most comprehensive osteoarthritis supplement guide on the whole internet with supplements, herbs, and essential oils historically used for arthritis.
Which ones work faster than others? Which ones have dangerous side effects?
Pay close attention to #3, 4, & 6.
Stay with me… Keep reading…
💪 In fact, these are the same supplements I recommend to my own relatives and the results have been amazing!
💪 Some have seen better results than taking hard, expensive and side effect riddled pharmaceutical drugs.
Of course, thinking about which one to take out of 67 can be confusing😱 .
I have broken it down for you so that you can pick the right ones for the right reasons.
How to Use This Guide
Core Supplements: These have overwhelming evidence of being effective and safe.
Primary Supplements: They are effective and safe but may not be as effective as the core supplements.
Secondary Supplements: These have low evidence or safety level. Some may have other benefits other than arthritis.
6. Glucosamine Sulfate:
Note, the commonest Glucosamine you will find in many supplements is Glucosamine Hydrochloride – Huge difference!
Glucosamine sulfate might also slow the breakdown of joints and prevent the condition from getting worse if it is taken over time.
The most research showing benefit is for products that contain glucosamine sulfate. Products that contain glucosamine hydrochloride do not seem to work as well.
Dosage
Capsules, tablets, liquid or powder (to be mixed into a drink); 1,500 mg per day for all forms. Often combined with chondroitin. May take one month to notice an effect (12).
Side Effects:
Glucosamine may cause mild stomach upset, nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, and constipation.
In rare cases, it may cause increased blood glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, and blood pressure.
Don’t use glucosamine if you are allergic to shellfish.
25+ Core Supplements For Arthritis Pain & Joint Stiffness
1. Collagen Peptides
If you know anyone who is dealing with osteoarthritis, get them collagen peptide, especially with collagen type 2 and ask them how they are feeling a week later.
Out joint cartilage is made of collagen fibers. All our body connective tissues are held together by collagen.
Taking collagen will tremendously improve:
✔ Joint health, arthritis, and flexibility
✔ Wrinkled skin. Collagen is among the best anti-aging supplements known to man.
Collagen is one of those supplements you give to your Mom or grandma, and the next time you check on her, she’s dancing without pain and looking several years younger. 😍
✔ Rapid repair of damaged muscled, especially due to extreme exercise or direct injury.
✔ As we age, our guts lining becomes thinner and thinner, making it less effective in preventing infections from getting into our bloodstreams.
This thinning also makes the intestines less efficient in absorbing nutrients, the reason why elderly people tend to suffer nutritional deficiencies.
Bottom Line: The biggest majority of osteoarthritis sufferers are from age 40 and above. This is the same age when aging skin (fine lines and wrinkles become obviously visible. Collagen tops the list because of its super anti-aging power and its ability to repair worn out joints.
2. Arnica:
Arnica is an herb that grows mainly in Siberia and central Europe, as well as temperate climates in North America. The flowers of the plant are used in medicine.
Anica can be taken orally or applied to the painful joint but works better when taken by mouth.
It has been shown to be more effective that Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen in treating arthritis pain without the side effects of ibuprofen.
Wait… Caution ahead!
But Arnica oral preparations are rare. You are more than likely going to find Anica in gel form for topical application.
Topical applications are also very effective in relieving osteoarthritis pain (1)
Caution About Anica Montana
Anica Montana, when taken by mouth has a very thin line between safe and poisonous doses.
If fact, even an accidental overdosing with Anica can cause death – and it has happened. (2)
For this reason, I would not recommend taking Anica Montana by mouth, but the gel is safe and very effective. Avoid the gel on broken skin and wounds.
Do not apply Anica is you are allergic to pollen and ragweed.
Anica, when taken by mouth can cause a rapid heart rate (tachycardia) and should be avoided by those with heart conditions.
Taken by mouth, Arnica can exacerbate conditions like irritable bowel syndrome.
Don’t take it if you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcers, Crohn’s disease, or other stomach or intestinal conditions.
Bottom Line: Only use Arnica gel for arthritis. Avoid oral formulations of this herb. Keep it away from children
3. Curcumin (Tumeric)
Tumeric is a spice with a lot of evidence-based medicinal properties. Because of the known healing properties of this spice, there are a lot of fake turmeric supplements out there.
buyer beware.
Taking turmeric has been shown to be more effective than taking ibuprofen and some self-reported cases say it is even more effective than diclofenac sodium in relieving arthritis pain, joint stiffness and swelling.
