Supplements for Inflammation

[Foster Hunter]

Athletic Greens has been great for me

 

[Stilesville204]

Hopefully whatever helps the back would also helps psoriatic arthritis, sinus trouble, and psoriasis possibly ?

 

[mtnbound]

Has anyone implemented a supplement routine that they feel has helped battle inflammation? I have had a back issue that I cannot shake. I’m doing lots of work to get past it, but the littlest things seem to set my lower back (QL) on fire. I’ve read lots of good stuff on fish oil, and one of the chiros I have seen suggested magnesium.

Doesn’t have to be back pain related, but I am interested to hear if anyone else has found something that they feel has a real impact.

There are lot of issues that can contribute to back pain. Have you been evaluated by a Doc or PT? Just taking something for inflammation may not be the smart decision.

 

[BoilerBowHunter]

There are lot of issues that can contribute to back pain. Have you been evaluated by a Doc or PT? Just taking something for inflammation may not be the smart decision.

Yes, of course. Didn’t mean to make it sound like I expected supplements to fix it. Was looking at it more as something I could do long term to help a bit. PT has actually fixed me up 90% since my original post. Looking at supplements as more long term maintenance on top of exercise etc.

 

[mtnbound]

Yes, of course. Didn’t mean to make it sound like I expected supplements to fix it. Was looking at it more as something I could do long term to help a bit. PT has actually fixed me up 90% since my original post. Looking at supplements as more long term maintenance on top of exercise etc.

Okay, as others have mentioned, diet can contribute to inflammation, but that tends to be more of a whole-body inflammation and not a localized problem. Still, it's probably worth looking into. Diets are a whole other topic.
Everyone is different when it comes to what works. I would suggest you try one thing at a time and see if you get any relief before adding something else. Tumeric in liquid form seems to work for me, and high-quality (Hammer) CBD works for me. Be careful with some CBD as they can contain THC, which, if you are drug tested for work, you will test positive. I take a Hammers non-THC CBD, but I have found that I have to take a higher dosage to be effective. Arnica Montana works amazingly for me. Fish oil does not work for me.

 

[Poser]

Yes, of course. Didn’t mean to make it sound like I expected supplements to fix it. Was looking at it more as something I could do long term to help a bit. PT has actually fixed me up 90% since my original post. Looking at supplements as more long term maintenance on top of exercise etc.

Boswellia Extract, which has become one of the more consistently recommended supplements along with Tumeric, Fish Oil & Glucosamine or knee inflammation, apparently has shown some benefits for back pain as well. I take 600mg twice a day for knee arthritis. You'll find quite a bit of info online about it, for example: xhttps://www.reddit.com/r/TMJ/comments/1acpfi2/boswellia_has_been_effective_update/

Doing some traction work for your spine to "stretch" it out a bit allow synovial fluid to really get in there may be helpful. Common traction work include dead hangs and Reverse Hypers. I'm unsure about Glucosamine for the back specifically, but the idea with taking it for joint issues is to improve the quality of your synovial fluid over time. If traction indeed improves your spinal situation, then it would follow that higher quality synovial fluid may also help, but that's just speculation. There is no other way to get glucosamine other than taking it in supplement form.

 

[fwafwow]

Try reading "Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind" by Georgia Ede, MD. Although the title most of the book is related to mental health, she goes into detail about what foods are good (natural and meat based especially), and what isn't good for us (carbs, lots of plants, sugar and processed foods) - broadly speaking. Maybe try eliminating some foods before adding something else. (Example - based on some of her analysis, I'm going to eliminate dairy - other than hard cheeses or dairy with low lactose - and I love the $hit out of dairy and have never had a known problem.)

Eat better and you should be better - and stretching, yoga and other exercise is probably good - IMHO.

What I personally do not think works are supplements. I went down this rabbit hole more than once, and even for a time was using one of the more respective (and expensive) brands (Thorne) for daily supplements and paying a lot on a monthly basis. But I could not find a single scientific study that supports any of their claims (if there was such a study, wouldn't it be on the Thorne website - like the mythical shock tests of most scope manufacturers?). And the concept of "well it can't hurt" may not be true.

Even the fish oil health claims are largely unsupported by studies.

If I'm wrong on any of the above, I'd be happy to be pointed to the literature.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Stretching and yoga, as gay is it is, is the way. Core strength training really helps lower back. Plyometric exercises twice a week helps my bad joints, paired with lots of stretching.

Plant based protein powder, almond milk, fish oil, and turmeric as a daily or twice daily protein shake seems to really help my joints as well.

The garden of life brand protein powder digests really well for me compared to traditional and whey heavy proteins. My joints don’t get anywhere near as inflamed with this protein either.

Stretching and yoga are super gay but it’s amazing how much they help, especially as I progress through middle age.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Before I dropped money on supplements I’d do an elimination diet regimen to isolate anything that is exacerbating your inflammation.

