Best Supplements For Joints

By Alyssa Krejci, RD, LD, LMNT
May 28, 2024

The trees have leaves, the sun feels warm and colorful flowers start to pop up. Nature waking often brings along a boost to your mood and a proverbial spring to your step. However, what if that step also brings along some knee pain? Or if not your knees, maybe your hips or shoulders are reacting?

According to the Arthritis Foundation, about 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. have been diagnosed with a form of arthritis and nearly 26 million of those are unable to do everyday activities. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are two of the most well known forms of arthritis, but there are over 100 types of arthritis and related conditions that can damage joints.

May is Arthritis Awareness Month and no matter if it's joint pain or arthritis symptoms flaring, we can help support our bodies to reduce inflammation by fueling with nutrient rich foods. 

We first discussed nutrition for joint pain with the recommendation to enjoy more anti-inflammatory foods through your day and reducing intake of inflammatory foods. Along with food choices, some key dietary supplements can offer anti-inflammatory support to help with pain relief, reduce joint stiffness, prevent or ease arthritis flares, and improve overall joint health.

Learn More: Eating For Joint Health & Pain Relief

Anti-Inflammatory Supplements For Joint Pain Relief

While we always emphasize food first, sometimes food choices alone are not quite enough to completely kick arthritis symptoms or joint pain, especially if the body has been in an inflammatory state for an extended period. For extra pain relieving effects, we often recommend adding the following popular supplements, which have anti-inflammatory properties:

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids from EPA and DHA are important nutrients found in cells throughout the body. You can get these beneficial fats by eating fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and herring. 

Aim to get at least 500 milligrams from EPA + DHA omega-3’s per day. This can look like enjoying at least two meals per week with fatty fish as your protein. For optimal outcomes we recommend getting 1-2 grams per day from EPA + DHA. 

Many people do not eat enough foods rich in omega-3 fats for optimal health outcomes. If, whether by food availability or your individual food preferences you are unable to meet your daily omage-3 needs through food alone, adding a supplement form of omega-3 fish oil to your day is a great choice. Omega-3 fatty acids may improve joint health and performance since they may inhibit inflammation.

How To Take Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplements

Start by looking at the supplement’s facts panel on the fish oil bottle. Go to the line where both EPA and DHA are listed. ADD up the totals for EPA + DHA.  We recommend the total for EPA + DHA be at least 1-2 grams or 1000-2000 mg per day. 

Looking at the NutriKey Omega-3 1000, taking 2 soft gels daily will give you 1 gram per day from EPA + DHA. Taking 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of the Omega-3 Extra Strength Liquid provides you with 2.4 grams per day from EPA + DHA. 

“Taking one tablet a day reduced inflammation and pain in my knee that I struggled with for over six months. I am sold on this product.” -Nichole Q. on Omega-3 1000

Curcumin400

The turmeric root has been used throughout Asia for thousands of years for its health benefits. Turmeric contains the natural compound curcumin and it is often recommended for muscle and connective tissue recovery due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Most studies show 1-3 tsp/day of turmeric powder, or a 400-600 mg capsule has been associated with perceptible anti-inflammatory benefits.

Other benefits of the antioxidant curcumin include: immune support, helps maintain healthy blood sugar, helps maintain healthy blood lipids, aids in digestive function and helps with detoxification. It can work wonders for pain and inflammation, so much so that some of our clients notice if they miss just a day of taking their curcumin.

It’s important to note not all curcumin products are created equally, as many are not well absorbed.

NutriKey’s Curcumin 400 features an innovative BioCurc®—a patented ingredient that has been shown in clinical studies to surpass the bioavailability (meaning your body can use it!) of virtually every other curcumin/turmeric extract product on the market (2). In fact, 400 mg of BioCurc® is equal to 2,000,000 mg of turmeric and 45,000 mg of 95% curcumin extracts (2).

How To Take Curcumin Supplements

We recommend trying 1-2 soft gels daily for 2-3 months and see how you feel.

Curcumin Contraindication

Turmeric may interact with some medications, so it is important to talk with your doctor before adding it, or any other new supplement, to your routine. Your doctor or pharmacist can point you towards any possible interactions with medications you are currently taking. 

Example: turmeric has an anticoagulation effect so taking it with anticoagulant medications like blood thinners such warfarin or aspirin can increase their effects and may lead to excessive bleeding.

“Curcumin400: You were exactly there when I needed you, I take this item all the time and will continue to do so. Thank you.” –Sue W.

Joint Supplements

For extra support for people living with arthritis pain and joint pain specifically, below are some of the supplements we've found success with for our clients:

Joint Revive

NutriKey's Joint Revive is specifically designed to help with joint pain and joint flexibility. Currently there are about 700,000 knee replacements each year … that’s a lot of surgeries. When you must replace knees, that typically means that bone is rubbing on bone, which can be extremely painful. That is where Joint Revive shines. It contains undenatured type II collagen, which may help stop the degeneration of the joints.

