My GNC Triflex Review – Why It Didn’t Impress Me

It’s time for my GNC Triflex review – a product that doesn’t look any special.

Now – is has several good points when it comes to price, transparency and even certain ingredients. But that’s pretty much all I could find.

To be honest, I’m a fan of GNC because they have a few really good products. But Triflex isn’t one of them – if you ask me:

contains the weak form of glucosamine
pills are pretty large and thick
didn’t improve my joint mobility

Now – Triflex isn’t among the worst supplements I know. It has a few good things as well. But in my opinion, it has more downsides than advantages.

But let me give you a thorough explanation about Triflex.

Note: This review is based on my experience with this supplement. So it’s not the typical review, based on general info. I am not trying to praise/ criticize this product or its company – I am simply telling my opinion about it.

So Let’s Get To The Review

Full Name: Triflex by GNC

Quantity : 240 caplets

Best Actual Price: $32.99

Where I Bought It From: Ebay but now the lowest price is on GNC’s website (On Amazon it’s unavailable)

Designed For: Osteoarthritis and cartilage problems.

It contains 2 cartilage re-builders and one substance for flexibility. So I wouldn’t recommend it for inflammatory problems or chronic joint pain (unless it’s caused by OA or cartilage damage).

My Rating: 6.50 out of 10 – It’s not bad, but it’s not good either.

Worth Buying?: Not really, as long as I’m concerned.

It has a big problem regarding to the type of glucosamine it contains. That’s why it didn’t help my joints too much.

The only thing I like is that it doesn’t cost a lot. But keep in mind that 240 pills are only enough for 60 days. So it’s not as cheap as I first thought.

So I wouldn’t really recommend it – it’s not expensive, but it didn’t work too well either.

What I Liked About It

some of the ingredients have great doses (chondroitin, MSM)
contains mostly classic ingredients for joint pain
pretty affordable overall
you can buy it from several different websites
there are many authentic reviews and opinions

What I Didn’t Like About It

contains the bad form of glucosamine (HCl instead of the sulfate)
the dose of Hyaluronic Acid is way too low
you need to take 4 pills per day
didn’t help me too much
my joint stiffness didn’t decrease
also, my knee flexibility didn’t get any better
the pills are pretty large and hard to swallow

A Quick Look At The Formula

At first sight, Triflex’s ingredients don’t look very bad:

mostly classic ingredients
doses are pretty good for most substances

However, this supplement has 2 major problems:

Contains a weak form of glucosamine
Has a very low dose of hyaluronic acid

When it comes to glucosamine – here’s the thing:

Instead of using the sulfate form, these pills contain the HCl – which isn’t that good:

doesn’t rebuild cartilages very well
studies conducted on it didn’t have good results
the HCl alone is cheaper than the sulfate

On the other hand, hyaluronic acid is a great substance for the joints – but not in these pills. Here’s why:

According to studies, it works best when injected directly into the joint.

But if you take it by mouth – you need a much higher dose: somwehere around 200 mg. Triflex only contains 5 mg – which is pretty useless, you can tell that.

So these are the 2 major things you should know about Triflex. When it comes to the other ingredients – things look much better.

The 5 Ingredients – Not Bad

As I said – except the 2 problems it has, Triflex’s ingredients look pretty good. So let’s take each one by turn:

1. Sodium (130 mg) – to be honest, I have no idea how this substance can help the joints.

According to most articles I read, sodium rather worsens arthritis. I didn’t find any study about its benefits for joints – so I can’t really see why GNC uses it in these pills.

2. Glucosamine HCl (1500 mg) – glucosamine is the best substance at re -bulding cartilages, but not in this form (HCl). (1)

So that’s the biggest problem of this supplement. Other than that, the dose is really good – too bad it’s not the right compound.

3. Chondroitin Sulfate (1200 mg) – chondroitin is also an essential ingredient for the joints:

increases the power of glucosamine
also re-builds damaged cartilages (2)
prevents the joints from further damage

1200 mg is a great dose – so in my opinion, chondroitin is the best ingredient from Triflex.

4. MSM (900 mg) – this is another classic ingredient with lots of benefits for OA and cartilage problems:

decreases minor inflammation
increases joint flexibility
helps joint stiffness on the long term

The dose of MSM is also very high – compared to other products.

5. Hyaluronic Acid (5 mg) – as I said before, this substance is pretty useless here. The necessary dose would be around 200 mg – so 5 mg isn’t going to do much.

Conclusion: Except the 2 “problematic” ingredients – the others are pretty good.

Why I Tried This Supplement

Now – Triflex doesn’t look like the best supplement ever. But I tried it out 1-2 years ago, if I’m not wrong.

I had osteoarthritis in both of my knees:

there was still enough cartilage left
so my pain wasn’t that bad – but it still existed
the biggest problem was my lack of flexibility
I couldn’t bend down my knees and walk for a long time

Judging after its ingredients – Trfilex should re-build cartilages and improve mobility. In fact, the label even promises that.

So on paper, it should help me with these problems. But here’s how it was in reality.

My Experience With This Supplement

To be honest, Triflex didn’t impress me in terms of how it works.

