Omega XL vs Osteo Bi Flex: Which is Better?

Omega XL vs Osteo Bi Flex: which is the better supplement for joint pain, flexibility, and function?

In this article, we bring these two dietary supplements face to face to see which one is better for you.

Osteo Bi Flex vs Omega XL Summary:

While neither Omega XL nor Osteo Bi Flex make it on our “top joint supplements” list, Osteo Bi Flex is the winner of the two.

It has more ingredients (8 compared to Omega XL’s 3), and is more effective at doing what it claims. A.K.A, helping you with joint pain and mobility.

Omega XL doesn’t show us the doses of its ingredients—they’re all hidden in a proprietary blend. We don’t think it’s going to be very effective overall.

Omega XL vs Osteo Bi Flex: Product Overview

About Omega XL

Omega XL (sometimes mistyped as OmegaXL), is one of the most popular omega-3 oil supplements on sale. The company Great Healthworks is behind the making, ads, and claims of this supplement.

So what does Omega XL do?

According to Great Healthworks, Omega XL is an anti-inflammatory omega-3 supplement that is superior to your typical fish oil pills in several days:

Contains 22 times the amount of free fatty acids
Relieves joint inflammation and aches
Improved absorption
No aftertaste or fishy burps

This is an interesting angle Great Healthworks is taking. It’s well known by now that omega-3s lower inflammation. As a result, they can reduce your joint pain caused by inflammatory conditions like arhtiris.

But Great Healthworks says that Omega XL is far more bioavailable than regular fish oil. In addition, we’re promised 22 times more fatty acids than from a standard omega-3 supplement, which is massive.

But can Omega XL really do all it claims? Is it better than Osteo Bi Flex?

We investigate further.

About Osteo Bi Flex

Much like its competitor, Osteo Bi Flex is a highly popular joint stack. It’s been among the top-seller products in the joint pain and flexibility category for a while now.

The manufacturer of Osteo Bi Flex says you will get these benefits from the supplement:

Improved joint mobility
Less joint stiffness
Relief from joint pain

What’s more, Osteo Bi Flex says it delivers a relief from joint pain within just 7 days. This is quite a bold claim! There are very few supplements on the market that work this quickly.

Normally, it takes a few weeks for the best joint supplements to start working, as it takes time to repair your connective tissues and quench systemic inflammation. Essentially, with the best joint stacks, you can expect the benefits to accumulate over time. Still, it is possible to start experiencing benefits within days of taking a supplement.

Omega XL vs Osteo Bi Flex: Comparing the Ingredients

The ingredients are the most important part of any supplement. They will tell us whether Omega XL vs Osteo Bi Flex can deliver on their claims, and which one is better.

Omega XL Ingredients

The following are the active ingredients in Omega XL:

OmegaXL Proprietary Blend – 300mg
- Green lipped mussel extract (PCSO-524) (amount unknown)
  - Omega fatty acids (amount unknown)
  - Extra virgin olive oil (amount unknown)
  - Vitamin E (amount unknown)

Omega XL is one proprietary blend.

It doesn’t show us dosage information, making it hard to tell how much omega-3s it contains.

This is ironic since one of Omega XL’s selling points was that it contains 22x more omega-3s than regular fish oil supplements. And better quality omega-3s at that.

No matter how good the ingredients potentially are, the proprietary blend is a red flag. It might or might not suggest that the manufacturer skimped on more expensive ingredients, and put more of the cheaper fillers in the product to save on production costs.

The proprietary blend of Omega XL is called PCSO-524. Its name might sound advanced and scientific, it, but it is simply a blend of olive and mussel oil, and some other compounds like vitamin E.

The total amount of the blend of Omega XL is 300 mg which tells us it doesn’t have nearly enough omega-3s as what is used for optimal joint pain relief.

And what about the claims about Omega XL having far more “free fatty acids” than normal fish oil? Didn’t the manufacturer say it’s more effective for joint pain and inflammation?

We were able to find only two studies on PCSO-524, the ingredient blend of Omega XL. Both studies were industry funded.

What’s more, the study used far more PCSO-524 than what’s found in Omega XL (1200 mg per day vs 600 mg per day in Omega XL). The study also didn’t have a proper control group – instead, opting for a fish oil group and olive oil group. ¹

Considering all of its drawbacks, Omega XL is not our favorite joint supplement by any measure. We see no reason to pay a premium price for this product when you can get better results from a quality omega-3 supplement that costs around the same or less.

Claims such as “30 superior free fatty acids” and “from clean blue waters of New Zealand” sound attractive, but they mean little in the scientific context.

And now it’s Osteo Bi Flex’s turn to have its ingredients inspected.

