Stratum Nutrition’s upcycled eggshell membrane supplement serves rapid joint pain relief sunny-side up

31 Mar 2020 --- Stratum Nutrition’s NEM – short for natural eggshell membrane – has received confirmation in a new independent study that it can reduce joint pain and stiffness in patients with grade 2 and 3 osteoarthritis knee (OA). The new statistics show that the ingredient made from upcycled eggshell membranes can take effect within seven to ten days, with clinically meaningful benefits persisting for 90 days. Tapping into both the growing naturality and the nascent upcycling food trends, NEM not only supports joint flexibility quickly but also ensures positive future joint health.

“When it comes to joint health ingredients, seven to ten days is extremely fast for NEM to alleviate joint pain. The old standards glucosamine and chondroitin generally take at least 30 days to feel any effect. More often than not, this stretches to 60 days in terms of seeing a meaningful benefit,” Dr. Kevin Ruff, Senior Director of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs at Stratum Nutrition, tells NutritionInsight.

In the study, NEM was used at 500 mg daily doses to assess its efficacy and safety in patients with grade 2 and grade 3 knee OA. The researchers’ principal finding was the rapid and persistent – after seven days and through day 90, respectively – clinically meaningful improvement in validated indices (total, pain, stiffness and function) of OA. This applied to subjects with moderate-to-severe OA of the knee who were taking NEM, as compared to those in the placebo control group.

NEM has been clinically proven to relief joint pain within seven to ten days.“NEM can be considered as a safe, cost-effective, natural intervention for inclusion as part of the comprehensive clinical protocol in the management of patients with knee OA, even in patients with more severe grade 2 and 3 OA,” the study reads. It also concluded that the longer the duration of exposure was to NEM, the greater the overall magnitude of effect. Continued supplementation with NEM after day 90 can help sustain future joint pain relief, Dr. Ruff advises.

Food versus supplement
Eating more eggs, as opposed to supplementing with eggshell membranes, is not exactly the ticket, Dr. Ruff states. In fact, the scientific community has yet to reach a consensus on the health benefits of regular egg consumption. “Traditionally, very little eggshell membrane is ingested when consumers eat eggs. Probably it most occurs when eating a soft-boiled egg. However, similarly to the way cooking denatures the egg white and changes it dramatically, cooking the membrane denatures the beneficial proteins, making it less effective.”

Circumventing the issue of eggshell membrane digestion, Stratum Nutrition subjects NEM to a proprietary enzymatic process to partially hydrolyze the membrane. This, in essence, means pre-digesting the membrane and making it much easier for the body to utilize.

Ahead of the upcycling curve
Natural health product customers have always been savvy consumers and in recent years, according to Dr. Ruff, as they have placed a greater value on environmental issues, particularly sustainability. However, it is no longer adequate simply to be sustainable as consumers expect more from their brands, he says.

Stratum Nutrition has been upcycling eggshells for the past 15 years.“We believe that consumers will continue to demand upcycled products for the foreseeable future. There is now greater interest in upcycling – making higher-value products from waste or discarded materials,” Dr. Ruff further highlights.

Stratum Nutrition uses the outer discarded eggshells from the food industry to produce calcium and the inner membrane is used to create NEM. Only a small portion remains unseparated and is discarded again. The company does so for its bone health-supporting brand calcium made from eggshells called ESC alongside NEM.

Fifteen years ago, Stratum Nutrition began upcycling eggshells long before even the term even existed, explains Dr. Ruff. “And we will continue to do so even if upcycling turns out to be a fad, because of the amazing benefits that nature has so elegantly hidden in eggshell membranes,” he concludes.

By Anni Schleicher