Our joint health plays a major role in keeping us active and doing the things we love so we can continue to smash through our future fitness and overall life goals.

When we think of joint health, certain words may come to mind, such as cartilage, collagen, tendons, connective tissue, all critical components we must maintain to achieve optimal joint health.

This is why Designer Physique created Joint Health Boost, which contains a unique blend of Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) plus essential minerals that support all of the above, and are necessary for healthy joint function and cartilage health.

What’s even better is that Joint Health Boost is a concentrated powder, delivering a higher dose of ingredients per serve.

In fact, Joint Health Boost contains 40mg of MSM, which is equivalent to up to 6 teaspoons higher than our competitor (which is full of SUGAR and FILLERS!)

Before I digress, let’s move on and discuss the ingredients in a little more detail to give you a better understanding as to what they do, and why we chose these pretty amazing joint supporting ingredients.

Glucosamine for Joint Health

Glucosamine is known as an amino monosaccharide and is found naturally and abundantly in connective tissue and cartilage.

Glucosamine for supplementation is generally extracted from chitin, found primarily in the exoskeleton of insects, cell walls of fungi, and from crustaceans such as lobster or crabs.

It’s important to note here that Designer Physique sources its glucosamine from premium quality Japanese Crustacea.

When we look at the actions of Glucosamine, we can see that it supports joint health through the production of cartilage, prevents collagen degeneration, and suppresses the inflammatory process responsible for the breakdown of cartilage in the joint tissue.

This means glucosamine ticks the boxes in terms of improving joint function, mobility and reduces joint pain (Jerosch, 2011).

Chondroitin for Connective Tissue Protection

Chondroitin is an important component in the body found primarily in the extracellular matrix of connective tissue, including various cartilage and tendons.

When it comes to sourcing, Chondroitin is extracted from the cartilage tissue of cows, pigs, birds and various fish, with our formula using high quality chondroitin extracted from shark cartilage.

Chondroitin has water retentive properties, which allows it to play a role in cartilage load and resisting pressure in varying conditions, which protects and prolongs joint health.

These mechanisms aid in the reduced breakdown of collagen, cartilage and tendon, which result in a decrease in joint tissue inflammation, oxidation and overall pain reduction (Henrotin et al., 2010).


Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) for Inflammation

MSM is a natural sulfurous compound found in various green vegetables, algae, grains, and milk, and is most commonly used for its anti-inflammatory activity.

Supplementation of MSM results in a decreased release of proinflammatory cytokines, making it a useful compound in joint pain and inflammatory conditions such as osteoarthritis (Van der Merwe & Bloomer, 2016).

Additionally, MSM may also help contribute to the production of collagen, and inhibit the breakdown of cartilage in joint tissue, two fairly important factors in maintaining joint health (Anthonavage et al., 2015).

This is why our Joint Food Boost formula contains a fairly big dose of MSM, with an approximate 6 teaspoons more per serve than our competitors, minus all the added sugars and nasty fillers.

Essential Minerals for Bone Health

Lastly, our Joint Health Boost includes Zinc, Manganese, and Magnesium, all essential minerals that support the health of our bones.

Zinc is an essential mineral that we need for healthy skeletal growth, and it plays a major part in various cellular pathways that involve bone growth and regeneration (O’Connor et al., 2020).

Magnesium has shown to have a protective role in the skeletal system, and in fact, 60% of magnesium is found and stored in bone. Adequate magnesium intake allows for healthy bone mineralisation, and reduces the rate of bone loss (Zofkov et al., 2013).

Manganese is involved in the synthesis of bone, meaning like Zinc, it assists in the acceleration of bone growth. On top of this, manganese plays a role in skeletal integrity, and also helps to reduce bone loss (Zofkov et al., 2013)..

The Takeaway

Our joint health is important if we want to stay active and keep moving, which means supporting the components necessary for joint function becomes paramount.

Using compounds such as Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), Zinc, Manganese, and Magnesium, we can support our joints optimally, protect our connective tissue and cartilage, and reduce any unnecessary pain that may come from excessive joint use. 

Luckily, Designer Physique provides an easy to mix, single-serve a day formula that contains all these ingredients so we can give our joints the food it needs.

If you’re ready to optimise your joint health, why not pick up a jar today and try it out?

References

• Anthonavage, M., Benjamin, R., & Withee, E. (2015). Effects of Oral Supplementation With Methylsulfonylmethane on Skin Health and Wrinkle Reduction. Natural Medicine Journal, 7(11).
• Henrotin, Y., Mathy, M., Sanchez, C., & Lambert, C. (2010). Chondroitin sulfate in the treatment of osteoarthritis: From in vitro studies to clinical recommendations. Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease, 2(6), 335-348. https://doi.org/10.1177/1759720×10383076
• Jerosch, J. (2011). Effects of Glucosamine and Chondroitin sulfate on cartilage metabolism in OA: Outlook on other nutrient partners especially omega-3 fatty acids. International Journal of Rheumatology, 2011, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/969012
• O’Connor, J. P., Kanjilal, D., Teitelbaum, M., Lin, S. S., & Cottrell, J. A. (2020). Zinc as a therapeutic agent in bone regeneration. Materials, 13(10), 2211. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13102211
• Van der Merwe, M., & Bloomer, R. J. (2016). The influence of Methylsulfonylmethane on inflammation-associated Cytokine release before and following strenuous exercise. Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/7498359
• Zofkov, I., Nemcikova, P., & Matucha, P. (2013). Trace elements and bone health. Clin Chem Lab Med, 51(8), 1555–1561.