Winter is a particularly hard time for your joints. Just like your pipes and floorboards, they start to creak and moan as the temperature drops.
The resulting pain and stiffness are not just uncomfortable—they prevent you from keeping active, affecting your weight, mood, work performance and more.
If you already suffer from a chronic joint condition like arthritis, all of this can be much worse.
What can you do about winter joint pain? Science tells us that we can do more than just keep warm and stretch.
One of the best ways to fight winter joints is with nutrition.
By giving your body the nutrients it needs, you may be able to reduce joint-attacking inflammation, strengthen joint cartilage and resist the effect of plummeting temperatures.
Below, you’ll discover essential vitamins for joint health to relieve winter stiffness and pain.
Learn how proper nutrition can support flexible, pain-free joints during the colder months:
Why Your Joints Feel Stiff and Achy in Winter
It’s easy to blame yourself for those wintertime aches and pains.
But you don’t feel like Old Man Winter because you ate too much over the holidays or because you’ve been neglecting the gym for two months.
When you get cold, your body sends less blood to your joints in order to heat your core. This is basically like removing the oil from your body’s hinges. Low temps can also thicken joint fluid, making you feel stiff and uncomfortable [1].
While there isn’t conclusive research on the topic, it’s suspected that joints also respond to changes in barometric pressure [2]. This would explain why many people claim their joints hurt when the temperature changes or when a storm is brewing.
To top it all off, cold weather boosts your sensitivity to pain, making every creak and crack feel like torture.
That’s a lot going against your joints in winter. You might not be able to prevent the temperature from dropping, but there may be ways to take control of your joint health this winter and stop those creaks and aches before they start.
Nutrients Essential for Winter Joint Health
Your body needs certain nutrients to maintain your joints and keep them properly lubed with joint fluid.
Other nutrients can help balance an immune response called inflammation, which is responsible for joint pain as well as chronic joint conditions like arthritis.
Here are the nutrients and vitamins that may protect your joints from getting as stiff as a snowman’s this winter.
Collagen
Isn’t collagen the stuff that keeps your skin firm and youthful? Yes, and it does a lot more than that.
Collagen is the primary structural protein in your body, meaning it’s the building block of most of, well…you. It’s also a key ingredient in cartilage, which is what your joints are made of. Studies have found that collagen supplements may preserve joint cartilage and stimulate the production of more cartilage cells [3].
This has the effect of lubricating and strengthening your joints—and it may keep them from getting rickety in the winter. Studies show that collagen supplements offer significant joint relief after 6 months, so taking them in winter alone might not have a strong effect.
It’s safe to take collagen year-round, and it has many benefits. So, if you suffer from joint pain at any point in the year, consider taking a daily collagen supplement.
If you prefer to get collagen from your diet, eat more of the following foods:
- Chicken (with skin)
- Legumes
- Bone broth
- Organ meats
- Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
Glucosamine and chondroitin are a joint-protecting duo that may slow joint deterioration and relieve winter joint discomfort, according to the Arthritis Foundation [4]. Both are chondrocytes, also known as cartilage cells.
As you age, your cartilage becomes thinner and weaker, which can lead to your joints getting weaker too. By getting more chondrocytes, you can give your body a helping hand and potentially keep your joints healthy for longer.
These nutrients have been found to benefit joints in the knees, hands and hips [5]. Unfortunately, there are no food sources for glucosamine and chondroitin.
You can only get them in a joint health supplement.
Antioxidants
Antioxidant nutrients are vital for protecting the joints. They eliminate joint-attacking free radicals and reduce inflammation that causes many joint issues.
Studies have found that people who don’t consume enough antioxidants are at risk of joint discomfort and chronic issues like arthritis [6].
But which antioxidants should you take?
A few have stood out in studies for their effects on joint health.
- Vitamin C: Vitamin C fights free radicals that trigger joint inflammation. And, it’s a critical precursor to collagen (meaning your body needs vitamin C to produce more collagen). Taking a vitamin C supplement is a double-whammy for limber joints. Or, eat more citrus, peppers and broccoli.
