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Photo by Lucaxx Freire on Unsplash Collagen is one of the most popular buzzwords in the health and nutrition world today. But what is Collagen and what are its benefits? We break down everything you need to know, from skin health to bone health and …
Photo by Autumn Goodman on Unsplash The skin is the largest organ in the body and it is responsible for many functions that contribute to our health and well-being. It protects the body against physical and chemical aggressions, serves as a sensorial receptor, regulates body …
Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies. It is found in our bones, skin, nails, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Think of Collagen simply as the ‘glue’ that holds us together.
While our bodies naturally produce Collagen, by the time we hit age 25, the rate at which it is produced decreases at a rate of about 1.5% each year. That means that by age 45, you’ve lost about 30%. By age 60, you’ve lost almost half! There are many outside factors that can also deplete your levels, including smoking, too much sun, diabetes, poor nutrition, stress and poor hydration. Low amounts in the body will directly impact your skin, muscles and joints. You’ll start to show symptoms of wrinkles, sagging skin, muscle pain and soreness, and joint pain. Here’s what you need to know in order to get it back on track.
Collagen exists in the human body in over 25 forms, but more than 90% is formed by Type 1 and Type 3. This is the reason why many brands focus on these two types. Combined, these proteins are essential in the support of connective and structural tissues. Type 1 is derived from hides, bones, and the skin of animals, whereas Type 2 is only found in cartilage (typically chicken). Now here’s what sets a high-quality brand of Collagen from a generic brand – whether or not it is hydrolyzed.
According to Suhail Ishaq, president of BioCell Technology, “Of these types, collagen is either unhydrolyzed (also known as undenatured) or hydrolyzed. In its original, unhydrolyzed state, its molecules are very large and therefore not effectively absorbed by the intestines. Hydrolyzation breaks it down into small molecular weight fragments to enhance absorption without affecting its beneficial components.” Numerous studies show that supplementation with hydrolyzed type 1 Collagen may also help improve cellulite.
Bones are made out of calcium and collagen. Generally, we think of calcium as the most important component for bone health, but collagen is just as important – 90% of the organic mass of your bone is made out of it. What’s more, two thirds of the cartilage in joints is made out of collagen as well. If you are taking supplements to build strong, healthy bones, this important protein should be a part of your regimen.
Let’s Talk About the Benefits of Collagen! Read More By Clicking Here! >>
Collagen is also a very well known supplement to promote healthy skin from the inside, out. Women may face a steeper incline than men do in the uphill battle against skin aging. Women’s skin actually ages faster than men’s. Further, after menopause, when estrogen levels drop off, production of this protein drastically declines. In the 5 years following menopause, women go through an acute loss of collagen in their skin and can lose an additional 30% of their total collagen.4 After menopause, loss of collagen also leads to thinning skin with loss of elasticity. That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news; when you give the body what it needs, it can return to a younger-healthier state. True, lasting beauty comes from the inside out.
About 30% of the dry weight of our body is collagen with a higher proportion in our skin. It keeps our skin firm, smooth and elasticity. When we do not have enough, skin easily forms wrinkles and sags under its own weight. The plump, smooth skin we associate with youth has a lot to do with the significantly higher amounts of collagen we have when we are young.
“Collagen is an essential building material, but all superheroes need their sidekicks,” says Nicole Crane, BTS, NP, former Director of Nutrition for InVite® Health. The undervalued and widely under consumed mineral, Silicia, helps new collagen to form and is absorbed into the skin quicker and more efficiently. “Silica also plays an important role in how Collagen attaches to the other components of our skin and allows skin to be stronger and more resilient. Silica can be very hard to absorb, so a bioavailable form, like that sourced from the herb Horsetail is ideal.” These proteins are a dynamic duo for healthy, firm, and youthful looking skin.
Boswellia Serrata is an important Ayurvedic herb that is traditional used for arthritis, due to Boswellic acid (a widely studied acid for anti-inflammatory activity). Animal studies show that Boswellia is a potent 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor that may give it the potent anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic benefit.
It’s common knowledge that inactive individuals can have a higher risk of becoming obese and developing numerous conditions, including type 2 diabetes. But did you know that inactive individuals, especially teenagers, have weaker bones than those who are physically active? Bones: Inactive Teens vs. Active …
The skin is the largest organ in the body and it is responsible for many functions that contribute to our health and well-being. It protects the body against physical and chemical aggressions, serves as a sensorial receptor, regulates body temperature, and supplies our cells with …
Jerry Hickey is a pharmacist and radio personality and fills the esteemed role of Scientific Director and President of Invite Health. He has spent his professional life analyzing nutritional information and medical studies with the aim of creating the highest quality and most natural nutraceuticals for user’s maximum health benefits. Here, Jerry speaks about the benefits of Collagen –Collagen production in human body decreases with age. This is an important point. By the time you’re 25, your body starts to produce less collagen. Collagen production decreases at a rate of 1.5% per year. By the time you’re 45, that translates to a 30% loss of collagen. By the time you’re 60, you’ve lost more than half of your collagen. That affects your bones, your skin, your hair, your nails, your muscles and your waste. I mean everything; especially your joints. Ninety percent of the organic mass of your bone is made out of collagen. Your bone is mostly collagen and calcium. Doctors learn in medical school how important collagen is for the bones, but they do not learn about collagen supplementation for the bones. So, it’s important that these studies get around. Seventy percent of your skin is made out of collagen and most of the rest is made out of an ingredient in collagen called Hyaluronic Acid, which is a chain of thousands of sugars. In fact, wrinkles are damaged sugars; they’re called Hyaluronic Acid. They’ve shown that, when individuals with wrinkles take collagen, it helps to smooth out the skin.
