Last week on Wednesday evening I went for a 40km night run in the mountains, a double loop with some pretty crazy climbing and elevation overall. I started running as the sun went down and finished as the it rose the next morning. Unfortunately, in the last hour of that run I experienced a very odd and more than annoying jarring pain in my left hip as I made my way down the mountain for the second time in the dark. Not to mention my body was quite sore and achy – left hip joint pain aside.
For a moment I was extremely worried that my body was falling apart and training would be interrupted. But it turned out that I was able to bounce back and get out there running again without issue a mere 24 hours later.
First and foremost, I must give credit to my solid foundation of whole, real foods that make up the bulk of my daily nutrition. I’m adamant I’m only able to push as hard as I do thanks to practicing what I preach and eating ALLLLLLLLL the anti-inflammatory rich foods that are full of antioxidants (such as turmeric and matcha green tea). However, over the years I’ve stumbled on a very small handful of supplements that are very useful alongside a nutrient-dense diet to help the body heal quickly and feel better faster. Just as I was satisfied my small handful of supplements to recommend was complete, I was literally handed Genuine Health‘s line of pain relief products to try, including Fast Pain Relief+, Fast Joint Care+ and Fast Arthritis Pain Relief+.
In a way the timing couldn’t have been better. I limped in the door Thursday morning after my night run – my whole body sore and my hip aching – and there were the three bottles sitting there. I immediately reached for the Fast Pain Relief+ and the Fast Joint Care+. Not 24 hours later I ran an easy 10km Friday morning and felt good… Then the following day I ran 20km Saturday morning and felt great.
Did the Fast Pain Relief+ and Fast Joint Care+ help facilitate this quick recovery I experienced? Well I can definitely say with all certainty they didn’t hurt!! And I can also give you a few reasons why they likely did contribute to my fast recovery.
The key ingredient in all three of these products is BiovaFlex® – the most potent form of research-proven eggshell membrane that relieves pain, decreases inflammation and helps to nourish and repair damaged joint tissue. The pain relief+ also uses white willow bark and devils claw, while the fast arthritis pain relief+ uses bromelain from pineapples and avocado extract to help relieve pain and repair joints.
Digging a little deeper, the natural building blocks found in BiovaFlex® are as follows:
- Collagen (a fibrous protein critical to cartilage strength and elasticity);
- Elastin (a protein critical to skin, cardiovascular and spinal column health);
- Desmosine and isodesmosine (two little known amino acids responsible for elastin elastic or rubbery properties); and
- Transforming growth factor (a protein that plays a critical role in tissue repair, cellular differentiation and immune function)
The natural eggshell membrane that makes up BiovaFlex® has been studied and shown to significantly reduce pain and improve joint function. This 2015 double-blind, placebo-controlled study showed consuming just 450mg of BiovaFlex® daily was associated with improved joint range of motion in multiple areas including the neck, back, hips, shoulders, and knees. Increased physcial activity levels were also observed as well as reduction of back pain in just 5 days.
Human Joint Health research with 42 subjects demonstrated a reduction in symptoms by 8% after 7 days and 16% after 14 days. Total symptoms were reduced 21% by the end of the study and 38% experienced an improvement in relative knee functionality.
And this 2009 study demonstrated natural eggshell membrane to be a viable treatment option for the management of joint and connective tissue disorders, and that 500mg taken once daily significantly reduced pain (both within days and also continuously thereafter).
The Fast Pain Relief+ is said to work in as little as 2 hours, while you should notice benefits from the Fast Joint Care+ and the Fast Arthritis Pain Relief in as little as 5 days. I certainly found the Pain Relief+ and the Joint Care+ to be fast acting! My sore aching muscles were gone within 12 hours, and my hip was much improved within 2 days – and sitting here just over 5 days later it is all but completely gone – a total nonissue now.
If you’d like to try any or all of Genuine Health’s pain relief products, here is a list of stores and websites where you can purchase them. And here is a link to a coupon for you to save $5 on any one of the Pain Relief products!
I do want to reiterate that I believe supplements can be highly beneficial – but if we ignore diet and try to use only supplements alone, you might not get the results you’re looking for. I took these Genuine Health products on top of drinking my Chocolate Cherry Berry Recovery Shake the minute I completed that night run (literally downed it in two gulps!!), and on top of my daily green smoothie, and on top of my usual nutrient-dense breakfast, lunch and dinners.
As a dedicated runner in hardcore training mode right now, I totally get the importance of fast recovery. I can also tell you that when I run my 100 mile race in September, there’s no way I want any joint pain hitting me only 7 hours into my race. So on top of my nutrient-dense eats, I plan on taking the Fast Joint Care+ until race day, and the Fast Pain Relief+ as needed after tough training runs.
To deliciously healthy food and stronger faster running… Cheers,
Sarah J Cuff, RHN
Comments 4
Hi Sarah!
I wanted to share with you that I’ve been resting because of an inflammation in my shins (periostitis). After a race (Scotia half) I thought that only rest from running, doing other activities (cardio at the gym and swimming) and my usual diet with many of your principles would work. Then I read this post and after another week of rest with no results I decided I needed to take a stronger approach so I went to buy the Fast Jointcare+ supplement (trial size w/ 10 tablets), increased some of the elements of the anti-inflammatory diet (omega supplement, turmeric, ginger tea, matcha tea) and after 4 days I’m feeling much better!! I might even try a short run this weekend, which is very exciting for me because I’m missing running so much!
Thanks for sharing so much valuable information and all the work that you do. I wish you the best with your intense training, you’re so inspiring!
Cheers,
Erika
Author
Hi Erika… Wow, thank you so much for sharing your story! It is amazing how sometimes the right supplement (when it’s truly used as a ‘supplement’ to supplement our already whole food anti-inflammatory rich diet) can really move healing along that much faster. I love how you focused both on the omega, turmeric, ginger and matcha as well as the fast jointcare+ – and I’m so excited to hear how much better you’re doing! My fingers are crossed for you as you try running again!!
Is it true that you can’t drink ginger when you take anti inflammatory?
Author
To the best of my knowledge, no, this is not true.