What to take for joint health

Graded by the strength of the evidence — strongest first. Nothing here is sold to you.

Omega-3grade B— reduces joint tenderness / morning stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis

Glucosaminegrade C— small and inconsistent osteoarthritis benefit; large independent trials disappointed

Collagengrade C— limited evidence for joint comfort in athletes

Turmericgrade C— modest, short-term pain relief in osteoarthritis in small studies

Vitamin Dgrade C— Meta-analysis of 4 high-quality RCTs (1130 participants): vitamin D supplementation had a statistically significant but small-to-moderate effect on pain reduction in knee osteoarthritis, but showed no effect on tibial cartilage volume — a pain-relief signal without evidence of structural (disease-modifying) benefit.

Creatinegrade D— Narrative review of creatine plus resistance training for knee osteoarthritis: available studies suggest positive effects with no significant adverse events, but sample sizes are very small and results vary between studies. Not enough evidence to establish a real effect yet.

Ginkgograde D— Narrative review: Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) has demonstrated anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and chondroprotective properties in experimental and preliminary clinical research for knee osteoarthritis, but this is a synthesis of mechanistic and early findings, not a meta-analysis of controlled trial outcomes. Too preliminary for a confident effect estimate.