- Vitamin E: Vitamin E stimulates the production of cartilage cells to keep your joints strong when winter tries to weaken them. Studies have also found that it may prevent and reverse damage caused by arthritis [7]. Vitamin E is found in nuts, squash and olive oil. Though you may get enough in your daily multivitamin.
- Curcumin: One of the most powerful antioxidants in the world, curcumin has been found to stop inflammation and prevent swelling and pain common in winter joints [8]. It’s also one of the best-studied and highest-recommended antioxidants for joint pain in the medical community [9]. You can only get curcumin from the turmeric spice or by taking a curcumin supplement.
- Quercetin: Quercetin, the strongest antioxidant you’ve never heard of, has been found to suppress the development of arthritis and prevent cartilage damage [10]. Its anti-inflammatory effect on arthritic and creaky joints is so powerful that it’s being touted as a natural drug for arthritis treatment [11]. Foods packed with quercetin include capers, apples and onions. You can also take quercetin as a supplement.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids, such as DHA, are key nutrients for regulating your inflammatory response, and they may prevent your joints from swelling, stiffening and aching when it gets cold. Your immune system triggers inflammation to begin the healing process when winter hurts your joints.
But without the right nutrients, it can go haywire and cause chronic inflammation. Chronic joint inflammation, known as arthritis, is a degenerative disease that causes your joints to break down and reduces your mobility.
Over 95% of Americans don’t get enough DHA, which may explain why over 1 in 5 suffer from arthritis (and nearly all of us are at risk) [12,13].
DHA is found mainly in fatty fish like salmon and sardines. If you don’t eat fish at least twice a week, take a DHA supplement. It could help control inflammation in your joints (and everywhere else in your body).
Don’t Let Your Joints Freeze This Winter
Winter joint pain isn’t just Old Man Winter coming to say hello. It could be indicative of a bigger problem.
Maybe your inflammatory response is out of balance.
Or maybe your body isn’t producing collagen and cartilage as effectively as it used to.
Either way, joint stiffness and pain are nothing to brush off.
If you suffer from winter joint issues, start taking a joint health supplement now. Proper nutrition is the first step to relieving joint discomfort and protecting your mobility.
Manna Liposomal Joint Relief contains a bunch of the joint health nutrients covered above including curcumin, quercetin, glucosamine and chondroitin. And, its unique liposomal formula enables your body to absorb up to 10x more nutrients from every dose.
Don’t let creaky winter joints keep you from being active this winter.
Take joint health vitamins and balance your inflammatory response to send Old Man Winter and his rusty joints packing.
FAQ
Cold temperatures reduce blood flow to your joints and thicken joint fluid, making movement more difficult and increasing stiffness.
Key vitamins for joint health include Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and antioxidants like curcumin and quercetin, which reduce inflammation and support cartilage health.
Yes, collagen supplements can help strengthen and lubricate your joints, potentially reducing stiffness and discomfort during the colder months.
Yes, foods like fatty fish, bone broth, citrus fruits, and leafy greens are rich in nutrients like collagen, omega-3s, and antioxidants that support joint health.
Consider supplements with glucosamine, chondroitin, curcumin, and omega-3s, as these nutrients can help reduce inflammation and support joint mobility.
Sources:
- https://thepaincenterinc.com/Blog/ArticleID/1043/Why-Do-Joints-Hurt-When-The-Weather-Changes
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/what-triggers-weather-related-joint-pain
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10058045/
- https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/treatment/complementary-therapies/supplements-and-vitamins/glucosamine-chondroitin-osteoarthritis-pain
- https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/glucosamine-and-chondroitin-for-osteoarthritis-what-you-need-to-know
- https://www.ejmoams.com/ejmoams-articles/role-of-antioxidants-in-the-treatment-of-rheumatoid-arthritis-88471.html
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6113565/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10264675/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4700773/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9930437/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3777580/
- https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/arthritis.htm
- https://naturemed.org/are-you-getting-enough-omega-3s/
