Keeping Knee Joints Supple - any ideas?

deaglan1

I am finding that long walks are great BUT I often find my knees are aching afterwards/next day. Not sure if it is shoe type or natural wear and tear as the years go by, or maybe it is a combo of both. What vegan options would anyone recommend to keep the knees supple?

auspicious

Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
We’ve all heard about free radicals and the damage they can inflict on the body. Fight them with spinach, spring greens, broccoli and parsley, all of which contain the antioxidant carotenoids, as well as calcium and magnesium. Foods high in antioxidants can help reduce the rate of cartilage breakdown.

Avocado
This super fruit contains antioxidant mono-saturated oils, essential fatty acids, beta-sitosterol and vitamin E—all hard workers in the fight against joint inflammation. It also promotes cartilage repair and is especially beneficial for osteoarthritis patients.

Turmeric
You probably recognize turmeric as a spice often found in curries and stir-fries, but it also contains a potent anti-inflammatory ingredient called curcumin. While it can be hard to eat enough of the spice to make a difference, it’s easy to throw it in a smoothie like this tropical turmeric smoothie or this tropical turmeric cleanser green smoothie. Another option is to supplement with Osteo Flex, which contains clinically studied levels of curcumin.

Onions and Garlic
Onions are a rich source of quercetin, an antioxidant that works to reduce inflammation. Red onions are particularly high in antioxidants. Garlic contains allicin, a compound that can help to alleviate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Grapefruit
Grapefruit contains vitamin C and bioflavonoids, which work to reduce inflammation and strengthen cartilage. Opt for red grapefruit as it’s a richer source of antioxidants than yellow.

Green Tea
A study done at Case Western Reserve University showed that the antioxidants in green tea may prevent and reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis. Meanwhile, green, white, oolong and black teas all contain the antioxidant catechins, which inhibit inflammation in arthritic joints.

Berries
Cherries, elderberries and raspberries contain antioxidant anthocyanins that help to reduce inflammatory chemicals in the body. And black cherries lower uric acid levels, which helps to prevent gout.

Walnuts and Brazil Nuts
Like oily fish, walnuts are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation. Brazil nuts are high in selenium, which improves the quality of cartilage proteins.

https://www.fishertitus.org/health/superfoods-for-healthy-joints

There are exercises you can do at home to strengthen knee joints and surrounding muscle too.

deaglan1

Thank you Auspicious for that detailed response. I appreciate it. Most of those foods though would be generally used by vegans. To scientifically show that they are of real benefit for joint health would require the accrual of very long term data using appropriate subjects and statistical methodologies. I doubt that many such studies exist, although the Case Western study looks interesting. I will look up knee joint strengthening exercise, thanks for that suggestion. Vegan alternatives to oily fish extracts also seems to be a good choice (at the gut instinct level). Are there concentrated plant/nut oily extracts available? Has anyone found them to be beneficial for joint care?

jh79

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/supplements-for-osteoarthritis-evaluating-the-evidence/

"Based on their review, the authors do not recommendomega-3 fatty acids, vitamins D and E, willow bark extract, collagen hydrolysate, glucosamine, chondroitin, combinations of glucosamine and chondroitin, and rose hip. Based on the review, Boswellia serrata extract and pycnogenol appear to demonstrate the most clinically important effects. They also note that while curcumin and MSM demonstrated clinically important effects, the quality of that evidence was low. The authors comment that the overall evidence base remains limited by poor-quality studies, often of short duration, with many sponsored by manufacturers "

deaglan1

Excellent article that. Thank you jh79.

Robert333111

Contributor "jh79" provided a quote recommending against supplementing vitamins and minerals with the allegation research on them is poor and sponsored by manufacturers. However, they fail to mention that research of conventional drugs is often sponsored by pharmaceutical companies:

Quote: '[…] Studies sponsored by pharmaceutical companies were more likely to have outcomes favouring the sponsor than were studies with other sponsors […]'.
While I am not yet allowed to post Links the reader can use their search engine to locate the above quote by searching (without the double-quotes):
"drug company sponsorship of drug research"
Then in the 'Find' option of your web browser, enter:
Studies sponsored by pharmaceutical companies

Quote: '[…] The observations summarized in the present review suggest that vitamin E may have a potent therapeutic effect by delaying the progression of osteoarthritis through the maintenance of skeletal muscle, regulation of nucleic acid metabolism, maintenance of sex organ function, stabilization of mast cells and protection of the subchondral vascular system. Vitamin E may be an effective and favorable treatment candidate for osteoarthritis, leading to pain relief in patients. […]'
The reader can locate the above quote by using their search engine to search for (without the double-quotes):
"National Library of Medicine AND Vitamin E slows down the progression of osteoarthritis"
Then in the 'Find" option of your web browser, enter:
The observations summarized in the present