Protecting Yourself With Joint Formulas: Take Action & Discover What Works!

The first ingredient that you should definitely be getting is glucosamine. Glucosamine has the primary role of maintaining the structural framework of the connective tissues in the body, which includes all your ligaments and tendons that often become swollen and inflamed after a hard weight lifting or cardio workout.

The body is able to absorb glucosamine quickly upon consumption, and a good typical dose that you want to start at is about 500 mg taken three times a day.

Individuals who also suffer from arthritis are often advised by their doctors to start using a glucosamine supplement, so if this disease runs in your family, again, it's something you really want to consider.

Next up on the list is chondroitin. This is another supplement that is very often paired together with glucosamine in order to help treat arthritis or those suffering from bone conditions.

In the body it has the role of interacting with proteins in the extracellular matrix and helping to regulate a variety of cellular functions, but also does play a part in helping to maintain the structure and integrity of the body tissues as well.

In a recent study performed out of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, researchers found that when subjects were given a combination of both chondroitin and glucosamine, there was an improvement in knee joint swelling, as well as some improvement in pain in those who were experiencing moderate to severe knee problems.

Most often with joint formula products, when glucosamine is present, chondroitin will be as well, so you'll be getting the combined benefits of the two supplements.

MSM, which stands for methylsulfonylmethane is present in all tissues of your body and helps to provide the materials the body needs to properly assemble its tissues.

Typically health professionals recommend that those who do not take in a great deal of the mineral sulfur supplement their diets with MSM, however, for those concerned with knee and joint pain, it's a good idea to add it to your usual supplement regime as well.

Individuals who supplement with 1500 mg per day of MSM tend to show reduced symptoms when suffering from osteoarthritis, as well as it helps to bring the inflammation down, speeding recovery from the daily wear and tear on the joints and ligaments.

You can purchase MSM entirely on its own if that's what you would prefer, or buy it in combination with the other two ingredients listed above.

Either way, it will be one of the more important supplements to look at when trying to protect your joints.

Probably the most commonly known joint supplement that people take is calcium, which also deserves mentioning.

The problem is that many people who are very concerned with fat loss start to reduce their intake of dairy products in their diet, being led to believe this will hinder their goals.

With this reduction in dairy comes a reduction in dietary calcium consumed as well, which then puts your bones at a high risk for being depleted.

Since the body needs calcium every day for other functions including proper muscle contractions during your workout as well as good nerve transmission.

When the diet is low in calcium, then the body will begin reaching into the stored calcium deposits in the bones to get this needed calcium, causing a weakening in the bone tissue itself.

If this is left to go on long enough, you are then at a higher risk of stress fractures, osteoporosis, and other bone problems.

So, by supplementing with calcium you'll help to provide the assurance that if you aren't getting enough in your diet, your body has extra to spare the calcium that's already stored in the bones.

Even if you are eating plenty of dairy products, it's still not a bad idea to consider supplementing as well, since this will definitely help safeguard you optimally.

It's recommended that you aim to get in 1300 mg of calcium a day if you're between the ages of 14-18, 1000 if you're between 19 and 50, and 1200 if you're 51 or over.

Finally, the last supplement to consider as far as your bone health is concerned is vitamin D.

The reason vitamin D is important is because vitamin D is the vitamin that's going to help the mineral calcium be absorbed properly.

So, even if you are taking steps to ensure you're getting enough calcium in your diet, if you aren't getting enough vitamin D, you could still be at risk for the problems discussed in the last point.

The typical recommendation for vitamin D intake is set at 5 mcg (200 IU's) per day for men and women between the ages of 14 and 50 and 10 mcg (400 IU's) per day for those 51+.

Most people will get sufficient intake of vitamin D from going out in sunlight, since sunlight causes vitamin D to be manufactured by the body. Otherwise, the main food sources you should look for include: