Flex is a joint supplement manufactured by MST Nutrition. It ranks 80 out of 96 joint supplements and earned an overall thumbs-down recommendation based on seven factors including nutrition label transparency, ingredients, dosing, claims, research rating, and ranking.

Thumbs-down

Flex earned a thumbs-down recommendation. This recommendation is based on the criteria listed below. To earn an overall thumbs-up recommendation, a product must earn a thumbs-up in at least four of the seven areas below. Click on a graded area for an in-depth analysis.

Graded Area Thumb Up or Down
Effectiveness Rating
Ingredients
Ingredient Dosing
Claims
Research Rating
Nutrition Label Transparency
Ranking Within Category
Overall Recommendation

Vote Statistics

1 to 5 Star Rating Votes Votes for products are cast in two ways. First, visitors can rate each product with a 1 to 5 star rating. These votes are cast on a product's rating page (this page - below).

There have been no 1 to 5 star votes cast on Flex; add yours below.


Add Your Vote

No email or registration required; click a button below and move on with your life!


Comparison Votes Visitors can also vote on which product works better on comparison pages. Comparison pages are a side-by-side analysis between two supplement products. The votes below illustrate whether visitors prefer Flex, or the products listed in the table below. The number next to the thumb up is how many votes Flex won; the number next to the thumb down is how many votes it lost to the other product.

There have been no comparison votes cast for Flex.

Table of Contents

  1. Simple Report
  2. Detailed Report
  3. Ranking Within Category
  4. Summary
  5. Comments

Flex Simple Report

  • Product Name: Flex
  • Manufacturer: MST Nutrition
  • Manufacturer Website: MST Nutrition's Homepage
  • Manufacturer Social Media:
  • Supplement Category: Joint Supplements
  • Serving Size: 1 scoop (10g)
  • Effectiveness Rating: 1.78 out of 3
  • Number of Ingredients: 7
  • Research Rating: 35 (above 60 indicates sufficient research)
  • Nutrition Label Transparency Score: 100%
  • Ranking within Joint Supplements: 80 out of 96 (bottom third within category)
  • Ranking within all Supplement Products: 3,785 out of 5,011 (bottom third of all products)

Flex Detailed Report

The detailed report provides an in-depth analysis of the product's rating. In addition to showing ratings for each area, this report also provides the required criteria for a thumbs-up in each section.

Effectiveness Rating

Flex earned a thumbs-up in this category because its effectiveness rating is 1.78. A product's effectiveness rating must be at least 1.5 to receive a thumbs-up in this area. This effectiveness rating means Flex is made up of a mix of both high and low-quality ingredients and may lead to some positive results.

This category illustrates how well a product works based on what the research says about its ingredients. Researchers conduct studies on supplement ingredients to gauge effectiveness. The database grades products on how effective their ingredients are. The effectiveness rating of supplement products is evaluated on a 3 point scale: 3.0 is the most effective, 1.0 is the least effective.

Ingredients

Flex earned a thumbs-down in this category because it contains 0% extremely and/or moderately effective ingredients. A product must contain at least 75% extremely and/or moderately effective ingredients to receive a thumbs-up in this area.

This category rates a product's ingredient makeup. A product should contain mostly extremely and/or moderately effective ingredients with little or no ineffective ones. The database categorizes ingredients as extremely, moderately, or ineffective based on conclusions from research articles.

Flex contains:

  • unrated ingredients: 1 (the database does not contain information on these ingredients)
  • total ingredients: 7

The following table lists all ingredients found in this product as well as their effectiveness ratings and amounts (if listed).

Ingredient Effectiveness Rating
Hyaluronic Acid 50mg 2.5 out of 3
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) 1g 2 out of 3
Glucosamine Sulfate 1g 1.8 out of 3
Vitamin D3 7.5mcg 1.6 out of 3
Chondroitin Sulfate 500mg 1.5 out of 3
Vitamin C 500mg 1.3 out of 3
Collagen* not rated
Product Effectiveness Rating 1.78

* These ingredients are not included in the Supplement Database.

Note: These ingredients are accurate as of December 25, 2021.

Ingredient Articles

Ingredient Dosing

Flex earned a thumbs-down in this category because 50% of its ingredients are dosed within the effective range. Seventy-five (75)% of product's ingredients must be dosed within the effective range to receive a thumbs-up in this area.

This category compares a product's ingredient dosing to effective doses found in research articles and doses used in other products. When researchers study the efficacy of supplement ingredients, they use specific doses. Manufacturers should create products with ingredient doses that fall within established effective ranges.

Flex Dosing Compared to Research

This section is a comparison of ingredient doses found in Flex to amounts used in research articles. The first column contains the name of the ingredient as well as the amount. The second column contains the range of effective doses for that ingredient. Note: not all ingredients in the database contain dosing information; only ingredients with scientific dosing information are included in this analysis.

A green checkmark is shown if the ingredient amount falls within the effective range.

