Rx Medical Nutrition: A Different Approach
Limbrel is the first prescription product that provides for the safe daily nutritional management of osteoarthritis. Nutritional Management in this context is grounded in that Limbrel's ingredients are natural food-based or dietary ingredients proven effective in helping to manage osteoarthritis. Limbrel is classified as a medical product according to FDA regulation. Specifically, Limbrel meets the definitional requirements of what FDA terms a "medical food" product. As in other food-based products, Limbrel's ingredients are safe for use across a wide range of people.
Medical Nutrition means that Limbrel's medical food mode of action helps to restore the normal homeostasis of metabolic processes that are associated with osteoarthritis. This is primarily achieved in two ways:
Through Dual Inhibition*
In osteoarthritis, there is a breakdown of the cells in our joints. Age, trauma, genetics and general wear and tear causes the release of membrane components called phospholipids into our joint tissue. These phospholipids are then converted to arachidonic acid (AA) by phospholipase (PLA2). AA is an essential fatty acid that is naturally produced by the body and plays an important role in helping to regulate other functions of the body. However, when joints are damaged, excess AA is converted by cyclo-oxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) into powerful inflammatory chemical irritants known as prostaglandins and leukotrienes respectively. While most people have heard of the COX pathways before, not as many are aware of the LOX pathways and their importance in osteoarthritis. LOX pathways are parallel inflammatory pathways to the COX pathways in which AA is converted. If left unchecked, these pathways can result in significant joint damage.
Limbrel provides a safe means to meet the distinctive nutritional requirements of people with osteoarthritis by helping to balance the production of excess AA and hence prostaglandins and leukotrienes. It helps to normalize the key inflammatory metabolic processes in people with osteoarthritis. Limbrel is unique because its nutritional ingredients work across both of the COX and LOX enzymatic pathways as a result of their activity on AA compared to better known selective inhibitors. By managing the excess production of AA across both of these important metabolic pathways, Limbrel acts as a dual inhibitor.
Through Anti-oxidant Action*
Medical experts have also identified the oxidization of joint tissue as one of the contributing factors that can lead to osteoarthritis. As joints are injured or damaged, the body produces a very high concentration of white blood cells in the tissue in order to repair the damage. This excess influx of cells actually causes damage rather than repairing tissue. As tissue is damaged, an excess of free radicals (also called Reactive Oxygen Species or ROS) are released into the joint. These free radicals act directly on the cartilage tissue in turn causing further damage. Limbrel's ingredients act as a reservoir to soak up free-radicals, thereby neutralizing their effects and helping to restore the joint to a more normal state.