Nutrients ease pain in osteoarthritis, reverse osteopenia
Curcumin, boswellic acid ease pain in osteoarthritis
Sometimes, combining two nutrients together can have a greater effect than a single nutrient alone. Here, doctors combined a curcuminoid complex from turmeric with a boswellic acid extract from Indian frankincense. In this study, men and women with osteoarthritis, aged 40 to 70, took a placebo, a curcuminoid complex alone, or a combination of 350 mg of curcuminoids plus 150 mg of boswellic acid three times per day. After 12 weeks, while the placebo group had not improved, those taking curcumin alone or the curcumin-boswellic acid combination (Curamin®) scored better on physical function performance tests including morning stiffness, and limits to physical function. Only the curcumin-boswellic acid group reported improvement in joint pain.
Tocotrienol, a form of vitamin E, rebuilds bone
Bone mass naturally thins with age, a condition called osteopenia, but drug treatments to slow bone loss have serious side effects. In this first study to test tocotrienol in osteopenia, 87 postmenopausal women with the condition took 400 IU of vitamin D plus 500 mg of calcium per day, along with a placebo, 270 mg of delta tocotrienol plus 30 mg of gamma tocotrienol, or double the tocotrienols dose, per day.
After 12 weeks, while the placebo group had not changed, those taking either dose of tocotrienols saw a 100 percent increase in the ratio of a primary bone-forming biomarker to a bone- breakdown biomarker. Another ratio of bone breakdown to formation improved 18 percent for tocotrienol while deteriorating 28 percent for placebo. Discussing the findings from this first-of-its-kind clinical trial, doctors said, unlike vitamin D which supports calcium in bone building, tocotrienols work directly with living bone-forming and bone-breakdown cells to create a balance that favors bone build-up.
Reference: BMC Complementary and Alternative
Medicine; 2018, Vol. 18, No. 1, 7
Natural Insights for Well Being May 2018
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