Source: The Fish Site, November 7, 2015
When we think of joint pain, we often assume glucosamine to be the star. But not everyone gets better on that. Some people can’t tolerate it because it is usually fish-derived. Natural collagen is available today, and it’s finely ground up in particle sizes that are small enough to get absorbed by your system and incorporated well. It’s not new, there’s a lot of solid research.
Undenatured Type II Collagen, sometimes seen as UC-II or UCII, is a natural source of collagen that comes from chicken sternal cartilage. That’s the cartilage attached to the breast bone where we get white meat in chicken. Once purified and encapsulated, you can buy it as a supplement.
Several studies point to its benefit for joint health. In a human clinical trial, researchers compared UCII to a combination of glucosamine and chondroitin. After 90 days, the UCII (collagen) treated group had significantly better outcomes than the group taking the chondroitin/glucosamine combo. Pain diminished among both groups. The collagen-treated group had a 40 percent pain reduction compared to a 15 percent reduction in the other group. So both groups felt better, but the collagen group fared dramatically better.
In a more recent study in the Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition, researchers wanted to see how UCII collagen would work in a preventative manner if you exercised too. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy individuals also proved the merits of collagen. The scientists chose 55 adults who had no arthritis at rest but experienced joint discomfort with exercise or physical activity. Only half of the participants received the collagen, the other group served as the placebo.
Read the full article: Pharmacist: Collagen critical for healthy joints