The medicinal benefits of turmeric are so many(3), you wonder why everyone is not taking it – but 99% of people out there have never heard of these benefits.
Medicinal Powers of Curcumin
How to take Curcumin for Arthritis?
Since curcumin has so many healing properties, manufacturers tend to bend it with another core supplement for the target ailment.
Example, you might see curcumin blended with MSM or Chondroitin for arthritis.
Or, you might see Curcumin blended with Bromelain (comes from pineapples)
Or, you might see curcumin blended with ginger for even faster joint pain relief.
Or, you might find curcumin blended together with Qunol CoQ10 for faster antiinflammatory healing, especially for elderly and those taking heart medications.
Formulations made in the USA also have black pepper extract. Evidence has shown that black pepper extract can increase the absorption of curcumin by 2000% 😱 compared to taking curcumin without black pepper.
That’s huge!
Maximal Benefit tip: Take a combination blend of curcumin + black pepper and Collagen peptide. This is enough to make a world of difference in relieving arthritis pain, stiffness. It will also help rebuild the joint.
4. Chondroitin Sulfate
The word Chondro in medical terms means, pertaining to the cartilage. (like joint cartilage)
Chondroitin is an over-the-counter nutritional supplement made primarily of chondroitin sulfate.
Chondroitin is said to work by stopping the degradation of cartilage and restoring lost cartilage (5).
Chondroitin sulfate is one of five classes of glycosaminoglycans, the others being heparan sulfate, keratan sulfate, dermatan sulfate, and hyaluronic acid (see hyaluronic acid, next)
Why is Chondroitin among the Core supplements?
The fact that chondroitin helps the cartilage to regenerate, then it means, it helps by restoring and preventing joint cartilage degeneration.
Wait…
I wouldn’t advise you to go looking for chondroitin yet. Only about 20% of chondroitin is available to your body once you take it.
Meaning, if you take 100mg of chondroitin, your body will only get 20mg. The other 80% is degraded (6).
While the 20% bioavailable has huge benefits to the joints, pay attention to the next two,
Hyaluronic Acid and Glucosamine
5. Hyaluronic Acid for Arthritis
I had to introduce hyaluronic acid while talking about chondroitin so you can see how they are related. They belong to the same group of polysaccharides called Glycosaminoglycans.
We just concluded that Chondroitin above helps the joint regenerate the joint cartilage. But we need lubrication to reduce friction and make movement easier – right?
Hyaluronic Acid will just wow you – Keep reading…
In a nutshell,
✅ Hyaluronic acid is a super joint lubricant. As a matter of fact, the fluid found inside the joint (synovial joint) is made up of hyaluronic acid (7).
✅ When the joints are lubricated, the bones are less likely to grind against each other and cause wear and tear or uncomfortable pain.
✅ Taking 80mg – 200mg of hyaluronic acid for 2 months can significantly reduce joint pain (8).
✅ Hyaluronic acid may slow down bone loss, according to research (9)
Other Reasons to Take Hyaluronic Acid Supplements
❎ Hyaluronic acid is a potent anti-aging supplement for a radiant & supple looking skin (10).
Roughly half of the hyaluronic acid in your body is present in your skin, where it binds to water to help retain moisture (11).
❎ Relieves Gastric Acid Reflux Disease (GERD)
❎ Relieves dry eye syndrome
6. Glucosamine Sulfate:
Glucosamine sulfate, not to be confused with Glucosamine Hydrochloride comes from shellfish. It is the better glucosamine and you should pay attention to which Glucosamine you are buying.
Most common, cheap Glucosamine supplements contains Glucosamine Hydrochloride, an inferior and less effective type of Glucosamine.
Glucosamine Sulfate Research
Most of the scientific research done on glucosamine has been done on glucosamine sulfate.
👉 The most research showing benefit is for products that contain glucosamine sulfate. Products that contain glucosamine hydrochloride do not seem to work as well (12).
👉 Another research done on career cyclists found out that supplementing with up to 3 grams of glucosamine daily reduced collagen degradation in the knees by 27% compared to 8% in the placebo group (13).
Side note: Do you remember supplement #1 on the list? Collagen!
👉 Multiple other research studies have found out that supplementing with 3 grams of Glucosamine Sulfate daily significantly slows down joint cartilage and space degradation, and pain reduction, making Glucosamine Sulfate one of the best supplements for treating osteoarthritis. (14, 15).
🤔 Still not convinced?