A down arrow is shown if an ingredient amount is lower than the effective range.

Ingredient & Amount Effective Range
Glucosamine Sulfate 1g 1.5g
Chondroitin Sulfate 500mg 60mg
Hyaluronic Acid 50mg 48mg - 200mg
Vitamin D3 7.5mcg 80mcg

Flex Dosing Compared to Other Products

This section is a comparison of ingredient doses found in Flex to amounts used in other products. The first column displays the ingredient and amount. The second column displays the average amount of the ingredient found across all products in the database. The final column displays the range found across all products in the database.

An orange up or down arrow is shown if the ingredient amount is higher or lower than the average.

An equal sign is shown if the ingredient amount is equal to the average.

Ingredient & Amount Average Range
Collagen 5g 1.48g 0.01g - 11g
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) 1g 0.72g 0.01g - 5g
Glucosamine Sulfate 1g 1.19g 0.1g - 2g
Chondroitin Sulfate 0.5g 0.74g 0.05g - 12g
Hyaluronic Acid 50mg 88.7mg 1mg - 250mg
Vitamin C 0.5g 0.6g 0g - 250g
Vitamin D3 0.0075mg 2.14mg 0mg - 268mg

Claims

Flex earned a thumbs-down in this category because 38% of its claims are rated as either extremely or moderately effective. Seventy-five (75)% of a product's claims must be rated as extremely or moderately effective to receive a thumbs-up in this area.

The product’s effectiveness rating is an overall picture of how well a product does or doesn't work. Individual studies research an ingredient's effects on certain claims. For example: does creatine monohydrate increase strength, or does beta alanine improve running performance?

The Supplement Database compiles the conclusions of these studies, and based on a product's ingredient makeup, calculates how well a product does on various claims. The claims below are organized by effectiveness (extremely, moderately, ineffective).

Research Rating

Flex earned a thumbs-down in this category because its research rating is 35. A product's research rating must be at least 60 to receive a thumbs-up in this area.

A research rating of 35 means there is an insufficient amount of research on the product's ingredients to ensure its effectiveness rating is valid.

The research rating is a measure of how much research has been conducted on a product's ingredient makeup. Manufacturers often rely on ingredients without adequate research backing. They may do this to compete with other products that are already using poorly researched ingredients. They may also only use a very small amount of cherry-picked research as a poor justification to use certain ingredients.

The amount of research contained in the database on a product's ingredients determines its research rating. Products with higher ratings are made up of thoroughly researched ingredients.

Nutrition Label and Ingredient Transparency

Flex earned a thumbs-up in this category because its discloses 100% of its ingredient amounts. A product must disclose all ingredient amounts to receive a thumbs-up in this area.

Nutrition label transparency refers to how many ingredients are listed with amounts on the product label. Many supplement manufacturers hide ingredient amounts under the guise of great-sounding proprietary blends such as "Maximum Muscular Size Enhancer" or "Anabolic Cell Strength Matrix."

When manufacturers use proprietary blends, they can hide ingredient amounts making it difficult for consumers to know whether a product is effective.

Flex contains:

  • total ingredients: 7
  • ingredients with amounts listed: 7
  • ingredients without amounts listed: 0
  • percent of ingredient amounts disclosed: 100%

Product Label

The label below was generated from the information contained in the database about the product's ingredients and amounts. Actual product labels may differ in appearance.

Flex by MST Nutrition Product Label

Ranking Within Category

Flex earned a thumbs-down in this category because it ranks 80 out of 96 in the joint supplement category (bottom third). A product must be ranked in the top two-thirds of its category to receive a thumbs-up in this area.

Flex ranks 80 out of 96 in the Joint Supplements category and 3,785 out of 5,011 in the entire database. The table below lists comparisons with similarly ranked joint supplement. Click on a link for an in-depth comparison between the two.

Product Comparison
Flex vs Joint Support*2
Flex vs Elastijoint
Flex vs Proven Joint
Flex vs Phat Muscle Project Joint Health
Flex vs A.D.S Arthro Daily Support

Flex vs Other MST Nutrition Joint Supplements

Manufacturers often create multiple products within the same category. These products are sometimes similar but marketed to different consumers with varying prices. The following table allows you to compare Flex against its sister products; products manufactured by MST Nutrition within the joint supplements category.

Product Comparison
Flex vs Flex Pro

See more comparisons: Is Flex the best joint supplement?

Summary

Graded Area Reason
Effectiveness Rating rating is greater or equal to the required 1.5
Ingredients less than 75% of ingredients are rated as effective
Ingredient Dosing less than 75% of ingredients are dosed properly
Claims less than 75% of claims are rated as effective
Research Rating research rating is lower than the required 60
Nutrition Label Transparency discloses all ingredient amounts on label
Ranking Within Category ranks in the bottom third of category
Overall Recommendation received a thumbs down in the majority of areas

Leave a comment

No email or registration required to post. Comments are approved manually before they appear.

Submit your comment using your overall product recommendation below.