When I founded InClover I had just completed a global research project we called the holy grail of women’s health. We discovered a type of bacteria that could keep women healthy, if only we could get them to grow in the body. Sounds easy, right? Of course, it was hard. The body is complex and unique. I learned that we must understand the physiology (noun: the way in which a living organism or bodily part functions) of the body we are trying to get healthy in order to develop an effective solution. This nugget of knowledge is the foundation of InClover and how all our products, including Connectin, are developed.
Joint supplements are the largest segment of the $1 Billion supplement market. Over 25% of dogs and 25% of cats would benefit from joint supplementation. These big numbers attract many companies to the joint supplement market. Helping those animals is tricky. To have a complete joint supplement, one that works and provides just what the body needs, you must develop the formulation using a holistic approach with an understanding of how the animal’s physiology is impacting the joint. This is a very different approach from contracting with a outside manufacturer to come up with a product or worse, googling what ingredients are selling and mixing them together. These approaches yield products that are on the market right now. It is tough to know what to look for in a quality joint supplement. Skip to the end to get a list of the 7 important questions to ask. Continue reading to learn more about how Connectin was developed.
For Connectin Joint Supplement we took this holistic and physiological approach. Let’s look at our 5-year journey to creating Connectin. We first researched the physiology of an animal’s joint, how their body converts nutrients into the joint building blocks that keep the joint comfortable and moving smoothly. And, what is preventing those building blocks from being delivered into the joint. In looking at herbs that are both powerful and gentle to create a delivery system we only considered GRAS herbs, those that have met Generally Recognized as Safe standards. Once satisfied that the formulation is natural to the body and GRAS, we started our Proof of Concept studies with Connectin. These trials invited pet parents to bring their animals to veterinarians and be a part of a study to compare Connectin to a placebo. The veterinarians and the pet parents observed the animals and answered a variety of questions including changes in range of motion, crepitus and mobility. Neither the pet parent nor the veterinarian knew if the animal was getting Connectin or a placebo. This allowed them to answer honestly with no expectation of results. Connectin significantly showed positive results compared to the placebo. We also analyzed blood work from each group of animals and confirmed no change in kidney and liver function. We then worked with the global leader in veterinary clinical testing, Massey University, to invite pet parents to bring their animals to research veterinarians for a longer and more quantitative test of Connectin compared to a placebo. All pets accepted into the study were diagnosed with joint disorder through radiographic testing. The researchers used gold standard force plate testing to measure how much force, or weight, the animal was able to put on each joint before and after being included in the trial. Additionally, all animals received full blood chemistry analyses. At the end of 60 days the results were sent to Colorado State University and unblinded. The statisticians determined that the animals on Connectin showed statistically significant improvement in the ability to bear weight and range of motion as compared to the placebo. The blood chemistry safety testing showed no difference when compared with a placebo.
Through clinical trials we learned that Connectin works fast, in average 15 days. We also discovered that improvement was seen in the contralateral joint- the one across from the one that was diagnosed with joint disorder. And, we discovered that Connectin did not cause any issues in blood chemistry results as compared to the placebo. Connectin is so unique we have three issued patents on the product; Connectin Patent.
The combination of joint physiology, GRAS ingredients, complete formulation, product testing and blood testing allowed us to develop a one of a kind joint supplement that you can feel good about using and recommending.
7 Questions To Ask When Picking a Joint Supplement
- Was the physiology of the animal used to develop the supplement, explain how?
- Is the supplement complete, explain how?
- Are the ingredients GRAS?
- Did the supplement undergo Proof of Concept Testing? What results were seen compared with a placebo?
- Did the supplement undergo Force Plate Testing? What results were seen compared with a placebo?
- Did blood chemistry results show no change compared with a placebo?
- Is the supplement shown to work fast? What do the results show compared with a placebo?