NATURAL ALTERNATIVES TO IBUPROFEN AND TYLENOL THAT DON’T DAMAGE THE GUT, LIVER AND JOINTS.

Ibuprofen and Tylenol are cheap and are useful in reducing inflammation and pain. That is the good news. The bad news, however, is that if ibuprofen is taken long term, it can cause stomach lining destruction and ulcers, and kidney damage. It has also now been found to cause liver damage. Tylenol is best known for its cumulative liver damage. Both of these drugs reduce the bodies glucosamine, which is a molecule used to build cartilage. So ironically one of the main reasons people use these drugs is to treat the pain of osteoarthritis, but over time can actually accelerate the destruction of joint cartilage and therefore worsen osteoarthritis.

If a person needs to take anti-inflammatories long term, a better (although more expensive) alternative to these drugs is turmeric/curcumin, Boswellia, and fish oil.

I personally use, and carry at the office, Standard Process Turmeric forte, Boswellia complex that also contains celery seed, and Tuna omega (my favorite fish oil supplement). These not only are great anti-inflammatories but actually protect joint cartilage from being broken down by enzymes and proteases.

Turmeric reduces inflammation by reducing the following things that cause inflammation:

IL-1beta
IL-17
TNF-alpha
MMPs1.3 and 13
ADAMTS5
and Cox 2

Turmeric also protects cartilage by inhibiting the enzymes in the body that degrade cartilage, these enzymes are increased in people with osteoarthritis.

(for more detailed info see “Anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin in the inflammatory diseases: status, limitations, and countermeasures” found on Pub med national library of medicine)

Turmeric is poorly absorbed by the intestine. For this reason, most turmeric products you will see for sale are not very effective. Turmeric forte that I use and carry at the office is injected into the herb fenugreek which is 26 times better absorbed then standard turmeric.

The herb Boswellia (frankincense) has been found to be synergistic to turmeric in reducing inflammation and also has been found to inhibit proteases the degrade joint cartilage. One-way Boswellia functions is to block the enzyme 5-lipoxygenase which breaks down polyunsaturated fatty acids from our food into inflammatory molecules. Boswellia also blocks the enzyme leukocyte elastase which breaks down cartilage.

Boswellia Complex from standard process that I use, also has ginger and celery seed which are both great anti-inflammatories.

Fish oil is also anti-inflammatory and is also incorporated into the cartilage to make it more flexible and elastic as opposed to brittle.

Each of these three supplements reduce pain by reducing inflammation, but also help to protect cartilage breakdown or help to improve cartilage integrity.

The problem is cost. For the high-quality products that I use it is much more expensive than the $4/ month for no name ibuprofen. For all three products I described above, it is about $130/ month in 2024. But if you must deal with long standing inflammation that would require you to take drugs long term, I think it is worth $130/ month to protect your stomach, liver and kidneys while also decreasing cartilage breakdown…something ibuprofen and Tylenol can’t do.