If you keep up with the world of health and wellness, you’ve likely heard about collagen. Collagen has been touted as a health, beauty and anti-aging agent. Although collagen is naturally produced in the human body, collagen deteriorates with age. Fortunately, there are a lot of different ways to take collagen supplements or even a super collagen powder. You can easily find tablets, pills, and powders that can help develop better skin and stronger bones and even reduce the risk of heart conditions.
What is Collagen Protein and What Does It Do?
The collagen protein is found in abundance within the body. In fact, it can make up 30 to 40 percent of the body’s structural protein. The connective tissues present in skin, bones, hair, and even some intestinal organs all consist partially of collagen. Collagen itself is largely made of glycine, proline and lysine amino acids.
Collagen deficiency can naturally occur with age. As you get older, your body produces less and less collagen, starting in your mid-twenties. Collagen deficiency is sometimes what causes sagging skin and joint pain.
Aside from aging, what causes collagen deficiency? The condition can be a result of:
- Genetic defects,
- Poor diet with low intake of collagen-rich foods or other nutritional deficiencies,
- Digestive problems that affect the body’s ability to synthesize collagen,
- High sugar intake,
- Smoking, and
- Excessive exposure to the sun.
Fortunately, to counteract these risks, you can take collagen in a synthetic form. To start supplementing your body’s own production, you can find collagen protein here.
What Are the Health Benefits of Collagen Protein?
The collagen protein provides structure and strength to connective tissue. In terms of health benefits, here’s what taking collagen supplements can mean for you:
- Improved circulation within blood vessels. Collagen fortifies the blood vessels and improves their elasticity. Deteriorated blood vessels are a common cause of heart conditions.
- Hydrolyzed collagen can stimulate bone-creating cells (osteoblasts) and reduce the effects of osteoporosis.
- The body uses collagen to build the fibrils that provide structure to tissue like muscles, skin, and joint cartilage. Studies show taking oral hydrolyzed type 1 collagen daily can reduce inflammation and relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
- The regenerative properties of collagen are important in providing joint pain relief. In turn, collagen can increase joint mobility and reduce the pain caused by inflammation.
- Collagen gives your skin cells structure and elasticity, so it can help reduce cellulite and wrinkles. A study shows that taking collagen supplements can improve the skin’s elasticity and it’s texture.
- The body uses amino acids found in collagen to build keratin, which strengthens hair and prevents breakage.
- Collagen can soothe your gut’s lining and heal damaged cell walls. Glycine, an amino acid found in collagen, can reduce gastrointestinal inflammation and aid digestion. It heals and seals the fragile lining of your digestive tract.
Besides Smoothies, How Can You Add Collagen Into Your Health Routine?
While there are many benefits to taking collagen as a supplement, you can also raise collagen levels by changing your diet. Collagen is found in the connective tissue of animals; you can find it in chicken skin, pork skin, beef, and fish. You can also find collagen in gelatin-like bone broth.
Other collagen-rich foods you can incorporate into your diet include:
- Egg whites
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