Evaluating products.
How do I choose adjunctive products for joint health?
Shelf order follows the evidence: curcumin phytosome leads as the NSAID-sparing botanical (the most knee-OA trials, the absorption-engineered form the trials used), tart cherry carries the gout side (the flare-reduction signal, in the fructose-free capsule the condition demands), and UC-II closes with the shelf's most interesting mechanism (40 mg of immune-tolerance signal — small trials, novel, honestly sized). All three sit behind the free first-line tier (exercise, weight) and the prescription tiers (treat-to-target urate, the RA early window) — and none rebuilds cartilage, because nothing does. The products below are educational examples — not medical recommendations.
Thorne Meriva-500 Curcumin Phytosome
by Thorne (Meriva licensed) · The NSAID-Sparing Botanical
Score
The botanical with the most knee-OA trials on this shelf: phytosome-form curcumin RCTs report pain improvements that approach NSAID comparators in head-to-head studies — the NSAID-sparing position for the stomach-, kidney-, and heart-caution population (the cautions our heart and kidneys pages carry). Honest boundary: trials are modest-sized, several industry-affiliated, pain endpoints rather than structural change — nothing rebuilds the bearing. The form is the entire product: raw turmeric and unformulated curcuminoids absorb negligibly (Chapter 6's ladder). 🚨 Anticoagulant users involve their physician — curcumin has mild antiplatelet activity at clinical doses. Take with meals (fat improves the phytosome's uptake).
Runner-ups
NOW Tart Cherry (Montmorency)
by NOW Foods · The Gout Adjunct
Undenatured Type II Collagen (UC-II)
by Various (UC-II standardized) · The Immune-Tolerance Signal