Product Review: LQ Liquid Health Joint Care

I am currently raving about LQ Liquid Health Joint Care as it helped my damaged knee ligaments heal within a month.

LQ Liquid Health Joint Care is currently on offer at Boots.com and is available from Amazon.com.

After a fall when skiing, an X-ray revealed nothing was broken, but my knee felt unstable and clunked when I walked despite wearing a support brace.

An MRI scan confirmed that I’d stretched and torn my right anterior cruciate ligament, right lateral collateral ligament and ‘bruised’ the anterior horn of one meniscus. I’m pleased to say there were no signs of osteoarthritis which I put down to my regular intakes of glucosamine and chondroitin over the years (thank you ChondroMax!)

So I started taking LQ Liquid Health Care in addition to my usual supplements and was amazed at the results. The pain melted away, swelling improved and just 4 weeks after the initial injury, I returned to the slopes and skied every day with no problems.

In fact, my joints feel so good that I am continuing to take LQ Joint Care and for the additional bonus of reducing wrinkles (although there is another LQ product designed specifically for this purpose).

So what’s in LQ Joint Care that has helped my knee heal so well?

Marine collagen for joints

LQ Liquid Health Joint Care provides 2000mg hydrolysed marine collagen provides amino acid chains (peptides) needed for joint maintenance and repair.

In this body-ready form, the hydrolysed collagen is rapidly digested and absorbed into the circulation. It is then extracted by cells that make collagen (eg fibroblasts in ligaments, chondrocytes in cartilage.

Research shows the hydrolysed collagen preferentially accumulates within the joints, where it acts as a signal to trigger the synthesis of new collagen to help regenerate and repair damaged tissues.

Among athletes with activity-related joint pain, taking hydrolysed collagen supplements significantly improved joint mobility and reduced joint pain at rest, when walking, standing, running, lifting or carrying weights. They could exercise longer with a speedier recovery time. The researchers concluded: collagen hydrolysate can support joint health and possibly reduce the risk of joint deterioration in athletes at high-risk of joint problems.

Research also shows that in people with knee osteoarthritis, hydrolysed collagen significantly improves knee-joint discomfort. It is especially helpful for those who do not eat much meat and therefore do not naturally obtain much collagen protein in their diet.

Glucosamine & Chondroitin for joints

Although glucosamine and chondroitin are produced in the body, they are often in short supply during active joint repair, and their synthesis also declines with age.

LQ Liquid Health Joint Care provides 1200mg N-acetyl glucosamine plus 500mg chondroitin sulphate. These two ingredients have a synergistic action and:

• Provide building blocks to make cartilage, tendons, ligaments and synovial fluid
• Act as signals to switch on the repair of damaged tissues
• Suppress inflammation
• Inhibit enzymes that dissolve cartilage

A study using cultured human cartilage cells found that the levels of 31 different proteins were altered by the addition of glucosamine or chondroitin, compared to non-treated controls.

• 35% were involved in biological signalling (telling cells what to do)
• 25% were involved in the synthesis of proteins such as collagen
• 15% were involved in antioxidant stress responses

Hyaluronic acid for joints

Hyaluronic acid is a major component of cartilage, ligaments and joint synovial fluid. In fact, synovial fluid has the highest concentration of hyaluronic acid anywhere in the body (3–4 mg/mL). Also known as hyaluronan, it attracts up to a 1000 times its own weight in water, which lubricates joints and makes synovial fluid more cushioning.

Hyaluronic acid interacts with immune cell receptors to decrease inflammation, and at least 15 studies show that hyaluronic acid is effective in reducing pain.

Injection of hyaluronic acid directly into joints is one of the treatments of choice for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, but oral supplements are also effective. Although they are slower to produce results, they are certainly more pleasant and convenient.

Ginger for joints

Ginger is a traditional herbal medicine that has analgesic and anti-inflammatory actions. I suspect the ginger was responsible for the initial pain relief I experienced from taking LQ Joint Care daily.

Ginger contains unique substances (gingerols and shogaols) with a warming, analgesic, anti-inflammatory action. Ginger:

• Increases blood flow to boost delivery of oxygen and nutrients
• Blocks the COX-2 enzyme involved in triggering inflammation
• Suppresses the production of inflammatory TNF-alpha in joint lining cells.

In cell cultures, ginger root extracts suppress the release of inflammatory chemicals within synovial, cartilage and white blood cells. In clincial trials, ginger root extracts significantly reduced osteoarthritis knee pain by 30% compared with placebo, and reduced disability by 22%.

Vitamins & minerals for joints

Vitamin C is needed to produce collagen. It converts the amino acid, proline, to hydroxyproline during collagen synthesis, and without vitamin C, collagen triple strands would not twist together to form strong, triple-helix strands.

Vitamin C and E also act as antioxidants to reduce inflammation, with vitamin C working in watery parts of the body (eg synovial fluid) and vitamin E working in lipid parts of the body (eg cell membranes). Vitamin C helps to regenerate vitamin E so it can continue working for longer, too.

Copper is also needed to catalyse enzyme reactions involved in collagen synthesis.

Lychee

Finally, LQ Liquid Health Joint Care contains Lychee extracts. This traditional Chinese remedy provides antioxidant polyphenols which also contribute to pain reduction.

Product Review Conclusion

I’ve now been using LQ Liquid Health Joint Care, on a daily basis for 6 weeks. I’ve taken it in addition to my usual supplements, which include glucosamine and chondroitin (Healthspan’s Chondromax) and my knee is back to normal. I intend to take it for a total of 90 days and will then stop to review the effects.

I wish there was something I could prescribe as a doctor which could provide such a rapid response with such a low risk of side effects!

Each bottle contains 50ml liquid drink which tastes pleasantly fruity with a slight gingery note. I actually look forward to my daily dose! It is sweetened with sucralose.

Read more about the 9 Best Supplements For Knee Pain.

Discover the best topical creams and gels to reduce muscle and joint pain.

LQ Liquid Health Joint Care comes in boxes of 10 x 50ml bottles. Dose: drink one bottle per day. Check price on Amazon.co.uk and 3 for 2 offers at Boots.com View offers on Amazon.com

If you’ve used LQ Liquid Health Joint Care, please share your experience below via the comments.

Click here to read about methods of pain relief for tennis elbow.

Image credits: kari_stammen/wikimedia;