Benefits of Boswellia for joint health

Boswellia might just be the best kept secret for supporting long term joint health, want to find out some of the key benefits of Boswellia? Look no further, let's delve right in! 

Boswellia is a species ranging from moderately-sized flowering plants, to trees and shrubs, and they're native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Frankincense, of the 3 kings fame, is actually the extract from it! It's been in traditional Asian and African medicine for centuries, now modern scientific studies have unlocked its healing secrets. 

It has a strong anti-inflammatory effect (1) so overall is useful in the bodies’ healthy immune balance. However, specifically it has been found to protect and even repair joint cartilage (2). The combination of its effect on cartilage and inflammation have been shown to translate to joint pain-reducing effects. 

Research suggests that it can be significantly useful to support treatment of osteo- (3) and rheumatoid- (4) arthritis. This can be super helpful for the nearly 10 million people in the UK that NHS reports have already been diagnosed with the disease.

But you don’t have to have arthritis to want to look after your joints! Whether you are a keen sports person or just want to live an active and healthy life, joints will benefit from extra care and of course prevention is better than cure. In India where Boswellia is more commonly taken, they have a 25% lower prevalence than the worldwide average of arthritis. There are likely to be other factors contributing to this but it has been suggested that Boswellia's joint protective qualities may be a significant factor. 

Making sure that your Boswellia extract is high enough in boswellic acid is important when choosing a supplement. Effective studies show a concentration of 65% (5) like you'll find in Link Nutrition's Joint Support. Link Nutrition's Joint Support combines Boswellia with other well-researched anti-inflammatory and cartilage sustaining components such as ginger, turmeric, reishi and glucosamine. Check it out here. 

References: 

(1) Alluri, V.K. Kundimi, S. Sengupta, K. et al. (2020). 'An anti-inflammatory composition of Boswellia serrata resin extracts alleviates pain and protects cartilage in monoiodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis in rats', Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine. 

(2) Bi, D. Chen, G. Cheng, J. et al. (2020). 'Boswellic acid captivated hydroxyapatite carboxymethyl cellulose composites for the enhancement of chondrocytes in cartilage repair', Arabian Journal of Chemistry. 

(3) Yu, G. Xiang, W. Zhang, T. et al. (2020). 'Effectiveness of Boswellia and Boswellia extract for osteoarthritis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis', BMC Complementary Medicine & Therapies. 

(4) Kumar, R. Singh, S. Saksena, A.K. et al. (2019). 'Effect of Boswellia serrata extract on acute inflammatory parameters', International Journal of Applied Basic Medical Research. 

(5) Thawani, V. & Hingorani, L. (2003). 'Efficacy & tolerability of Boswelia serrata extract treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee', Phytomedicine.

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