Joint Support

Nutrients connected to Joint Support

A link means the body needs the nutrient for this, or that low intake is linked to it. It does not mean extra supplements help if your intake is already adequate; each link shows how strong the evidence is.

• UC-II (Undenatured Type II Collagen)Preliminary or mixed

  Better knee scores in small placebo-controlled trials of UC-II 40 mg a day.

• Joint Formulas (Glucosamine, Chondroitin, MSM, Turmeric)Preliminary or mixed

  Studied for knee osteoarthritis symptoms; results mixed.

• Curcumin (turmeric supplements)Preliminary or mixed

  Early reviews report positive results for knee osteoarthritis pain and stiffness; NCCIH says better studies are needed and the evidence is not conclusive.

• TurmericPreliminary or mixed

  Early studies of turmeric or curcumin taken by mouth report some improvement in knee osteoarthritis pain and stiffness, but NIH says better-quality studies are needed. A review of supplement trials rated the overall evidence very low quality.

• ArnicaPreliminary or mixed

  Arnica gel was not worse than ibuprofen gel in one 21-day hand osteoarthritis trial; the evidence is a single study and the EU accepts skin use mainly on traditional grounds.

• BoswelliaPreliminary or mixed

  Some trials and pooled analyses of oral boswellia extracts in osteoarthritis report less pain and stiffness, but studies are small, one 2024 analysis found no significant overall effect, and NCCIH says evidence is not enough to call it useful.

• Devil's clawPreliminary or mixed

  Some short-term trials of standardized root extracts found less joint or back pain than placebo, but the Cochrane review rated this evidence low quality and the EU committee accepted it only as traditional use.

• Nirgundi (Chinese chaste tree)Preliminary or mixed

  Used traditionally for joint pain. Only a branded nirgundi and ginger blend has been tested in small, company-linked human trials; nirgundi alone has no human trials.

• TurmericPreliminary or mixed

  Early meta-analyses of oral turmeric or curcumin are positive for knee osteoarthritis; better research is needed. Not shown for food amounts.

• Peloids and Mud TherapyPreliminary or mixed

  Better joint function in knee osteoarthritis analyses.

• Balneotherapy (Spa Therapy)Preliminary or mixed

  Osteoarthritis reviews promising but weak.

• Collagen Peptides (Hydrolyzed Collagen)Preliminary or mixed

  Pain and function scores in knee osteoarthritis improved versus placebo in pooled trials.

• Bovine Collagen (Types I and III)Preliminary or mixed

  One 13-week trial of pork-skin and bovine-bone peptides and a meta-analysis of four high-risk-of-bias trials reported less knee osteoarthritis pain; findings are limited.

• Chicken Collagen (Type II)Preliminary or mixed

  Trials report lower pain and stiffness scores for UC-II in knee osteoarthritis, with limits in size, length and product type.

• Eggshell Membrane (NEM)Preliminary or mixed

  Small trials and a 2024 meta-analysis; mixed results.

• Fish oilPreliminary or mixed

  A 2022 review of 30 studies in rheumatoid arthritis suggested omega-3-rich foods may improve pain and joint swelling; another 2021 review found lower pain but rated the evidence low.

• Krill oilPreliminary or mixed

  Mixed results in knee osteoarthritis trials.

• Omega-3 fatty acids (ALA, EPA and DHA)Preliminary or mixed

  Possible help with joint symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis; low-quality evidence.

• Willow barkPreliminary or mixed

  Mixed evidence; one trial in osteoarthritis was negative.

• HaritakiPreliminary or mixed

  One 84-day trial of a standardized extract improved knee comfort with activity in overweight adults.

• Angelica pubescens (du huo)Preliminary or mixed

  Used traditionally for joint pain; the formula Duhuo Jisheng showed add-on benefit in one meta-analysis, not the herb alone.

• Bitter kolaPreliminary or mixed

  One small randomized trial (2008) found less knee-osteoarthritis pain than placebo and a result similar to naproxen and celecoxib. It was a single small trial with many dropouts, so the evidence is limited.

• BoragePreliminary or mixed

  Cochrane found moderate evidence that GLA oils, including borage seed oil, give some relief in rheumatoid arthritis. Few trials; applies to the oil only.

• Nettle TeaPreliminary or mixed

  Minor joint pain, traditional use.

• Rose Hip TeaPreliminary or mixed

  Same powder trials; extract only, no tea trial.

• Multi-Collagen Blends (Types I, II, III, V, X)Preliminary or mixed

  Reported in one small blend trial and one single type II trial; not shown for five-type blends.

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