Nutrition and Joint Health
Posted on January 28, 2008
Photo by Andrew P Holmes
Everyday our joints within our bodies are subjected to an enormous amount of stress. Physical activities like walking, exercising, lifting, pushing, typing, etc. contribute to the stress on your joints. Despite this constant use and working of our joints, many of us take them for granted and expect trouble free function for decades. More than 50 million people in America alone suffer from some kind of joint problem. People that have physically strenuous work and athletes see more problems, but the average person also will see problems too. Many times athletes will recover faster because they are feeding their bodies the proper nutrition. Nutrition can go a long way to preventing and healing your joint problems.
Many people, young and old, suffer every day from joint pain or discomfort. Many of us accept the pain as a sign of getting older or as just plain “normal”. Our bodies are made to function with out pain. Almost all pain that we accept as “normal” is caused by something we are doing. There are many nutritional substances that can help you become more pain free and protect your joints. Before I go any further let me go through a few definitions on the subject.
A few definitions
Arthritis – literally means joint inflammation. It is derived from the Greek words arthro and itis meaning joint and inflammation respectively. Arthritis comes in many different forms and is caused by several different reasons. The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) – is caused by abnormal wearing of the cartilage around a joint. This abnormal wear will cause inflammation which results in pain.
Cartilage – is a dense connective tissue that is responsible for covering and protecting the inside of your joints.
Synovial Joint – the most common and movable type of join in the human body. Synovial joints are found from your fingers to your toes, including your hips, elbows, wrist, ankles, and more. I found a great image from Wikipedia, that shows all the part of the joint and how they interconnect.
Synovial Fluid – is a fluid that acts as a lubricant for your joints.
Valuable nutritional substances for your joints
Glucosamine
Glucosamine is one of the building blocks for human cartilage. Healthy cartilage is so important be cause it is a slow long process to rebuild it after it is damaged or warn. The body rebuilds cartilage and resupplies synovial fluid on its own but can fall behind if you do not provide the proper nutrition. There are several reason why the body can fall behind ranging from poor blood supply to lack of components.
Glucosamine is an amino sugar and an important precursor in the biosynthesis of cartilage. It is a building block of proteoglycans – protein molecules with long linear carbohydrate polymers. Proteoglycans and collagen make up the majority of the cartilage. Proteoglycans are essential for healthy cartilage because they bind the synovial fluid that lubricates and cushions your joints.
There are a few different types of glucosamine out there, but the two major ones are glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine hydrochloride. It is a debate as to which one is more effective, but I will let you do your own research on that subject. My major concern it to let you know that you should be taking one form or the other for your joint health. Most glucosamine is derived from the shells of shrimp which if properly processed has almost zero chances of an allergic reaction. There are plant derived sources that would eliminate that possibility, but are generally more expensive. Glucosamine has been found to have very few side effect and far less than NSAIDS (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs) that are commonly used to treat arthritis. Many NSAIDs have even been removed from the market because of potentially harmful side effects.
Collagen
Collagen is an essential structural element that forms an important part of bones, tendons, and connecting tissue. All animals, including humans, must have collagen to maintain healthy joints. Collagen has been used in many medical outlet such as cosmetic surgery, treatment for burn victims, and many uses in the dental field. Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins found with in our bodies and makes up almost 25% of our protein compounds.
Who wants some JELLO? One of the main ingredients in JELLO is gelatin, a natural source of collagen. Gelatin is made from animal collagen and has been on the market world wide for year as a nutritional supplement. Gelatin contains two important amino acids (proline and glycine) that are critical to the formation of collagen. The body can produce these two amino acids by itself, but many times you body alone can not produce enough to maintain healthy joints. In a growing number of studies a dose of just 10g/day of gelatin has shown improvements in mobility, over all joint health, and a reduction in pain.
Cetyl Myristoleate (CMO)
Here is a great definition of what CMO is from an article written by Dr. Charles Cochran and Dr. Raymond Dent.
Cetyl myristoleate, an oil, is the hexadecyl ester of the unsaturated fatty acid cis-9-tetradecenoic acid. The common name for the acid is myristoleic acid. Myristoleic acid is found commonly in fish oils, whale oils, dairy butter, and kombo butter. The chemical formula for cetyl myristoleate is (Z)-ROCO(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)3CH3.
A bit complicated, but that is exactly what it is. Basically it is a special esterfied fatty acid. CMO was discovered by a single person, Dr. Harry W. Diehl, in 1977 when he also patented it. CMO greatly reduces pain with in the joints and it is suspected to even prevent arthritis. CMO also seems to work very well in small amounts. There has also been several studies that show promising results at showing improved movement and reduction in pain.
Other helpful nutrients, vitamins, and compounds
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Vitamin C – an essential co-factor for the synthesis of collagen.
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Flax Oil – used daily can help with pain and function of your joints.
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Microlactin – natural milk proteins in a concentrated form that help joint function.
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Bromelain – an enzyme for the pineapple that shows great anti-inflammatory properties.
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Boswellia Serratta – a tree found in India. The sap has shown anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, and analgesic effects.
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Ginger Extract – is commonly used to treat osteoarthritis.
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Fish Oil – full of omega 3 fatty acids that help the joints.
Bottom Line
The purpose of this article is to inform you about the various substances out there that can help you prevent joint problems. The best thing to do for your joints is to feed them the essential nutrition that they need to stay health. Preventing an injury is much less painful and expensive than waiting for one to happen. Take care of your joints with proper nutrition and you should have healthy joints for a life time.
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Comments
5 Responses to “Nutrition and Joint Health”
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Brad, great article! I picked up a couple of good tips - I’m sure my joints will thank you one day! I gave it a stumble for you.
Peter, thank you so much for the comments. I’m glad you found it helpful.
Hi Brad,
Great stuff. I stumbled this article, so your traffic should zoom.
Tell everyone to visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsqqwKc-1po
so that they can hear how golf professionals are using the Rotater to keep their shoulders flexible - it goes along with having healthy joints.
Thanks,
Chris Melton
hey thanks for the information…it helped with my health homeowork!
Thanks for the information – a complicated topic made so much easier to understand! It often helps to know why your body behaves the way it does and read about corresponding treatments. As I grow older I began to suffer from joint pains and stiffness. My doctor advised me to take calcium supplements and apply Flexgen. Proper nutrition, exercise, and a good pain relieving ointment from time to time have worked well for me. I find myself moving about more comfortably. http://www.newvitality.com/shop/flexgen.aspx