Best Vitamins for Joint Pain Relief
Pain in the joints may sound initially like a simple inconvenience if you’ve never experienced it before, but nearly everything a person does requires movement, at least of the hands or feet, and even the smallest gesture can be agony if you are experiencing this kind of pain. While most joint pain can be dealt with using anti-inflammatory medication and other drugs, some patients may wish for simpler but still effective alternatives. For this, there are some minerals and vitamins for joint pain relief. These natural ingredients help your body to naturally deal with the joint problems better and can supplement the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory and other medicines.
The best vitamin for joint pain is one most people are quite familiar with: vitamin C. It can be taken in pill form and through drinks, but the best way is by eating fruits that are rich with it, such as any type of citrus, many types of berries, and cantaloupe. Vitamin C helps the body to create collagen, which is one of the materials your body uses to make cartilage.
Vitamin B in its various forms is best known for relaxing the nervous system. Since this allows your body to stay more relaxed, it can help relieve pain from joints that are not being used. B3, B5, and B6 are all commonly used B vitamins for the relief of joint pain and to aid in relaxation of muscles. It is of course available in pill form, or can be eaten in eggs, whole wheat, salmon, and asparagus.
Getting plenty of sun will help you get Vitamin D, which is also used in your body for the making of cartilage, when combined with calcium. Vitamin D is best absorbed from the sun, though you should only expose yourself to the sun in small doses to prevent sunburn.
Vitamin E is found in many nuts and is directly related to the reducing of inflammation, even in the joints. Eating plenty of nuts can help ease inflamed joints due to arthritis or other disorders. Coupled with pain relievers, many people experience a drastic reduction in joint inflammation and pain.
There are of course some supplements that are also helpful for joint pain relief. The most famous lately is omega-3 fatty acid, commonly known to be in salmon and other fatty fish. Omega-3 is also available in supplement form and geared specifically towards the long term health of all of the body’s joints.
Glucosamine and chondroitin are also supplements which are widely used for the alleviation of swelling and discomfort from arthritis and other joint problems. Glucosamine is a naturally occurring substance that your body creates from food. However, having higher levels in your system can help reduce both inflammation and pain in the body. Chondroitin is also naturally created by the body and can be found in cartilage. As a supplement, it can help the body maintain the elasticity of existing cartilage, in promoting the retention of water in the body, and in reducing the effects of damaging enzymes.
Staying hydrated is of course a very important part of staying healthy. Remember that taking vitamins for joint pain relief in large doses is generally not a problem, but only if you are also drinking plenty of water so that the body flushes out extra vitamins when needed. Vitamins from food are of course the best vitamins for joint pain relief, but supplements are also effective when used properly.
Author bio:
Dr. Atif writes health articles for body pain tips. His articles have appeared in a number of e-zine sites, including EzineArticles, ArticlesBase and HubPages. Learn more about how Dr.Atif’s health articles by visiting his blog at Body Pain Tips