I took the pills for over a month and I can’t say it worked amazingly. Here’s exactly what I mean:

it relieved my knee pain pretty well (but most products could do that)
my knee stiffness didn’t go away
they weren’t any more flexible or easier to bend
the shape of my knees didn’t improve too much overall

So the only chapter whee Triflex really helped was the pain. It used to be around a 3 before – and while I took these pills, it got to about a 1.

Now – that is an improvement. But most glucosamine products I tried managed to decrease my pain (because it was never very bad).

However – in terms of flexibility or stiffness, these pills didn’t do anything.

So I can’t say I was too satisfied – after all, I paid about $35 on them. I could get the same pain relief for half of that money.

Overall, I don’t think I would recommend Triflex. There are much better alternatives for rebuilding cartilages – for less money.

But it’s not over yet. Let me continue my analysis on Triflex with the good and the bad things I found about it.

PRO #1 – Decent Price

Compared to other supplements I know, Triflex isn’t really expensive:

one bottle lasts for 60 days
that’s around $0.58 per day

Yes, it’s not the cheapest supplement ever – but you can’t say it’s expensive either.

However, there’s one thing you should pay attention to – you need to take 4 pills per day.

Now – the label mentions there are 240 caplets per bottle. So you’re paying $33 per 240 pills – which sounds great.

But in reality, one bottle is enough for only 60 days. That’s because you need to take 4 pills per day – so it doesn’t seem like the best deal ever anymore.

Overall, Triflex’s price is decent – not the best one ever, but pretty good. Compared to many other supplements, it’s affordable. However, considering how it works – I don’t think it’s worth the money (my opinion).

PRO #2 – Lots Of Opinions

That’s another thing I really appreciate about Triflex – transparency.

What do I mean?:

it’s doesn’t have reviews only on the official website
you can find lots of customer opinions all over the Internet
there are many reviews about it on Amazon

So I’m pretty sure these reviews are real. This means the company is transparent and doesn’t only allow positive reviews on their website – as many other supplements do.

When it comes to the reviews – opinions are pretty divided. As with any other product, actually.

Some say it worked, while others claim it was totally useless.

I didn’t take them into consideration while writing mine – because it’s based on my own experience. In my case, it wasn’t too good so I wouldn’t recommend it.

But if you need some other opinions – you can do a brief search in Google and find some easily.

CON #1 – Bad Form Of Glucosamine

That’s by far the biggest downside of Triflex.

It’s not the first time I tried a supplement with glucosamine HCl (instead of the sulfate). And most of the times, I didn’t get a big improvement.

So in my opinion – that’s the reason why Triflex didn’t help me too much:

the HCl form doesn’t rebuild cartilages
it’s not as affective as the sulfate (according to studies)

If it contained the sulfate instead – I think it would have worked much better.

I also mentioned the dose of Hyaluronic Acid was way too small – but that isn’t such a major problem.

That’s because it’s not such an important ingredient as glucosamine. So many supplements work well enough even without it.

But when it comes to glucosamine – it’s a major problem. So that’s the first reason why I wouldn’t recommend Triflex.

CON #2 – Thick Pills

I know that glucosamine pills tend to be a bit larger than others.

Now – according to the label, Triflex has caplets (not capsules). What’s the difference:

caplets are smaller and have a smoother coating
capsules are larger and harder to swallow

However, Triflex’s pills look like typical capsules, in my opinion. I wouldn’t say they’re caplets if I didn’t see the label:

they are pretty long and thick
you need a lot of water to swallow them
sometimes they would cause me some chest pain (if I didn’t drink enough water)

So the pills are kind of too big, in my opinion. The fact that they are caplets doesn’t seem like an advantage to me – they are as hard to swallow as regular capsules.

Besides, you have to take 4 pills per day – which isn’t very comfortable either way.

So the fact that they are hard to swallow makes it even worse. I don’t know if it was just me or not – but I really didn’t have a good time taking these pills.

CON #3 – Doesn’t Work Too Well

I have to be subjective at this chapter. And in my case, Triflex wasn’t very effective:

didn’t improve the shape of my knees
it didn’t improve my mobility
judging after how I felt, I don’t think it re-built my cartilages too much
my joint stiffness also didn’t decrease

The only part where it helped me was my knee pain. But as I said – most supplements managed to help me with that (because it wasn’t very strong).

So for now, my opinion on Triflex isn’t a very positive one.

Based on what it contains, I don’t think it can improve joint flexibility a lot. Nor re-build cartilages.

You don’t have to agree with me here – but judging after how it worked, I can’t have a different opinion.

My Verdict – Is Triflex Worth Buying?

Short answer: Not really, to be honest. It’s not the worst supplement I’ve seen – but it’s far from the good ones.

Here’s why I say this:

contains the weak form of glucosamine
didn’t improve my joints too well

As I said – it helped me with the pain, but that wasn’t something new.

Now – Triflex has a pretty good price, so you wouldn’t spend a fortune on it. However, keep in mind that one bottle only lasts 60 days – not more, as you might think (240 pills inside).

Anyway, it’s not one of those products that I’m totally against. If you decide to buy it – it’s totally fine.

But I would still recommend you to spend those money more wisely – on something that costs around the same but works way better.

Obviously, it’s all up to you. I can only give you an honest advice:

always get a supplement with glucosamine sulfate, not HCl

That will make the difference most of the times. That’s why I recommend a better product instead – if you decide on that one, I think you’re doing a better choice overall.

References:

(1) – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2686334/

(2) – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4881293/