A New Approach to Joint Health: Sur's Joint Support
By Carson Beckett
Writer, Pro Cyclist
Sur has expanded its successful product range with the introduction of Joint Support, an exciting shift from their beloved trademark products, Sur AltRed & Immunity, which have been cherished by endurance athletes for some time. We sat down with the Sur team to peel the curtain back on their exciting new product.
“As a brand, we're introducing a new product (Joint Support), but we're also introducing this new ingredient to people that most people aren't going to be familiar with: calcium fructoborate.”
Why Joint Support? Tell us about Joint Support, including why it’s such a beneficial supplement for active individuals.
When you think of [the reasoning behind] Joint Support, there’s not an athlete anywhere that hasn't complained about having some sore joints at one point. For us, it was about how we could bring the best product to market that's going to help support that wear of day-to-day training that these athletes are going through – whatever your sport is.
We wanted to make athletics (across the board) more enjoyable for people and help athletes to keep pushing their limits.
What is the “keystone ingredient” of Joint Support?
The secret game-changer for joint support that you might have heard of is calcium fructoborate. This compound, found in small amounts in fruits and vegetables, works wonders for strengthening and maintaining your existing cartilage. How? Clinical studies have proven its ability to control enzymes responsible for inflammation, effectively reducing joint discomfort and stiffness. In simpler terms, it dials down inflammation to support healthy cartilage.
How does Joint Support stand out from similar supplements currently on the market?
The two things that really differentiate it from others are that it’s fast-acting and the improvements continue to compound upon themselves.
The biggest factor is that it's fast-acting. In fact, it’s clinically proven to work in as little as 7 days.* There are a lot of joint support supplements out there that, while they may work, take a while to actually do something and they deliver mixed results.
Consistency is key to this product. You need to be taking it daily and there's that continuous improvement benefit. So once you hit that seven-day mark and you start to notice those results, you shouldn't stop.
Tart cherries provide additional support in Joint Support. They’re rich in polyphenols, particularly type 1 and 2 anthocyanins, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. This aids in alleviating joint issues and helps with your post-exercise recovery, minimizing muscle damage and soreness.
We use whole tart cherry instead of just the skins. Using 100% of the fruit provides a broader range of nutrients - just as nature intended. But there's more than just anthocyanins. Whole tart cherries are full of a variety of phytonutrients, like quercetin and ellagic acid. These compounds can greatly amplify health benefits like reducing oxidative stress, tempering inflammation, and easing exercise-induced muscle damage. This is a more holistically-focused route.
Sur is focused on making practical and effective products that any athlete can benefit from. Their AltRed Betalains help to increase circulation and allowsyou to push harder. Joint Support relieves some of the issues that you develop from the day-to-day pounding of training.
We don’t want to rush things. We put a lot of effort into our products, we listen to our customers, we look at what's out there, and we try to figure out the best way to address those problems. We're not just creators; we are avid users of our own products.
Our “spin” on it would be looking at these things from a plant perspective, what can we do that we maintain being plant-based while we solve those problems most effectively?
While we have additional products in the works, we want to be intentional with what we produce. We want to make sure that the products we have work, that the evidence shows they work, and that there's real science behind it. It's the best thing for our current customers and our future customers.
Joint Support aims to benefit everyday active individuals, it’s not just for the “elites”. As Sur explains, while they make products designed around elite athletes’ needs, they are purposely beneficial to anyone who uses them.
It’s big for endurance athletes especially. We think of runners; when you're doing anything that's pounding it is not always great on your joints. While it's one of those products that we designed for athletes, anybody can take it. It benefits anybody who has any type of joint discomfort.
Ultimately, helping them solve problems is why we make the products we do
We want to make products that specifically address the challenges that athletes face. Ultimately, helping them solve problems is why we make the products we do. That's where AltRed came from; everyone knows beets have a lot of great benefits but it's not practical to drink a quart of beet juice before you go run a marathon…for several reasons. So, how can we take those benefits and make them easier for the athlete to [receive]?
We're making these for the best athletes in the world, but it doesn't matter if you're the best athlete. I think of chasing your grandkids around (if you're a grandparent) who doesn't want to miss out on those moments because their joints are too sore. Maybe you can't go throw the baseball around the backyard with your kid. This is applicable.
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* Pietrzkowski Z, et al (2014). Short-term efficacy of calcium fructoborate on subjects with knee discomfort: a comparative, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study. Clin Interv Aging. 2014 Jun 5;9:895-9. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S64590. Erratum in: Clin Interv Aging. 2021 Feb 02;16:203. PMID: 24940052; PMCID: PMC4051624.