Approximately two-thirds of the cartilage in your joints is made out of collagen. They did a couple of studies now with the InVite® Collagen; These are studies out of France and Japan on women in their 20s, women in their 50s, and women in their 60s. They gave them a spoon of hydrolyzed collagen daily for six weeks and found that their skin became smoother, more flexible and more elastic. Dark spots that occur with age, such as liver spots, were going away. It causes less sagginess of the skin. For the participants, their skin wasn’t as dull, it had a sheen to it and the dryness was reversing itself and becoming more hydrated. Now, this is very important for women who have sun-damaged skin. That’s what a wrinkle is – whether it’s from cigarette smoke or just a lot of cold weather, hot weather, dryness or the sun, the collagen and the sugars on the skin called Hyaluronic Acid are getting damaged. They’ve shown that when women take collagen, their wrinkles start to fill in, the skin becomes more elastic and thicker, and you improve the skin’s overall tone and the texture.
Let’s talk about bones; 90% of the organic mass of your bone is made out of collagen. This is important because studies have shown that when individuals supplement with hydrolyzed collagen, even within four of the studied 24 weeks, their bone health improved. What they’ve shown is a couple interesting things – Your bone matrix, the organic part of your bone that looks almost like a spider web, is filled with calcium. That “spider web” is made out of collagen. So, when you take it, you’re laying the groundwork and you’re making the super structure. In other words, if you’re going to build a house, you can’t just put up a roof and a floor. You have to frame out the house. This supplement builds the frame for your bones incorporating calcium and Vitamin D among others to strengthen and solidify.
As you get older, your bone-building cells, which are called osteoblasts, don’t last long; they die at a really young age. Osteoclasts, the cells that destroy bone, go on living, though. In older individuals, the bone-building cells don’t survive and the cells that dismantle and destroy bone, thrive, creating a net loss of bone. In younger individuals, there’s a balance; They’re removing old bone while they’re building new bone. In older individuals, that doesn’t function properly any more. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Instead of building bone, they’re just removing bone. Studies have found that when they give older individuals collagen, it preferentially stimulates the osteoblasts (the cells that build your bone), triggering healthy bone building.
Here’s a study from multiple orthopedic centers, a clinical trial on 250 patients. The patient’s knees were not healthy, so they supplemented them with hydrolyzed collagen for six months. This provided a good improvement in knee comfort and increased flexibility. In a different study, when researchers compared hydrolyzed collagen to Glucosamine and Chondroitin, it worked three times better. Glucosamine and Chondroitin did have a beneficial effect on the knees and hips, but collagen worked 300% better. It was much more effective in helping people with their joints.
Read more about Glucosamine and Chondroitin by clicking here!
Hydrolyzed collagen breaks down bonds. It is a very big molecule, like Hyaluronic Acid, so you have to break down the bonds. In one study, researchers used hydrolyzed collagen ( the Hyaluronic Acid is smaller), the keratan sulfate, the chondroitin sulfate, and the collagen peptides themselves. It is easier for us to absorb and they are body-ready ingredients. They’re biologic, meaning you don’t have to change or metabolize them in order for them to work.
Read more about Hyaluronic Acid by clicking here!
In your joint, cartilage is the hard rubbery substance on the end of the bone that prevents bones from rubbing together. Without cartilage, bones would not glide smoothly over one another and there would be a lot of friction that add to wearing down your bones. So, you have these cartilage end-caps on your bones, this hard rubbery substance, and that has to be maintained. It’s maintained by a thin layer of fluid in the joint called synovial fluid. Now, that synovial fluid has many activities. One, it’s a shock absorber. So, when you take a step, that absorbs the shock from the body weight, and this way, it helps protect your knee health and your joint health, your hip health. New joint cells are also born in that fluid and then, when you bend your knee, they rush into the cartilage end-capped on your bones and they lubricate and hydrate it, but they also put the new baby cells in there. So, it’s a very important supplement for the maintenance and the health of your joint and your flexibility and making it easier to walk again, so you can get out there on the golf course or tennis court. So you can take walks and feel comfortable. So you can walk up and down stairs and get out of a chair or lift something. It’s great for your neck, shoulders, fingers, elbows, hips, and knees.