VIBRANT HEALTH JOINT VIBRANCE

Two types of hydrolyzed collagen in Joint Vibrance serve as the backbone of the formula. Human clinical trials have shown that after six weeks of consuming 7 to 10 grams of type 1 collagen, or 1 to 2 grams of type 2 collagen, new cartilage could be detected by x-ray examination of the joints. Joint Vibrance supplies both type 2 and type 1 collagen at a collective total of more than 10 grams per serving.

To understand why they are so important, you must understand that cartilage is made up of a mass of collagen fibers held together in a proteoglycan matrix or glue. (That glue is primarily synthesized from chondroitin sulfate A.) The collagen in cartilage – type 2 collagen – is slightly different in its composition than type 1 collagen found in bone, skin, tendon, blood vessel walls, and organs.

Supplemental type 2 collagen directly benefits cartilage synthesis. Type 1 collagen aids the synthesis of cartilage, supports bone health, and supports the integrity of tendons. Once they have been hydrolyzed, these collagen types present chondrocytes with an abundance of appropriate collagen fragments (peptides) they can use in building new cartilage.

Cartilage deterioration is often accompanied by bone deterioration. Since bone is composed of 30% to 36% type 1 collagen, it makes sense to provide nutritional support not only to cartilage but also to bone in a dietary supplement targeted for joint health. Tendons also rely on type 1 collagen for health. The type 1 collagen in Joint Vibrance will help maintain the integrity of the stabilizing tendons wrapped across joints. Joint Vibrance then, does not just seek to build cartilage, but expands past that role to improve the health of all components of the joint.

Chondroitin sulfate A, with a little help from the other glycosaminoglycans in Joint Vibrance, is fashioned by chondrocytes into the sticky protein-sugar (proteoglycan) matrix, or glue, that holds all the collagen fibers together to form cartilage.

Glucosamine, a popular supplement for joint health, is converted to hyaluronic acid by chondrocytes. Each molecule of hyaluronic acid contains 5 molecules of water, giving it a very large, slippery structure. Its goal is to escape the chondrocyte where it was made, and slowly work its way out through the cartilage to take its place in synovial fluid. Along the way, the glucosamine that has now become hyaluronic acid acts to rehydrate cartilage, giving it greater cushioning power. In addition, Joint Vibrance delivers 120 mg of hyaluronic acid in each serving. Both the glucosamine and hyaluronic acid in Joint Vibrance are intended to support and replenish the hyaluronic acid content of synovial fluids in every joint.

But it takes more than glucosamine, chondroitin and hyaluronic acid to provide first class nutritional support to chondrocytes.

Silica from horsetail contributes the element silicon to connective tissue, giving them strength and stability. It is found in precisely the tissues we are discussing here: bone, cartilage, and tendons (as well as skin and blood vessels) helping to make them strong.

Redness, and swelling in sore, aching joints is often characterized by oxidative damage to cells in the affected area. White blood cells (leucocytes) and macrophages, immune cells that travel through tissues looking for damage to clean up, utilize free radicals to dismantle the cellular debris they ingest as part of their cleanup work. Free radicals, inadvertently released during the process, run amok, inflicting some damage to healthy tissue surrounding the original site of injury. Antioxidant agents can help control these biochemical events.

The grape seed extract, CucuWIN® Curcuminoids, ApresFlex® Boswellia serrata extract and bromelain extracted from pineapple stems in Joint Vibrance, are intended to corral and quench the free radicals that participate in joint inflammation. Grape seed extract also helps bind broken collagen fibers in connective tissues (e.g. ligaments, tendons, skin etc.)

ApresFlex® concentrates AKBA, the acronym for 3-O-Acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid. AKBA is the most active compound of Boswellia serrata extracts. In the biochemical cascade that creates redness & swelling at the cellular level, AKBA is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme, 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX). 5-LOX is a key enzyme in the synthesis of inflammatory cell messengers (leukotrienes) that are made from the ubiquitous omega-6 fatty acid, arachidonic acid. The dose of ApresFlex® required to quell the manufacture of inflammatory leukotrienes is just 100 mg. That is what you will find in each serving of Joint Vibrance.

CucuWIN® has been shown, in comparative studies, to be 46 times more bioavailable than 95% standardized curcuminoid extract of Turmeric.

But Joint Vibrance does not stop there. It contains a full gram of methyl sulfonyl methane, or MSM. This ingredient supports the re-synthesis of flexible disulfide bonds in connective tissue, including tendons and ligaments of the joint. The goal is to support overall flexibility and ease of movement.

Disulfide bonds work like hinges in a door. They contain two sulfur molecules, and predominate in the connective tissue of infants, and children. Those disulfide bonds tend to be replaced by stiffer, protein bonds as we age. It has been suggested that the replacement of disulfide bonds by protein bonds is due to a chronic, subclinical deficiency of sulfur throughout our lifetimes. Whether or not that is true, we do know that supplementing the diet with MSM can help increase again the number of flexible disulfide bonds in connective tissue.

In order for new synthesis of cartilage to take place within chondrocytes, certain enzymes are required. You can look at enzymes as miniature carpenters. These are the agents within cells that catalyze the chemical reactions that build tissue and keep us alive. An enzyme is made up of three primary components. One is a protein fraction; another is a vitamin or vitamin metabolite; and the last essential component is a mineral. As soon as the mineral takes its place, the enzyme comes alive and can do its work. It is somewhat like sticking the key into a car’s ignition, and giving it a turn.

Joint Vibrance includes a selection of minerals that are known to be required by the chondrocytes’ enzymes responsible for cartilage synthesis. This helps assure that enzymes can be synthesized within the chondrocytes when they are needed, and then get to work on schedule to build new cartilage.