I am late to this thread. There is a lot of good information here.
IMO if you are really serious about taking care of knees and joints you have to get serious about eliminating refined sugar from your diet. It is horribly difficult to do but sugar is the equivalent of throwing gasoline on fire. If you have any inflammation (which some is normal) sugar will send it into overdrive (which is not normal).
Look for the article in the WSJ about Tom Brady's longevity. Also look for the articles about athlete contracts that prohibit sugar intake during any injury rehab.
I am not a health nut and I am not skinny and fit. I am right where I should be. I don't diet other than I try to eliminate all sugar, except during the holidays. It has changed my life. I have zero knee or back pain and zero allergies when am off sugar.
My wife is zero sugar year around. Eliminating sugar has had so many positive benefits (no more hip pain from 3 child births, no more headaches, lessened menstrual cramps, shortness of breath etc), she refuses to go back.
Hope this helps.