Osteo Bi Flex Ingredients

Here’s a look at the active ingredients of Osteo Bi-Flex:

Glucosamine HCl (1500mg)
Boron (unknown dose)
Chondroitin/MSM Complex (1103mg)
MSM (unknown dose)
Collagen (unknown dose)
Hyaluronic acid (unknown dose)
Joint Shield 5-LOXIN ADVANCED (Boswellia serrata extract) (100mg)
Chondroitin sulfate (unknown dose)

As shown on Osteo Bi Flex’s label:

Osteo Bi Flex is not a terrible joint supplement. Although some reviews call it a “scam,” we disagree. Osteo Bi Flex has many positive reviews online that aren’t too far off in terms of accuracy of how this supplement works.

Compared to Omega XL, Osteo Bi Flex contains a few effective ingredients. We can also see the doses of some key ingredients, though not all.

Glucosamine that Osteo Bi Flex uses is a decent ingredient. Studies show it might reduce cartilage breakdown, reduce pain, help with symptoms of osteoarthritis, and promote long-term joint function.²

Boswellia serrata is a plant that is also highly effective for joint health. It helps block enzymes that break down your joint tissue and cause pain.³

Osteo Bi Flex looks like a better formula than Omega XL as a whole, but it still has some drawbacks that make it fall behind the leading joint supplements on the market.

For example, hyaluronic acid, collagen, MSM, and chondroitin are put together in a proprietary blend, which makes it hard to see how effective they will be for you. MSM alone should be dosed at least 1000mg, ideally over 3000 mg per day. And this is more than the entire proprietary blend of Osteo Bi Flex.

So, while Osteo Bi Flex is more likely to benefit your joints than Omega XL, it is not the best joint stack we’ve seen.

Omega XL vs Osteo Bi Flex: Safety Analysis

Both Omega XL and Osteo Bi Flex are natural and safe dietary supplements. They are unlikely to give you side effects.

The ingredients they use have been subject to safety tests and clinical trials, and haven’t been found to cause negative reactions when used in doses as low as in these supplements.

If you aren’t sure which of these two supplements is healthier for you, talk with your doctor who knows your medical history before taking them.

Omega XL vs Osteo Bi Flex: User Reviews

Osteo Bi Flex and Omega XL are both well-reveiwed online. Out of the thousand testimonials that are available online, many of them have words of praise regarding the safety of these two supplements. You will sometimes stumble upon reviews that are negative, claiming they didn’t get the results they hoped for.

It’s worth taking these opinions with a pinch of salt, though. It can be difficult to tell which reviews are paid ads.

That said, looking at other “people’s reviews” can give you a pretty good idea of the product in general. Above all, these reviews will almost always show you if the product in question is a complete scam. This isn’t the case with Omega XL or Osteo Bi Flex.

Omega XL vs Osteo Bi Flex: Pricing & Value

A bottle of Omega XL will cost you around $46.90 with shipping and handling, having 30 servings. You are covered by a 60-day money-back guarantee if you aren’t happy with the product.

Osteo Bi Flex’s price can vary depending on the version you choose and where you buy it from. A 120-capsule bottle of Osteo Bi Flex may cost you around $22 on Amazon. But sometimes, this price can go as high as $40. You need to do a thorough check before buying to make sure you get the best deal.

The Bottom Line

So, which one is better: Omega XL or Osteo Bi Flex?

The winner is Osteo Bi Flex. It will likely have more of an effect than its competitor, which doesn’t show any of its ingredient doses on the label. Omega XL, for the price of $46.90 with S+H, is not a good value in our eyes.

Do we think that Osteo Bi Flex is the best supplement for joint pain and inflammation? Definitely not! It has some downsides of its own, such as using low doses of ingredients and hiding some of them in a proprietary blend. This makes Osteo Bi Flex fall behind some of the leading brands in the joint supplement industry.

Still, between the two, it’s the clear winner.

Further Reading:

Instaflex vs Osteo Bi Flex

References

Mickleborough TD, Sinex JA, Platt D, Chapman RF, Hirt M. The effects PCSO-524®, a patented marine oil lipid and omega-3 PUFA blend derived from the New Zealand green lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus), on indirect markers of muscle damage and inflammation after muscle damaging exercise in untrained men: a randomized, placebo controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015 Feb 19;12:10. doi: 10.1186/s12970-015-0073-z. PMID: 25722660; PMCID: PMC4342081. ↩︎
James CB, Uhl TL. A review of articular cartilage pathology and the use of glucosamine sulfate. J Athl Train. 2001 Oct;36(4):413-9. PMID: 16558667; PMCID: PMC155438. ↩︎
Yu G, Xiang W, Zhang T, Zeng L, Yang K, Li J. Effectiveness of Boswellia and Boswellia extract for osteoarthritis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2020 Jul 17;20(1):225. doi: 10.1186/s12906-020-02985-6. PMID: 32680575; PMCID: PMC7368679. ↩︎