How can I improve my joint health?

Updated on 2025-03-18

Summary: How can we improve our joint health?

With the arrival of spring, it's time to get back to physical activity, but joint pain can complicate matters. Lynn Goneau, naturopath at La Boîte à Grains, reminds us of the importance of adapted exercise, such as swimming, cycling, walking or yoga, to strengthen muscles and naturally lubricate joints.

Hydration is essential, as is a diet rich in calcium, vitamin D and omega-3. She also recommends collagen to prevent tissue degradation and relieve pain. Finally, she suggests two Natural Factors supplements: Total Body Collagen and Osteo-Move, to support joint health.

1) Move despite pain: adapt your activities

Rather than giving up sport because of joint pain, it's advisable to opt for gentle exercises such as swimming, cycling, walking or yoga, which strengthen muscles and protect joints.

2) Hydration: a key to healthy joints

Cartilage is composed mainly of water, and proper hydration helps prevent joint wear and pain. It's advisable to drink around two liters of water a day, distributed gradually.

3) Diet to benefit joints

Foods rich in calcium, vitamin D and omega-3 help keep bones strong and reduce inflammation. Collagen is also essential for preserving joints and limiting the pain associated with osteoarthritis.

4) Supplements to support mobility

Natural Factors offers two effective solutions: Total Body Collagen, which moisturizes and repairs joints, and Osteo-Move, which helps relieve pain and protects cartilage.

5) Personalized support for better joint health

Lynn Goneau is available at La Boîte à Grains to advise those suffering from joint pain, with in-store or private consultations to find tailored solutions.

About the author

Lynn Goneau, Certified Naturopath

Specialized in :

• Digestive health
• Hormonal health
• Stress and fatigue
• Memory and concentration
• Weight management

Frédéric Bisson, radio host at 104.7 FM

Radio host at 104.7 FM on the Cogeco network. Frédéric Bisson has hosted L'Outaouais Maintenant from 3 to 5 p.m. every weekday since February 27, 2023.

Transcription

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

In a few days, spring will officially arrive, and I don't know about you, but maybe the bike is calling your name, or you feel a little more like getting out for a walk, and then your little knee doesn't feel right because your joint hurts. So how do you manage it all? That's the topic of our in-house naturopath, our favourite Lynn Goneau of La Boite à Grains. Hello. We're going to talk about that today because joints, I think we all end up hurting a joint somewhere.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Little knee that can't keep up. It's no fun because it takes physical activity.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

That's right, it's not true to say that my knee hurts. I have to be careful.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath from La Boite à Grains:

It's just that you have to change what you're doing. Actually, it's a sore knee. Well, we can go further with swimming. We know how to go. Yes, because I'm thinking about it, not in the water. You feel less joint pain. For those who don't have knee problems, there's walking. There's cycling. These are all activities you can start doing. It'll help strengthen all the muscles around the joints. It's also a great way to promote the natural lubrication of cartilage. You've even got yoga, haven't you? Yes, but it's very popular.
Well, there are different forms of yoga, but that's because it's great. Well, because it's going to work on your mobility. It's going to strengthen everything at the muscular level. So it's really good for people with joint pain.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

I think the key word, as you say, is natural lubrication. Cartilage needs to function properly. So you have to hydrate.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath from La Boite à Grains:

It's so important. It's really a basic element that we often forget because cartilage, the tissue that cushions the shocks between bones, is composed mainly of water. When there's a lack of water, cartilage can dry out. This makes the cartilage more vulnerable to wear and friction, which increases the risk of pain and arthritis. That's what we suggest. It'll really help replenish your hydration, but drink it slowly. Fred, don't do it all at once.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

Right. I've got about that, a one-liter bottle, and then I drink two or three a day. So I'm okay in principle.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath from La Boite à Grains:

Yes, indeed, but still to drink it quietly during the day there because we think all the time a dry plant in a corner. When you give it water, all of a sudden it goes through, so the trick is to drink it moderately during the day.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

Nice image. Let's talk about food. What do we choose?

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath from La Boite à Grains:

There are foods rich in calcium and vitamin D. These are essential for maintaining strong bones. It's essential for the proper functioning of the whole joint. Calcium is found in dairy products, almonds and green leafy vegetables, while vitamin D is found in sunlight, and can also be taken in tablet form. Omega-3 fatty acids are a real anti-inflammatory.
Then there's collagen. This is an amino acid produced by every cell in your body. The flat thing is that production drops off in your early thirties, then stops in your fifties. It protects and strengthens all joints. It helps prevent tissue degradation, then reduces the joint pain often associated with osteoarthritis. Collagen can even help regenerate cartilage. We also know that collagen can reduce the visible signs of aging, such as wrinkles.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

Yes, well, I think that when you look at my eight remaining hairs, I could benefit from a little more collagen.
There's a supplement you're recommending this week. Actually, there are two.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath from La Boite à Grains:

The company is Natural Factors. This is a Canadian company in British Columbia who have their own farm on 2000 acres of certified organic farmland. It's a thing of beauty. I particularly like them.
They have Whole Body Collagen. This is a formula that contains hyaluronic acid to moisturize the joints, as we were talking about earlier, and then there's l-glutamine to repair them. There's vitamin C and biotin. These are really essential nutrients that promote better skin, more beautiful skin, muscles and connective tissue.
The second product is called Ostéo-Move, which has really proved its worth. People love it because it helps to relieve joint pain associated with osteoarthritis. It also promotes structure, function and mobility, and helps protect against the deterioration of articular cartilage.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

Someone who has joint problems, who doesn't understand where it comes from, it comes and goes. We can make an appointment with you. How does it work?

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath from La Boite à Grains:

Tuesdays from noon to 5 p.m., you can come and see me on the floor at La Boîte à Grains on Gréber, then we can talk about all the little aches and pains, especially those we've addressed today. And if not, we can make a private appointment. My office is at La Boite à Grains, and I can give you a consultation to really get to the bottom of things.