Arthritis is a collective term for more than 100 joint diseases. Some 23 percent of our adult population—52 million people—suffer from some form of it, most commonly osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. There is a promising new natural arthritis supplement that significantly reduces joint pain, swelling, and tenderness—by “training” your immune system to change its targeting behavior.

Two Kinds Of Arthritis?

What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis originates in wear-and-tear damage to joint cartilage, the hard, slick lubricating coating on the ends of bones that lets them swivel and turn without friction.

Without cartilage’s lubricating effects, to cartilage can lead to bone grinding on bone.  Imagine (if you’ve never experienced it) something as routine as forming a fist, or bending your elbow to touch your nose, or just getting up from a chain, causing serious pain.

This wear and tear can occur over many years, or it can be jump-started by a joint injury or infection.

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

In rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of the joint capsule, a tough membrane that encloses all the joint parts. This lining, known as the synovial membrane, becomes inflamed and swollen. The disease process can eventually destroy cartilage and the bone within the joint.

Once considered distinctly different diseases, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are more similar than we thought. They’re both triggered when the immune system attacks joint cartilage that’s been exposed by damage to the synovial membrane.

The result? Inflammation, damage to tissues, both at the inflamed site—and wherever more cartilage is found in the body—which is everywhere.

Why Is Collagen Important? : a vulnerable building block

Cartilage is made up of proteins, water, and small molecules that help lubricate and protect joints. The protein collagen is the most prevalent component. Collagen is protected by the smooth cartilage surface—until it is damaged by wear and tear, illness or trauma. Then, the underlying collagen is suddenly naked—and a target for killer T-cells.

What are killer T-cells?

Our immune system’s T-cells protect us 24 x 7 from attack by foreign cells of all sorts. They do this essential work brilliantly—or we’d all be sick or dead all the time.

Any unrecognized cell shape or structure becomes a T-cell target.

So the newly naked collagen, which was shielded from T-cells for years, until its protective cartilage broke down, is mistaken by T-cells as a foreign substance.

Boom—ruthless, ongoing T-cell attacks and resulting inflammation, for as long as collagen is available beneath damaged cartilage, anywhere in the body.

Breakthrough—you can train your T-cells.

Here’s the pivot point that changed the way we treat arthritis—offering very real hope for millions.

T-cells can be trained to recognize that collagen is a friend, not an enemy.

The training tool? Undenatured type II collagen (UC-II).  This is a specially engineered collagen. Unlike the altered, denatured collagen used in many valuable procedures like skin grafts, UC-II resembles natural collagen in structure.

Where do we find undenatured collagen? You’ll love this …

Chicken soup to the rescue

Yep, grandma knew her soup. UC-II is naturally derived from chicken cartilage, in a formulation that survives the brutal, acid-bathed journey to the lower end of our small intestine.

This is where killer T-cells are “trained” to recognize collagen, and to not attack it.

Benefits Of UC-II

Clinical studies show that UC-II supplementation provides marked relief from joint pain, swelling, and loss of function, in both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

A large study of osteoarthritis patients, average age 59, showed impressive results when testing UC-II against glucosamine chondroitin—a popular OTC formulation proven to help rebuild damaged joints.

Participants were given either:

• 40 mg of UC-II daily or
• 1500 mg capsules of a glucosamine/chondroitin formulation daily

After 90 days, one metric showed that pain was reduced by:

• 33 percent in the UC-II group
• 14 percent in the glucosamine/chondroitin group

A different pain metric showed resulted in pain reduced by:

• 40 percent in the UC-II group
• 15 percent in the glucosamine/chondroitin group

These are impressive results.  And just as important, the UC-II group’s pain scores declined continuously throughout the 90-day study—while the glucosamine/chondroitin group, after initial improvement, showed no further beneficial effects.

The UC-II supplements also reduced measures of functional impairments, such as “pain while getting up from sitting” and “maximum distance walked”.

And there was also this significant, telling bit of data—within the first 30 days, nearly all—89 percent—of the glucosamine/chondroitin recipients requested  “rescue medication” with a painkiller, but only 33 percent of UC-II recipients requested painkillers.

Adding to the promise of this treatment, a Harvard-Beth Israel study of patients with active rheumatoid arthritis found a reduction in the number of swollen and tender joints in subjects who supplemented with UC-II for 3 months—and no reduction in placebo recipients.

Better still, 14 percent of patients receiving UC-II achieved complete remission of the disease, a remarkable, promising finding for any form of treatment.

A larger trial of patients with rheumatoid arthritis saw similar results.

Finally, in a study of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, a particularly aggressive form of the disease that begins in childhood, 10 patients were given supplementary UC-II for 12 weeks.

Eight of them responded—impressive in itself. And the average reduction in numbers of swollen joints and tender joints was 61 percent and 54 percent, respectively.

Importantly, no serious side effects or adverse events were reported in this or any other human study.

See what I mean about reason to hope?

These are significant findings:

• UC-II can halt damage to collagen
• The glucosamine/chondroitin formulation can rebuild current damage and prevent future damage

The combination looks like a game-changer—a life changer—for millions of arthritis sufferers. If you’re among them, make sure your doctor knows about UC-II.

References

• Bagchi, D et al. “Effects of orally administered undenatured type II collagen against arthritic inflammatory diseases: a mechanistic exploration.” Published NA. Last accessed April 24, 2017.
• Preston, William. “Rebuild Aging Joints!” Life Extension. Published NA. Last accessed April 24, 2017.
• “Arthritis Overview” Mayo Clinic. Published NA. Last accessed April 24, 2017.
• Shoseyov, Oded. “Human collagen produced in plants—more than just another molecule” Published August 9, 2013. Last accessed April 24, 2017.

Last Updated: June 23, 2021
Originally Published: May 22, 2017