 

[AKSandman]

These are the best combination I have found
Turmeric/curcumin 3 cap/day
Nordic naturals pro DHA 1000 fish oil (2-3cap 2xday)
Collagenell 2-3 caps 2xday
Cbd isolate (titrate to best dose for you)

If your muscles are tight, use “calm” brand magnesium

 

[Jtb.kfd]

Carnivore as others have mentioned. I’m almost 50 with two ruptured discs in my back and multiple shoulder surgeries from a work accident. Started carnivore over a year ago and have absolutely zero joint pain now. Happened quickly too. I used to try all sorts of supplements, oils and a bunch of other crap and worked hard trying to convince myself they were working. There is no question with a carnivore diet. I am wrapping up November with a cardio challenge with guys at work - 100 miles running, 100,000m rowing and 1,000 flights of stairs. My joints would have never been able to tolerate that much before, but I am finishing it pain free now. As another person wrote, I don’t want to be that guy, but this eating regimen has been life changing.

 

[GoatPackr]

It's been hammered out by several in this topic but it's not what you need to put in your body. It's what you need to eliminate.
Carbs and sugar in all forms made a big difference for me. The other thing I learned was SOY. Stay away from anything soy. It's one of the biggest contributors to inflammation. It's also one of hardest things to avoid in our food system. They put that junk in everything!!!

 

[1jeds]

It's been hammered out by several in this topic but it's not what you need to put in your body. It's what you need to eliminate.
Carbs and sugar in all forms made a big difference for me. The other thing I learned was SOY. Stay away from anything soy. It's one of the biggest contributors to inflammation. It's also one of hardest things to avoid in our food system. They put that junk in everything!!!

What's wrong with soy? Do you have a source for that - it looks like soy actually reduces inflammation. There is some bizarre narrative about soy lowering testosterone/increasing estrogen, but plenty of studies (including one with 2,000+ men) show this isn't true.

I'm not some sort of soy defender, just want to avoid misinformation.

 

[GoatPackr]

What's wrong with soy? Do you have a source for that - it looks like soy actually reduces inflammation. There is some bizarre narrative about soy lowering testosterone/increasing estrogen, but plenty of studies (including one with 2,000+ men) show this isn't true.

I'm not some sort of soy defender, just want to avoid misinformation.

I don't. It's something I run across several years ago.
I avoid it if possible. Mostly just reduce it as much as possible.

 

[Austink47]

Turmeric works great for me. I do a shot with a liquid turmeric concentrate, apple juice, and black pepper. Just like most shots it is an acquired taste.

 

[JREG19]

I have had lower back pain come and go for a while now (after a car accident). For the last two years I've worked delivering Coca-Cola to convenience stores. On a typical day I would deliver 12-15,000lbs of freight a day. I had to touch each piece twice, I would stack it in front of the store and wheel it in with a hand truck, then stock everything. That was hell on my back, my back was hurting me so bad, I would have to be on my knees in front of the store stacking, it was definitely effecting my job and everything else I wanted to do. My father in law recommended taking Defuse from Mtn Ops. Before I started taking it, I was at the chiropractor at least every other day (they loved Coca-Cola in there). I started taking the Defuse and after 2 weeks or so my back pain was pretty much gone, towards the end of the bottle it was gone completely. I ran out and thought, "oh well, it was probably a placebo effect." Well a couple of weeks later, when it was out of my system, my back pain was back just like before. I started taking it again and the pain is gone.


It takes couple weeks to build up in your system but is well worth the price. I buy multiple bottles when it goes on sale now.

 

[FRANKBUCK]

For me, diet was the most important thing that helped my inflammation issues. I used to take the cleanest whey protein available, but started connecting the dots when I couldn't shake the chronic inflammation and aches and pains. As hard as it was for me, I eliminated dairy from my diet and have noticed a HUGE difference. Even my sinus issues and congestion vanished. I also eliminated seed oils. I never consumed that much sugar but reducing that is also a good idea. Some inflammation even comes from gluten. If I were you, I'd find out your blood type and then look up foods that you should be eating and ones you should avoid. There is a website for that.
I am not saying that this is will solve all of your issues but can assure you it will help with many of them. Different foods affect people in different ways. For some, dairy might upset their stomach. For others, it will affect the joints.
I also started taking Inflamx350 plus from Metagenics. It is crazy expensive, but it has helped tremendously with inflammation. Now I substitute whey protein with pea per dr.'s orders and have had good results. Have not heard anything bad about pea protein and it has worked well for me. I also don't eat refined carbs and get a lot of my protein from meat, fish and eggs. IMO, Inflammation comes from what we put into our bodies. Once you find out what foods are doing that, cut them out instead of just masking/treating the symptoms. Let me know if this helps you!