Description
- Strengthens and improves bone
- Strengthens and improves cartilage
- Strengthens and improves tendons
Bone Boost is a carefully formulated combination of ingredients designed to strengthen and improve the function of bone, cartilage, and tendon. Below we’ll take a look at each of the components of Bone Boost and see how they function to improve the health of connective tissue. Its first ingredient is called:
CISSUS QUADRANGULARIS
Cissus quadrangularis is an ancient medicinal plant native to the hotter parts of Ceylon and India. It was prescribed in the ancient Ayurvedic texts as a general tonic and analgesic (painkiller), with specific bone fracture healing properties. Modern research has shed light on Cissus’ ability to speed bone healing by showing it acts as a glucocorticoid antagonist . Since anabolic/androgenic compounds are well known to act as antagonists to the glucocorticoid receptor as well as promote bone growth and fracture healing, it has been postulated that Cissus possesses anabolic and/or androgenic properties. In addition to speeding the remodeling process of the healing bone, Cissus also leads to a much faster increase in bone tensile strength. In clinical trials Cissus has led to a fracture healing time on the order of 55 to 33 percent of that of controls. That cissus exerts antiglucocorticoid properties is suggested by a number of studies where bones were weakened by treatment with cortisol, and upon administration of Cissus extract the cortisol induced weakening was halted, and the healing process begun.
While the increased rate of bone healing may be of great significance to persons suffering from chronic diseases like osteoporosis, the antiglucocorticoid properties of Cissus are likely of much more interest to the average bodybuilder or athlete, since endogenous glucocorticoids, particularly cortisol, are not only catabolic to bone, but catabolize muscle tissue as well. Numerous studies over the years have suggested that glucocorticoids, including the body’s endogenous hormone cortisol, activate pathways that degrade not only bone, but skeletal muscle tissue as well. A recently published report documented exactly how glucocorticoids (including cortisol) induce muscle breakdown: They activate the so-called ubiquitin-proteasome pathway of proteolysis. This pathway of tissue breakdown is important for removing damaged and non-functional proteins. However, when it is overactive during periods of elevated cortisol (e.g disease states, stress, and overtraining) excess amounts of normal tissue are broken down as well. By exerting an anabolic, antiglucocorticoid effect Cissus helps preserve muscle tissue during times of physical and emotional stress.
MSM (METHYLSULFOMETHANE)
MSM, or methylsulfonylmethane is a chemical cousin (a metabolite, actually) of the familiar anti-inflammatory compound DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) and shares DMSO’s ability to suppress the inflammatory response, yet lacks the unpleasant garlic like odor of typical DMSO.
MSM has been used experimentally to treat a number of disorders associated with an overactive immune response, including allergies and arthritis. It is the latter that is of particular interest to us. In one study of patients suffering from arthritis, compared to placebo subjects given MSM showed noticeable improvement in symptoms. An unpublished study by Lawrence et al assessed the use of MSM in degenerative arthritis. At a dose of 750 mg per day the study group showed an 80 percent improvement after six weeks compared to a 20 percent improvement in the placebo group.
GLUCOSAMINE HCL
Glucosamine is a so-called aminomonosaccharide, consisting of a combination of glutamine and glucose. Glucosamine taken orally is concentrated in joint cartilage where the body uses it as a substrate for cartilage glucosaminoglycan synthesis. Reviews of the clinical trials and metaanalyses.