More than 750,000 New Zealanders live with some form of arthritis. That's roughly one in seven of us [1]. But "arthritis" isn't one disease. It's an umbrella term covering more than 140 different conditions [1], and the two biggest categories work in almost opposite ways inside your body.
Get this distinction wrong, and you can end up managing your joints in a way that doesn't actually match what's happening inside them.
Wear-and-Tear Arthritis vs. Immune-System Arthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form, and it's fundamentally mechanical. Cartilage, the cushioning between your bones that breaks down over time, usually in weight-bearing joints like the knees, hips, spine, and hands. It's driven by age, past injury, joint load, and mechanical wear. There is a low-grade inflammatory component, but it isn't an immune-system attack on the joint [2].
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are different. Both are autoimmune conditions where your immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of your own joints, and in PsA, also the points where tendons and ligaments attach to bone [2] [3]. This isn't wear and tear catching up with you. It's your body's defence system misfiring against itself, and it tends to show up earlier in life, flare unpredictably, and if left unmanaged may cause progressive joint damage in a way OA doesn't [3].
Why the difference matters practically: OA is largely about protecting and supporting the joint you've got. RA and PsA are about calming an immune system that's actively working against you. Same joint pain on the surface. Very different mechanism underneath.
Where the Standard Anti-Inflammatory Approach Falls Short
For a lot of people, the go-to for joint pain is an NSAID such as ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen. They work, and for acute flares they have a real place. But used long-term, they carry meaningful, well-documented risk.
Regular NSAID use is associated with gastrointestinal irritation in around 30% of long-term users, with 1–2% per year experiencing more serious complications like bleeding or perforation [4]. NSAIDs increase the risk of GI bleeding, heart attack, and stroke from the first day of use, and the risk climbs with age and with the specific drug used [5]. This isn't a reason to abandon them where they're genuinely needed, but it is a reason not to treat them as a forever-solution for chronic joint inflammation.
Where ModeraFlam Fits
ModeraFlam is powered by NESEM® (Naturally Elicited, Specifically Extracted Molecules) protective molecules drawn from plants, alongside Avocado-Soybean Unsaponifiables (ASU), one of its key ingredients.
Its role looks a little different depending on which type of arthritis you're managing:
For wear-and-tear arthritis (osteoarthritis), ASU is one of the more well-studied natural ingredients for joint comfort. Research shows it may help support healthy cartilage and calm the joint-level inflammation that comes with everyday wear and tear [6] [7].
For immune-driven arthritis (rheumatoid or psoriatic), the connection is a bit more specific. Both conditions are strongly linked to a messenger molecule in the body called IL-6 (Interleukin-6). It's found at high levels in the joints of people with rheumatoid arthritis, where it tracks closely with how active the disease is [8], and it's also elevated in the skin and joint tissue of people with psoriatic arthritis [9]. ModeraFlam is formulated to help calm this same IL-6 pathway [10], which is why it may offer useful extra support for people managing an immune-driven arthritis, always alongside your rheumatologist's care, not instead of it.
A Note for Women With a Current or Past Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Because ModeraFlam includes a soy-derived ingredient, some women, and understandably, want to know if that's a concern given the history of questions about soy and breast cancer. This is worth answering properly rather than glossing over, so here's what the actual research says.
The soy compounds that have been studied in relation to breast cancer are called isoflavones. These are the plant compounds found in soy foods like tofu, edamame, and soy milk, and they can weakly interact with oestrogen receptors in the body. The soy-derived ingredient in ModeraFlam, called ASU (avocado-soybean unsaponifiables), is chemically a different part of the soybean. It's made from the portion of soybean oil left over after a process that removes fats, and its active compounds are plant sterols, not isoflavones [11]. In plain terms: it's not the same soy compound that the breast cancer research has actually looked at.
For context on the isoflavone question itself (even though it's not what's in ModeraFlam): older concerns came from lab and animal studies, where isoflavones stimulated the growth of cancer cells in petri dishes and in mice. But animals process isoflavones differently to humans, and this effect hasn't held up in real-world research. More recent, larger studies including a 2024 analysis covering over 80,000 women with a history of breast cancer, have not found soy isoflavones to increase recurrence risk, and some research suggests a protective association, particularly in postmenopausal women [12]. Major cancer organisations, including the American Cancer Society, now consider moderate soy intake safe for breast cancer survivors [13].
The Practical Takeaway
If your arthritis is primarily wear-and-tear in a weight-bearing joint, ModeraFlam may support you as part of a broader approach alongside movement, load management, and your GP or physio's guidance.
If your arthritis is immune-driven, ModeraFlam may still be worth discussing with your practitioner as extra support, particularly if you're trying to reduce how much you rely on long-term NSAIDs, always alongside your rheumatologist, never instead of them.
Either way, the first step is knowing which fire you're actually fighting.
Not sure which type of arthritis you're dealing with, or whether ModeraFlam is a fit for your situation?
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References
[2] Cleveland Clinic, "Psoriatic Arthritis vs. Rheumatoid Arthritis"
[3] Drugs.com Medical Answers, "RA vs OA vs PsA: Which one is it?", citing CDC and Arthritis Foundation
[5] "The dangers of NSAIDs: look both ways," PMC
[8] "Interleukin-6 in Rheumatoid Arthritis," PMC
[9] "Interleukin 6 Blockade: Tocilizumab in Psoriatic Arthritis," The Journal of Rheumatology
[10] "Avocado–Soybean Unsaponifiables: A Panoply of Potentialities to Be Exploited," PMC