NOW Foods Supplements, UC-II Type II Collagen with Undenatured Type II Collagen, 60 Veg Capsules

Buy it, amazing product!!!! I have severe hand pain from years of being a hairdresser, I have been taking Turmeric for 3 years which helped but I wanted to take a break from it and I discovered this product, after reading all the wonderful reviews I bought it and its only been a little over a week I've been taking it and Oh My how it has dramatically improved my hands and my knee pain. Wonderful product and in love! 5 stars and recommend to anyone

I love this product! Easy to take and has really helped me with neck crepitus( creaking and cracking from collapsed disc) and my back pain has improved significantly from L5 collapsed disc. I agree with another reviewer that this should be taken on an empty stomach and I take 2 a day! No side effects whatsoever and well tolerated. I will continue to purchase this! I am 55 years old and have had terrible joint problems and it runs in my family. My Mother always stressed to take collagen type 2.. I am finally listening!

So I have been using this for exactly a month and am really starting to notice differences. My nails are smooth, stronger and growing fast. My skin is all of a sudden more shiny and smooth as well. Not sure about my joints yet but I'm definitely going to keep taking this supplement!

I’ve been taking this supplement regularly and noticed a real difference in my joint comfort and flexibility. It’s easy to take—just one small capsule a day—and I appreciate the quality of NOW Foods products. Highly recommend for anyone looking for natural joint support.

I am almost through my 1st bottle and this seems to be helping a little. I did find it odd that there is such a wide range of results in the reviews though. So after giving it some thought I came up with a couple of possibilities. Feel free to add in your opinions as to whether these might have influence on the effectiveness of this supplement in helping out our joints.1. The directions say to take on an empty stomach. Well 1st thing is to know exactly when your stomach is empty. This varies person to person and for many supplements is more of a recommendation than a requirement. I know that if I eat a big dinner, my stomach still has food in it even 3 or 4 hours later when going to bed. Also, once I discovered why an empty stomach important for collagen I realized this could really influence its effectiveness. Collagen supposedly is destroyed by digestive enzymes. It needs to pass through your stomach intact into the small intestine. So having your stomach empty helps this happen. Also, for the same reason, you probably need to wait a while after taking the capsule before eating or drinking anything other than water in order to avoid digestive enzymes being stimulated. I have started taking mine if I wake up in the middle of the night. If I sleep through the night, I take it first thing in the morning and wait an hour or two before eating anything.2. Many of us with joint pain take a NSAID like Aleve or Ibuprofen. I just learned that NSAIDs are collagen inhibitors. This is from The National Institute of Health: Research Paper Title -"The effects of NSAID on the matrix of human articular cartilages." A quote from the paper - "When the relative metabolic (synthetic/repair activity) of these human cartilages was compared, it was demonstrated that in osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cartilages synthetic activity was diminished by approximately 50%".So all this time I have been taking the collagen, maybe by also taking one Aleve every morning, I have been lessening the effectiveness of the collagen? I am about to start my 2nd bottle and will stop with the Aleve. (I'll use Tylenol if needed) I will see if I notice even more improvement.I would be interested in hearing other ideas on these two points. I have looked into this enough to be pretty confident these are two important things to account for in taking the collagen. However I may have overlooked something and would certainly want to hear about it if I have. Thanks!I also found the following lengthy summary of another study on the same topic. I do wonder about this though since the number one doctor recommendation for arthritis seems to be NSAID. I guess the normal caveat applies: "Talk to your doctor before changing anything"?RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE USE OF NSAIDS IN OSTEOARTHRITISThe preponderance of scientific evidence shows that NSAIDs damage articular cartilage. Various scientific papers and consensus groups have stated that there is no convincing data to show that the widely used NSAIDs and recommended selective COX-2 inhibitors have favorable effects on cartilage.129-131 Even the main consensus paper from the International Cartilage Repair Society and Osteoarthritis Research Society International stated that NSAID use has to be limited to the short term. Specifically the recommendation was as follows: In patients with symptomatic hip or knee osteoarthritis, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) should be used at the lowest effective dose but their long-term use should be avoided if possible.132 They also noted that NSAIDs should not be first-line therapy for joint OA. Other groups have raised similar sentiments. The committees of the International League Against Rheumatism and the World Health Organization came up with guidelines for the testing of new drugs in osteoarthritis. The consensus from these meetings resulted in recommendations by The European Group for the Respect of Ethics and Excellence in Science (GREES) for governmental registration and approval of new drugs used in the treatment of OA and have added the requirement that the drug not have a deleterious effect on the diseased and non-diseased contra lateral joint; i.e., no deleterious effect on osteoarthritic or normal cartilage.133 If this latter recommendation were followed, the vast majority, if not all NSAIDs, would be immediately taken off the market and no new ones would get approved.While it is admirable for the various consensus and rheumatology organizations to educate doctors and the lay public about the necessity to limit NSAID use in OA, this author (RH) feels the warnings are not enough. Within the last year, for instance, the FDA has again implemented new rules requiring stronger and more extensive label warnings (in addition to the heart disease risks) regarding the risk of liver damage and stomach bleeding for people taking common over-the-counter pain relievers. As for NSAIDs, the new regulations require front labels to instruct users to see new warnings that say, “This product contains a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), which may cause severe stomach bleeding. The chance is higher if you are age 60 or older, have had stomach ulcers or bleeding problems, take a blood thinning or steroid drug, take other drugs containing prescription or nonprescription NSAIDs, have three or more alcoholic drinks every day using this product, take more or for a longer time than directed.”134The lay public for whom NSAIDs are prescribed and recommended by both health care professionals and drug manufacturers should be aware that long-term NSAID use is detrimental to articular cartilage. Specifically, be informed that NSAIDs will likely worsen the OA disease for which it is prescribed. Physicians, allied health care professionals, and drug manufacturers should be required to inform the lay public that NSAID use can accelerate OA articular cartilage degeneration. A strict warning label on these medications should read as follows:The use of this nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication has been shown in scientific studies to accelerate the articular cartilage breakdown in osteoarthritis. Use of this product poses a significant risk in accelerating osteoarthritis joint breakdown. Anyone using this product for the the pain of osteoarthritis should be under a doctor’s care and use of this product should be with the very lowest dose and for the shortest possible duration of time.One of the basic tenants of medicine is stated in the Hippocratic oath, “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.”135 For doctors to uphold this statement in the treatment of their OA patients, it would necessitate the almost complete banning of the use of NSAIDs for this condition. If this does not occur, then most likely the exponential rise in degenerative arthritis and subsequent musculoskeletal surgeries, including knee and hip replacements, as well as spine surgeries, will continue for decades to come.- See more at: [...]

I do regular strength training and used to have sore joints after heavy workouts. After a few weeks on UC-II (one capsule at night), the discomfort is much less and recovery feels faster. Really happy with the results.

This is a wonderful supplement! I have RA and what a difference! When I run out I notice! And this brand seems to be the key… I e tried several;)

I don't have a clue if it helped. Seemed to eventually get relief, but also had a few periods of long lasting lumbar pain.