One of the keys to maintaining healthy joints and avoiding conditions like knee pain is knowing which vitamins are beneficial and which vitamins you’re lacking or deficient in. Three ways to combat these deficiencies are with a high-quality joint health supplement, increasing the vitamin-rich foods in your diet, and supplementing other vitamins where necessary. Let’s look at the most common vitamin deficiencies for joint pain and how proper vitamin supplementation, like a joint health supplement, can help support your joint health.
Which Vitamin Deficiency Causes Joint Pain?
The most common vitamin deficiency that causes joint pain is Vitamin D deficiency. When your body lacks Vitamin D, you can experience bone and muscle issues. Chromic pain in the joints can also be caused by a Vitamin B12 deficiency. When you’re lacking Vitamin B12, you can experience symptoms such as depression, joint pain, and fatigue.
What Is The Connection Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Joint Pain?
Your body uses Vitamin D for bone development and maintenance, as well as supporting your nervous, musculoskeletal, and immune systems. Ultimately, your body craves and needs vitamin D, or Vitamin D supplements, so it can use calcium and phosphorus to build bones and support healthy tissues.
What is The Role Of Vitamin C in Joint Health?
There is a growing amount of research suggesting that Vitamin C may help relieve joint pain, reduce inflammation, and protect against cartilage damage associated with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that fights against the molecules triggering joint inflammation, and it plays a role in fighting infection and controlling inflammation.
Can Vitamin D Deficiency Cause Joint Pain and Swelling?
In short, yes. Low Vitamin D levels can definitely cause joint pain! Vitamin D deficiency is caused by two main things:
- Not getting enough Vitamin D from diet or sunlight
- Your body doesn’t properly absorb or use Vitamin D
What Are The Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency?
While Vitamin D deficiency is not always obvious, you may experience fatigue, bone pain, muscle weakness, muscle aches/cramps, arthritis symptoms, and mood changes. In some cases, you won’t have any symptoms at all.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: Case Studies and Research
There is a link between Vitamin D and rheumatoid arthritis (RA); a review of studies from 2016 showed that those with RA had notably less Vitamin D in their blood than those without RA. Another research paper from 2012 suggested that being Vitamin D deficient can be a risk factor for certain inflammatory diseases, like RA.
Can Too Much Vitamin D Cause Joint Pain?
Yes, too much Vitamin D can cause joint pain! It is possible to contract Vitamin D toxicity, which can cause joint pain. While Vitamin D toxicity is rare, it is a serious condition. The main cause is a buildup of calcium in your blood, which can lead to nausea, vomiting, weakness, frequent urination, and eventually bone pain and kidney problems.
If you’re taking Vitamin D supplements, the recommended daily dose can be around 2000-4000 IU. However, for some individuals, a dose of up to 6000 or even 8000 can make sense. As always, for your specific needs, be sure to consult a healthcare professional!
Can B12 Deficiency Cause Aching Joints?
Vitamin B12 is essential for your body to make red blood cells and ultimately keep your nerves healthy, form DNA, and help your body function properly. The most common physical symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency are anemia, fatigue/weakness, impaired nerve and muscle function, balance issues, weight loss, appetite loss, numbness or tingling, heart palpitations, and pale or jaundiced skin. With Vitamin B12 deficiency, there can also be psychological symptoms, including agitation, memory loss or confusion, insomnia, depression, and anxiety.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can be caused by three things:
- Autoimmune issues (caused by types of anemia)
- Your body doesn’t properly absorb Vitamin B12
- Dietary Insufficiency (your diet does not include enough food rich in Vitamin B12)
Since your body does not make Vitamin B12, you have to get it from your diet or by taking a high-quality supplement. If you end up dealing with a Vitamin B12 deficiency, there are different treatment options, such as B12 shots, introducing more B12-rich foods to your diet, such as meat, fish, and dairy products, or taking a supplement for a period of time. Vitamin B12 deficiency caused by diet is rare in the US but is more common in those who don’t eat animal products. To prevent deficiency from happening, it’s important to eat those B12-rich foods, take a supplement, and avoid drinking too much alcohol.
What is the Best Vitamin for Joint Pain?
The best vitamins for joint pain are Vitamin D, Vitamin K, and Calcium.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D can increase bone mass, prevent bone loss, and help your body absorb calcium. To increase your Vitamin D intake, you can:
- Take a high-quality Vitamin D supplement
- Get more sunshine!
- Drink more milk
- Eat fatty fish (trout, salmon, tuna), beef liver (or beef liver supplements), egg yolks, cheese, and mushrooms.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K helps activate the proteins in your body that help with bone formation and is especially useful in preventing your bones from weakening. The best way to increase your Vitamin K intake is to eat foods rich in it, such as spinach, kale, broccoli, fruit, meat, dairy, and eggs.
Calcium
This is a mineral that strengthens and hardens your bone and is absolutely essential for bone health! The best way to get it is to eat calcium-rich foods like dairy products, broccoli, kale, plant-based milk, fruit juice, and canned fish (salmon).
How Much Vitamin D Should I Take for Joint Pain?
Every body is different, and therefore has different needs. While this can make it hard to quantify precisely how much Vitamin D you should take for your joint pain, finding a great range for optimal health can be helpful. By optimizing your health, you are optimizing your health systems, including your joints. For specific ranges, be sure to consult a medical expert.
Try Joint Health PLUS®
If you’re struggling with joint pain or are looking for ways to support your overall joint health, try Previnex Joint Health PLUS®. This supplement combines two ingredients: NEM® and Boswellin. These ingredients, especially in combination, are proven to reduce joint pain. NEM® (which stands for natural eggshell membrane) has gone through clinical studies where it has been shown to reduce joint pain, reduce joint stiffness, and improve joint flexibility in 7-10 days. It’s also been clinically proven to protect joint cartilage from breakdown during exercise and be up to 5x more effective and beneficial than glucosamine and chondroitin alone or in combination. Boswellin® is a clinically studied form of Boswellia, and is a clinically proven anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. Bonus: with every purchase you make from Previnex®, a bottle of children's multivitamins is donated to a malnourished child in need. Get your bottle of Joint Health PLUS® today!