18 Supplements That Could Help Your Body Heal Faster

If you find yourself injured or laid up with inflammation, follow this exact protocol for enhanced connective tissue healing, fast recovery from injury-produced inflammation, and a quick return to your training and competition after a strain, sprain or crash. This information is not provided by a physician for medical treatment purposes, but is rather a simple guide to natural supplements that can assist with healing.

1. Glucosamine, ~500mg. Best when combined with Chondroitin, ~400mg. Spread it through the day in three separate doses.

2. Chondroitin (see above)

3. Vitamin C, ~1000+mg per day. You could take this in an "immune system booster" like Airborne, from high fruit and vegetable intake (*ahem*, one apple only contains 8mg, however), or from a multi-vitamin that includes Vitamin C (AKA ascorbic acid).

4. Zinc, ~50mg. Often, zinc can also be found in an "immune system booster" type of effervescent powder.

5. Vitamin B3, ~250mg. Also know as Niacinamide. Tuna is one of nature's richest sources, but you'll only get about 15mg from one fillet. You're getting the idea - use a supplement form for convenience, rather than mowing down 17 tuna fillets.

6. Selenium, ~200mcg. Brazil nuts, fish, and crimini mushrooms are very high in selenium, at about 40-50mcg per serving. You might be able to get away with getting this one from the diet.

7. Chromium Picolinate, ~200mcg. Check the label of your multi-vitamin - sometimes it will be there.

8. Vitamin E, ~400IU. A powerful antioxidant also known as alpha-tocopherol. As is the case with most fat soluble vitamins, you'll want to be careful not to overdose. Sunflower seeds, incidentally, are one of the highest natural sources.

9. A Multi-Vitamin. This should go without saying.

10. Proteolytic Enzmes. Trypsin, Chymotrypsin, Papain and Bromelain are the top four, and the latter is found highly concentrated in pineapples.

11. Cetyl Myristoleate. Traditionally used for arthritis, it would be worth including in your protocol, if you can find it. 12-15 grams over 30 days is the recommended protocol for arthritic conditions. Recommend following manufacturer's label for sprains/strains.

12. Carnitine. More anti-oxidant support.

13. Evening primrose oil, ~500mcg. Excellent anti-inflammatory. Often packaged with fish oil or flax seed oil.

14. MSM (AKA methylsulfonylmethane). Essential for connective tissue repair, and can be applied topically in lotion form.

15. Pregnenolone, ~50mg. Be careful with this one, as it is a hormone precursor, but could help you recover faster. Check at your local health food store.

16. DHEA. For both males and females, this will help with a testosterone-like healing effect. Rye pollen extract is another good way to boost DHEA levels.

17. Omega 3 fatty acid. A potent anti-inflammatory that will assist in the assimilation of many other compounds on this list. I personally recommend flaxseed oil.

18. Co-Enzyme Q10, ~60-100mcg/day. Dirt cheap and easy to find.


complete list of anti-inflammatory supplements 

Glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM don't put a dent in osteoarthritis

In the past decade, glucosamine and chondroitin have been among the nation's bestselling supplements as aging baby boomers seek natural remedies for their aging joints. • 

Sales boomed after New York Times health columnist Jane Brody wrote in a 1997 column that the combination helped her arthritic dog and relieved her own knee pain by about 30 percent. • But Brody went on to have a double knee replacement, and recent studies have found little or no benefit from glucosamine and chondroitin, either separately or in combination, for treating osteoarthritis. • And what about MSM, the supplement often found in combination with glucosamine and chondroitin?

A 2006 study of MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), found some improvement in terms of pain and physical function, but the study involved only 50 patients.

Does all this mean that people with arthritis should stop taking these supplements?

"One thing about glucosamine and chondroitin is that they're very, very safe," said Dr. John Murray of Pasadena Family Medical Associates in St. Petersburg. "So if a patient is taking them, I won't tell them to stop, or if they suggest to me that they'd like to try (taking) it, I don't object. Some patients tell me they've felt an improvement, but there might be a strong placebo component to that."

Early studies suggested that glucosamine might stimulate the production of healthy cartilage and that chondroitin might help fight the inflammation that contributes to cartilage destruction in osteoarthritis.

The two supplements also seemed to help relieve the pain of arthritis.

But the best study to date, known as the Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial, or GAIT, has found few such benefits.

The GAIT study investigated the two supplements on pain relief and to see if they could control the underlying cause of osteoarthritis — the deterioration of the cartilage between the bones in the joints.

One part of the study followed 1,583 patients who received glucosamine, chondroitin, both, a pain reliever, or a placebo. People taking the supplements reported no greater reduction in pain than did those receiving a placebo.

Last year new GAIT results showed that the supplements did not slow the deterioration of joint cartilage either.

Supplement makers argue that the results of the GAIT study are not conclusive.

"What they did was study people too early in the arthritic process," Luke Bucci, vice president of research at Schiff Nutrition International, a maker of glucosamine and chondroitin, told WebMD after the first GAIT results were announced. "They were starting to see some small advantages for the glucosamine group."

A closer examination of the results shows that a small subgroup of people with moderate to severe pain did gain significant pain relief, according to Arthritis Today.

Also, the GAIT study used glucosamine hydrochloride instead of glucosamine sulfate, which controlled arthritic knee pain among participants in a European study of the supplement, according to the magazine. And the dosage — once a day instead of three times a day — may have been inadequate.

Such ambiguity, combined with the apparent harmlessness of glucosamine and chondroitin, has prompted many physicians such as Murray to tolerate, if not actually recommend, the use of the supplements.

Popping pills?

For most people, glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM supplements cause no apparent harm. Not so for high doses of ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, according to a recent study in Neurology. Among people 65 and older, heavy users of NSAIDs were 66 percent more likely to develop dementia, and 57 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer's, than non-users.

The American Geriatrics Society just recommended that older patients should never use NSAIDs due to increased risk of heart and gastrointestinal problems. NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors, such as Celebrex, should be used "with extreme caution," according to the group, which advises acetaminophen (Tylenol, Excedrin) instead, except in heavy drinkers.

"Acetaminophen is the initial drug of choice for osteoarthritis for the majority of patients," said St. Petersburg physician John Murray. "It has a good safety record, and it's been around for long time.

"The only problem is that for a lot of patients, it doesn't work very well."

Outside the bottle

Here are non-drug and non-supplement measures frequently recommended to relieve osteoarthritis. 

• If you're overweight, lose a few pounds to ease the load on joints.
• Exercise moderately (walking, swimming, cycling, light weight training, yoga) to strengthen muscles around joints and keep them limber.
• Therapies such as acupuncture, physical therapy and heat therapy may help.
• Try support devices such as splints, canes, walkers and braces.