Collagen is a pure protein that our body produces until we’re 25. After that, production begins to decrease, so until we are 50, collagen level can drop by 50%.
The fact is that collagen production decreases by 2% a year.
The only way to force our body to produce it more is with good and healthy food and supplements.
However, collagen benefits are a two-way street. It won’t hurt to take collagen; however, wrong products or small amounts will not substantially influence your body but on your wallet. In simple words, some of these supplements are useless.
Let me give you a few pieces of advice on how to avoid them and go for the real deal.
Collagen products
There are a bunch of cosmetic products containing collagen and advertising this like a youth source. It isn’t going to happen! This kind of product does have collagen but in a small amount. The truth is that our whole body needs to be boosted by collagen entry, not just the face.
If we enter collagen through creams and gels, the absorption is much slower than with nutrition. Also, collagen is concentrated more in food and supplements, so taking it like this can influence our face much more than by lubrication.
Different types of collagen
When it comes to a source, there a few types that people nowadays use. These include:
- Chicken
- Pork
- Bovine
- Marine
Shoot for the marine collagen, the most expensive one but the most quality one. It’s the purest form due to all the diseases found in animals like pig and beef.
For people who don’t like fish, the best alternative is a collagen supplement that can be consumed as pills, liquid, and powder.
True benefits of taking a collagen
Wrist and joints
Collagen reduces wrist pain since it has a lubrication purpose. It provides relief to joints.
Skin health
By taking collagen, we increase elastin levels in our body, so our skin becomes much more stretchable. Except for that, it brings a natural shine to the skin.
Did you know that taking collagen through nutrition forces the production within the body?
Sleep
Collagen contains 33% of an amino acid called Glycine. This amino acid lowers our body temperature before we go to sleep and prepares our body for the relaxing process of sleeping.
Liver functionality
Glycine and taurine in collagen help with bile salt synthesis. The bile’s primary function is to digest fats and vitamins. It also helps to create pathogenic bacteria in our bodies.
For these processes to work correctly, our body needs Glycine.
Hormonal balance
Glycine also helps to balance the hormones. As you may know, unbalanced hormones can lead to overweight problems, changes in women cycles, thyroid and renal dysfunction, and pancreatic dysfunction.
In menopause, Glycine has almost the same purpose as estrogen. It protects the bone structure.
Muscle regeneration
Threat damaged and broken muscles with collagen are nothing new to medicine. It brings faster muscle regeneration and recovery. The studies showed that people who take collagen recover much quicker after sport injures.
A high amount of collagen in our body guarantees fast recovery and scar healing.
Brain activities
Certain types of collagen-like type VI protects brain cells from some kinds of protein suspected to cause Alzheimer’s disease.
Different conditions
Now that we discussed collagen types and benefits, let’s make some comparison on its condition.
We found it as:
- Food
- Pills
- Powder
- Liquid
Studies have shown that eating a fish has multiple benefits, let’s name a few:
- It strengthens the bones due to its ability to help them absorb calcium.
- It enhances the quality of skin, hair, and nails. People who take collagen have fewer wrinkles due to its ability to faster skin renewal.
- Patients who have diabetes type 2 have a lack of Glycine in their body. Marine collagen contains a very high dosage of Glycine so that it can help patients with diabetes.
- It is very nutritious, and it helps to build muscle tissue.
- We already discuss how Glycine helps people to sleep better, due to this fact, it also helps us be more focused during the day.
- It can be a helpful ally if you plan on losing weight. It is very nutritious, so it will make you feel full.
If you are allergic to fish or you can’t stand it for some reason, supplements in the form of pills are the perfect alternative. They don’t smell like fish, and you can’t tell it’s a product made out of fish at all.
Collagen in the form of powder is a great choice price-wise. It is packed in small plastic bags, and it is very cheap, but in many cases, the quality is not the best.
If you want to go with supplements, liquid collagen is the best choice for several reasons. Here is why:
The faster we enter collagen in our body, and the faster it absorbed, the better. Pills and powder need more time to decompose and absorb. The time between we take it until the time it’s entirely in the blood flow is longer.
Our body needs to work more to absorb collagen from pills and powder than from liquid.
It also has one more practical side. Liquid allows a more significant concentration to be packed in small bottles.
Consequences of low collagen level
As we get old, we might feel some changes within our body, in our movement, or even with our brain. First, changes that we will run into and it’s caused by lack of collagen are kind changes. You may notice wrinkles, loose skin, bumps.
It can affect the hair quality, volume and even cause the hair to fall off eventually.
More dangerous consequences are not visible, but you can indeed feel them. They come in the form of muscle weakening, lack of strength in general, and decline of muscle tone.
The movement difficulties are prevalent. Collagen serves as a lubricant for wrists and joints, and when it’s lacking, it may cause troubles.
Few things will speed up the process of losing collagen, so be aware:
- Professional sports
- Stress
- Hormonal imbalance
- Genetics
These are the information you need about the importance of collagen in our body.