How To Take Joint Revive Supplements

We recommend taking 1 capsule twice daily with food until you see some effects and then reduce down to 1 capsule per day with food. Research suggests you’ll generally see some results within 30 days, but the best overall effects are going to be over a period of 120 days. So be sure to commit to trying Joint Revive for 4 months.

“I have been using Joint Revive for some time now. My joints and flexibility are good, no joint aches. My only request would be to have it available in a larger quantity, since I take one in the morning and one in the evening...” –Teresa R

Key Collagen

Collagen is a crucial component of our bones, joints, ligaments, hair, skin, and nails. Our bodies produce less collagen as we age. 

NutriKey's Key Collagen offers an unflavored blend of collagen peptides and contains four patented bioactive collagen peptides including: Fortibone to support bone strength and bone health, Fortigel® to support joint health, Tendoforte® to promote healthy tendons and ligaments, and Verisol® to support skin and nail health. 

Not only does Key Collagen give you a boost of collagen, but these four Bioactive Collagen Peptides® also help to stimulate your body’s own collagen production. They each target different areas of the body making it an extremely effective collagen supplement.

The real star for joint health is the Fortigel for promoting growth of new cartilage. Interestingly, a study done on animals found that the ingestion of Fortigel® stimulated an increase of cartilage tissue growth after just three months. (Just check out some of the great reviews of relief from bone spurs, cartilage damage, cartilage breakdown, and more!)

As a bonus, you can expect noticeably firmer and smoother skin with fewer wrinkles and stronger nails.

How To Take Collagen Supplements For Joint Pain

Take 1 scoop daily with water, in coffee or in a smoothie.

“Skeptical at first, I can now say, that after six months of daily Key Collagen, I am noticing a huge improvement! I have cartilage loss and bone spurs on my left knee. It would hurt to walk, bike, or just do my job. Cortisone and gel injections gave only temporary relief. I'm not feeling that pain now and am HOPING this continues! Pretty exciting.” - Jane

Glucosamine Chondroitin Complex with MSM

Glucosamine Chondroitin Complex with MSM has helped so many of our clients over the years. Glucosamine and chondroitin are components of cartilage structure, the connective tissue that cushions the joints. Both are produced naturally in the body.

Glucosamine and chondroitin supplements may help to support healthy cartilage formation and joint comfort by promoting cartilage strength and resilience, something that also decreases with age.

This supplement has been found to reduce inflammatory responses and pain by supporting the growth of cartilage.

How To Take Glucosamine Supplements For Joint Repair

To get the best benefit you usually need a minimum of 1500 mg of quality glucosamine to work (be warned that drugstore varieties are usually useless to your body!).

If you decide to try Glucosamine Chondroitin Complex with MSM, our registered dietitian nutritionists recommend taking it for a minimum of three months. Some clients start to see relief in their joint pain within one week, but expect to take it for at least six weeks to help regenerate the lost cartilage.

This product pairs really well with Key Collagen, since it also has a peptide that can help repair cartilage too, so taking these together is a great option.

Joint Supplements Recap

If you’re suffering from chronic joint pain and this all sounds overwhelming, we encourage you to consider making a virtual appointment with one of our nutritionists or dietitians. When taking supplements, it's important to work with a healthcare professional to find the right mix of nutrition choices and supplements for your unique body, medical condition, and health goals.

It often takes some time and detective work to come up with the right eating plan and combination of supplements to help reduce your specific inflammation and heal the tissues throughout your body. We’d love to help you get back to feeling good, no matter your chosen activities!

Online Class: Eating to Reduce Pain & Inflammation

Discover which foods could be causing you pain & how changing your nutrition can help in this online class.

Learn More: Eating to Reduce Pain & Inflammation

For more information on joints, check out these resources:

READ: Eating For Joint Health & Pain Relief - what to skip to decrease inflammation and what anti-inflammatory foods to include

LISTEN: Food & Supplements For Joint Health - reduce joint pain with these nutrition and joint supplement tips

INSIRE: Melissa's Story - learn how real food education helped reduce her rheumatoid arthritis pain

References:

1) Rose K Davidson, Orla Jupp, Rachel de Ferrars, Colin D Kay, Kirsty L Culley, Rosemary Norton, Clare Driscoll, Tonia L Vincent, Simon T Donell, Yongping Bao, Ian M Clark. Sulforaphane represses matrix-degrading proteases and protects cartilage from destruction in vitro and in vivo. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 2013.

2) Stohs, S. J., Ji, J., Bucci, L. R., & Preuss, H. G. (2018). A Comparative Pharmacokinetic Assessment of a Novel Highly Bioavailable Curcumin Formulation with 95% Curcumin: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Crossover Study. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 37(1), 51-59.