Being an active athlete, I’m always carrying some form of injury or joint pain, so I regularly take a joint supplement. Joint Food is one I experimented with.
I’m always wary of proprietary blends since they aren’t used to hide a secret formula. They’re used to hide underdosed ingredients to fool the consumer.
It’s one of the reasons it didn’t make my list of the best joint supplements. But it’s one of the most popular supplements for joint pain in the USA at the moment, so I had to give it a try.
Pros
- It uses proven ingredients to improve joint health.
- Third-party tested, so it doesn’t contain impurities.
Cons
- It is very expensive compared to other joint supplements.
- Proprietary blend hides underdosed ingredients.
- Uses several unproven ingredients
Quick Verdict
Joint Food doesn’t live up to the hype with underdosed and unproven ingredients.
For an effective joint supplement, try FlexAgain. It’s better dosed than anything else on the market, contains the correct amounts of 11 well-backed ingredients, and has a money-back guarantee.
Joint Food Ingredients: A Closer Look
Joint Food has ingredients that belong to a decent joint health supplement but are mainly underdosed.
Vitamin C
Starting with the positives, Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that plays a vital role in collagen production, which is crucial for maintaining healthy joints [1]. Joint Food provides a reasonable dose of 50mg, which is 57% of the recommended daily intake.
While this is a positive inclusion, its impact on joint health may be limited. This is especially true because most people get enough vitamin C, and other vitamins and minerals would be better inclusions. For example, vitamin D deficiency worsens joint pain, and most US adults are deficient [2].
Tamasteen Blend 300mg
Tamarind Seed Extract
Tamasteen and tamarind seed extract are relatively new additions to the joint health supplement market. The research on their efficacy is still limited at best. However, the 300mg dose included in Joint Food is still too low based on the 2 clinical trials that have shown positive results in treating joint pain [3].
Mangosteen
Including mangosteen in Joint Food is questionable as the existing research on its benefits for joint health is primarily based on animal studies, with limited evidence of its effectiveness in human trials [4].
Turmeric Extract
Turmeric is a well-known anti-inflammatory agent that has been extensively studied for its potential to alleviate joint pain.
Which could make it a good inclusion. After all, it’s an effective ingredient in joint pain supplements.
However, this is the second largest ingredient in a 300mg proprietary blend. For it to be effective, you need at least 500mg of the active compound curcumin. Further, curcumin only makes up about 10% of turmeric extracts, meaning this is another underdosed ingredient.
This ingredient, however (in its correct dose), is very effective for joint pain [5].
Proprietary Blend 367mg
Next, we have another proprietary blend. The ingredients do have studies to show they can help with chronic pain, but they are chronically underdosed.
MSM: A Glaring Underdosing
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is an ingredient that has been studied for its ability to reduce joint inflammation and pain. However, the effective dosage for MSM is typically around 1-3 grams, a far cry from the amount present in the Joint Food proprietary blend.
It’s impossible to contain the correct dose as it’s the highest-dosed ingredient in this blend [6].
Bromelain
Mathematically speaking, as the second largest ingredient in this blend, it could be in a high enough dose to align with the trials that have shown the enzyme can relieve pain.
It works by breaking down inflammatory agents in the body, reducing joint inflammation and thus helping with arthritis or injury pain relief [7].
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid injections have been shown to work, and there’s even evidence that they work topically. However, the results are very mixed when it comes to oral joint health supplements.
While theoretically, there could be enough here, it’s not as effective as other joint health ingredients. Further, much cheaper supplements for joint pain tend to include this [8].
Boswellia
I do like Boswellia as an ingredient. It’s well-backed, much like curcumin and bromelain, but it’s impossible that as the fourth largest ingredient in a blend of 367mg, it could be at the 100mg minimum for it to be functional for treating joint pain.
Again, it’s another natural anti-inflammatory used successfully in multiple clinical trials [9].
Collagen Type II
Collagen type II can work. The problem is that you need way more than you can get into an encapsulated supplement for joint health. You typically need to take collagen as a powder because you need 10-20 g of the stuff.
Even though there is no “ideal” dose of collagen for a joint pain relief supplement, the amount in Joint Food and many capsule supplements that contain it is simply way too low compared to the evidence we have for it working [10].
Joint Food Price
Joint Food’s price point is high compared to other joint supplements. The cost seems unreasonable, considering that only 1 ingredient is correctly dosed and can be purchased for about $10 for a month’s supply.
| Joint Supplement | 1 Bottle | 3 Bottles | 6 Bottles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joint Buddy | $33.99 ($1.13 per serving) | $61.99 ($1.03 per serving) | $87.99 ($0.97 per serving) |
My Experience With Joint Food
So, I stopped taking my regular joint health supplements and tried Joint Food. My joint pain got notably worse like I wasn’t taking any joint supplements. Considering that most of the ingredients in Joint Food require larger doses than the entire blend to be effective, I wasn’t surprised.
And in fact, I stopped taking Joint Food, and guess what? I felt no difference. I would say taking an omega supplement is likely more effective.
