Super Boswellia has been specifically enriched with AKBA, the boswellic acid with the most pronounced effect on 5-LO. While many supplements are produced from other Boswellia species such as Boswellia carterii, Boswellia frereana and Boswellia bhau-dajiana, Super Boswellia is made from Boswellia serrata, the richest source of boswellic acid.

What's more, it has been shown to be better absorbed (by around 52%) than other extracts on the market.

Hyaluronic acid is obtained in two different ways:

• By extraction from rooster combs, after which it is crushed, chemically treated and purified.
• By bacterial fermentation: strands of hyaluronic acid are produced from innocuous bacteria.

Hyaluronic Acid 150 mg is made using the second of these methods. It is therefore 100% suitable for vegetarians and vegans and offers guaranteed, controlled optimal purity.

The human body is itself able to produce hyaluronic acid via a mechanism discovered around 20 years ago by Professor Paul Weigel and his team. Synthesis occurs at the inner side of plasma membranes and is a fast, effective and unique process.

It is not possible to harvest from boswellia grown in Europe because the overly-humid conditions produce a coating on the resin which makes its extraction very difficult and causes the resin to be impermeable to solvents.

It was long believed that when taken orally, hyaluronic acid had no real clinical benefit because of its particularly high molecular weight. In fact, the bioavailability of orally-administered hyaluronic acid is well-documented (3).

Animal studies, which were somewhat late in investigating this question, have shown that when administered orally, part of the hyaluronic acid molecules are perfectly capable of reaching the bloodstream and various body tissues. This discovery concurs with the recorded effects of hyaluronic acid supplementation in horses and other animals (4-6) as well as in humans (7-8).

It’s believed that these molecules cross the gut wall via micro-particles (9-10) and that part of them reaches peripheral tissues such as the skin and joints without any difficulty. The transport of hyaluronic acid in the body is, in any case, a completely normal physiological process (11-12).

It’s therefore entirely appropriate that hyaluronic acid should be available in dietary supplement form (13-15). Supplements represent an alternative to the HA injections given by health professionals and recommended by the European League against Rheumatism (EULAR).

Alongside supplementation with hyaluronic acid, the following steps are highly recommended:

• Gradually increase the time you spend exercising every day.
• Avoid making too many repetitive movements or putting too much strain on painful joints.
• Don’t stay immobile for any length of time: regularly change position to reduce muscle and joint stiffness.
• Consider physiotherapy or phytotherapy for reducing pain. For example, the boswellic acid in the natural supplement Super Boswellia is available to buy at Supersmart and helps to reduce joint pain and inflammation.

Boswellia is a robust tree which can easily withstand the cuts made to the bark when harvesting the resin. Having said that, it has to be allowed to rest for several years after three consecutive years of harvesting.

The life of a hyaluronic acid molecule is relatively short, ranging from 12 hours to a few days. It’s thought that a third of the body’s total hyaluronic acid composition is renewed each day under normal circumstances. A daily dose of two 150mg capsules is therefore recommended.

This dose is not associated with any adverse side-effects, whether taken for short periods (two weeks) or indeed for up to 12 months.

Dr Nahon’s view

The huge advantage of this method is that it offers an alternative to painful and sometimes dreaded injections. Oral administration of hyaluronic acid is simple and safe and produces the same results as those demonstrated in recent scientific studies.

It’s worth noting that there is no difference between men and women in terms of the treatment’s activity.

The suggested daily dose is one 100g capsule, to be taken with the most substantial meal of the day.

While the bioavailability of boswellic acid is relatively low, it can be significantly increased by combining it with lipids. Eating food that’s high in fat (the healthy kind, of course) will thus increase the absorption of Super Boswellia, which is why it’s advisable to take it with a meal.

Turmeric/curcuma supplements such as Natural Curcuma and Super Curcuma also help reduce inflammation and combining them with boswellia is likely to have a synergistic effect. There are two other supplements available to buy at Supersmart worth mentioning here: Smart joints cream a topical cream for the joints based on boswellia and eucalyptus, and UC II® 10 mg, a undenatured type II collagen supplement.

This product’s capsules are composed of HPMC (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose), a plant substance derived from cellulose. HPMC is widely used for medicines and dietary supplements. It contains no animal ingredients, is recognised as safe by health authorities and is considered more sustainable than synthetic alternatives.