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Pain Remedy Roundup

Several products can help you feel better

One thing we know for sure is that many of our customers deal with pain, be it backache, headache, joint pain or something else. Most of us are looking for natural pain relievers. So much has changed in what’s available in recent years, we thought we’d do a roundup of some of our customer favorites.

Hemp-Derived CBD Oil

The newest game-changer when it comes to pain is hemp-derived CBD oil. While no company makes medical claims, we know from our customers that Charlotte’s Web’s products work for many. They come in capsules, liquids, balm or lotion in varying strengths, so most customers start low and work their way up if they need more. It’s available for pets, too.

We also carry Terry Naturally’s Hemp Oil & Curcumin softgels that have become popular. Soon we’ll have even more hemp products to choose from. Solaray Leaf Therapeutics is getting into the CBD ring this month with four exciting new products: CBD softgels, CBD Pain Blend that includes anti-inflammatory herbs, CBD Sleep blend with relaxing herbs, and CBD Stress Blend with anxiety-reducing herbs. In May, we’ll be bringing in Garden of Life’s new line of hemp-derived CBD liquids and softgels.

Tumeric Pain Formulas

Our next biggest sellers in the pain relief category are products that blend anti-inflammatory turmeric with other herbs and/or amino acids. Our top sellers are Gaia Herbs’ Turmeric Supreme Pain (with whole-plant turmeric, Jamaican dogwood and other pain-relieving herbs) and Terry Naturally’s Curamin (with a patented form of curcumin, the amino-acid DLPA and more). More recently added to the pain-relief line-up is Garden of Life’s Turmeric Pain Relief (with turmeric, Andrographis, ginger and more).

Joint Pain Formulas

One of the largest categories of pain complaints we hear is joint pain. Since there are many possible causes of joint pain, there are many ways to address this issue. Old stand-bys are glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM, each of which has some clinical studies showing improvement of symptoms. More recently, companies have introduced products specifically designed to alleviate joint pain. Our most popular product here is KAL Joint Guard, which offers glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, turmeric, Boswellia, ginger and a host of other beneficial ingredients. The other most popular players are again from Gaia Herbs (Tumeric Supreme Joint with turmeric, quercetin, Boswellia and more) and Garden of Life (Turmeric Joints & Mobility with turmeric, ginger and more).

Many with joint pain also are experimenting with taking collagen. Made of the building blocks of healthy connective tissue, collagen is currently a popular product with several companies entering the market. We have long carried Great Lakes Collagen Hydrolysate made from pasture-raised and grass-fed beef. Newer on the market are collagen products from Garden of Life with Collagen Turmeric, containing with Type I, II & III collagen and designed for improved joints and motility. We also carry Garden of Life Collagen Peptides, Collagen Beauty, and collagen from BlueBonnet, Zhou Nutrition, and Nature’s Plus.

Not to be overlooked

If your pain comes in the form of muscle cramps, magnesium in capsules or tabs is an established remedy. Newer on the market are the magnesium oils or lotions that allow you to absorb magnesium directly on the muscle involved. And, of course, magnesium salts baths can be helpful, too.

Whatever the cause of your pain, any basic anti-inflammatory – such as turmeric or omega 3 oils – may provide some benefit, though may not be as powerful as the special pain formulas mentioned above.  And unlike NSAIDS (aspirin, ipbuprophen, etc.), none of the supplements mentioned here will harm your stomach lining.