User Reviews & Testimonials
Joint Food has a 3.7-star rating on Amazon, which may not sound that bad at first glance, but there are clearly many weird-looking 5-star reviews that mention having not yet tried the supplement or just talking about how Joint Food arrived on time.
This usually indicates that people were offered vouchers or something similar to review the product before actually trying it.
Negative Joint Food reviews commonly state that the product simply didn’t work, which is entirely consistent with my own experience.
Joint Food Side Effects
I personally didn’t experience any side effects from Joint Food, and complaints about that seemed to be relatively uncommon in the reviews. However, some people mentioned nausea, which can happen with turmeric extracts.
Joint Food Alternatives
FlexAgain
I mentioned that this is my top pick for a joint pain supplement, and I was thrilled to return to using it. It contains Omega 3, Curcumin, Boswellia, Bromelain, MSM, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Gingerols, Vitamin D, K2, and Resveratrol.
They are all in their correct doses and have been clinically proven to relieve joint pain. It’s actually a little cheaper than Joint Food, has a money-back guarantee, is made in the USA, and is just a better product overall.
My FlexAgain review goes into more detail.
Joint Buddy
Joint Buddy is the budget option I recommend to most people, especially if they haven’t tried glucosamine supplements for joint pain. For most people, this will have a positive impact.
It also has the correct dose of MSM and every vitamin and mineral related to joint health. And it’s half the price of Joint Food.
You can read my in-depth guide in my Joint Buddy review.
Sports Research Fish Oil
If you have to pick just one ingredient for joint health, you probably want to go with omega-3. It should be either fish oil supplements or algae, and that’s because they contain EPA and DHA, which are the only two omegas your body uses.
Plant-based oils contain a different omega, which the body wastes 85% of converting. Omega-3 has been shown to be as effective as NSAIDs for chronic joint pain in multiple clinical trials [11].
Summary
- Joint Food contains several ingredients that support joint health, but the dosages are generally too low to be effective.
- Including mangosteen and the low dosage of turmeric extract are particularly concerning, as they are unlikely to provide meaningful benefits.
- Customer reviews and my experience with Joint Food suggest the supplement may not live up to its claims.
- Alternatives like FlexAgain offer a more comprehensive and well-formulated approach to joint health, with higher, clinically-backed doses of key ingredients.
- When it comes to supporting joint health and managing pain, it’s essential to carefully evaluate supplement ingredient profiles and dosages to ensure you’re investing in a product that can truly deliver the desired results.
Best Joint Pain Supplement
FlexAgain
A powerful, clinically dosed joint supplement to alleviate joint pain and improve joint health.
CHECK CURRENT DEALS
References
1. Carr, A. C., & McCall, C. (2017). The role of vitamin C in the treatment of pain: new insights. Journal of translational medicine, 15(1), 77.
2. Wu, Z., Malihi, Z., Stewart, A. W., Lawes, C. M., & Scragg, R. (2018). The association between vitamin D concentration and pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Public health nutrition, 21(11), 2022-2037.
3. Rao, P. S., Ramanjaneyulu, Y. S., Prisk, V. R., & Schurgers, L. J. (2019). A combination of tamarindus indica seeds and curcuma longa rhizome extracts improves knee joint function and alleviates pain in non-arthritic adults following physical activity. International Journal of Medical Sciences, 16(6), 845.
4. Chiu, Y. S., Wu, J. L., Yeh, C. T., Yadav, V. K., Huang, H. S., & Wang, L. S. (2020). ?-Mangostin isolated from Garcinia mangostana L. suppresses inflammation and alleviates symptoms of osteoarthritis via modulating miR-124-3p/IL-6/NF-?B signaling. Aging (Albany NY), 12(8), 6630.
5. Daily, J. W., Yang, M., & Park, S. (2016). Efficacy of turmeric extracts and curcumin for alleviating the symptoms of joint arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Journal of medicinal food, 19(8), 717-729.
6. Butawan, M., Benjamin, R. L., & Bloomer, R. J. (2017). Methylsulfonylmethane: applications and safety of a novel dietary supplement. Nutrients, 9(3), 290.
7. Brien, S., Lewith, G., Walker, A., Hicks, S. M., & Middleton, D. (2004). Bromelain as a treatment for osteoarthritis: a review of clinical studies. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine, 1, 251-257.
8. Migliore, A., & Procopio, S. (2015). Effectiveness and utility of hyaluronic acid in osteoarthritis. Clinical Cases in Mineral and Bone Metabolism, 12(1), 31.
9. Yu, G., Xiang, W., Zhang, T., Zeng, L., Yang, K., & Li, J. (2020). Effectiveness of Boswellia and Boswellia extract for osteoarthritis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 20, 1-16.
10. Bakilan, F., Armagan, O., Ozgen, M., Tascioglu, F., Bolluk, O., & Alatas, O. (2016). Effects of native type II collagen treatment on knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial. The Eurasian journal of medicine, 48(2), 95.
11. Goldberg, R. J., & Katz, J. (2007). A meta-analysis of the analgesic effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation for inflammatory joint pain. Pain, 129(1-2), 210-223.
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