Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Photo by Akhil Chandran on Unsplash Turmeric is a fine, bright-yellow spice that been used in Indian culture for thousands of years for both its healing properties and cosmetic benefits. It is available as a spice, has been included as a potent ingredient in numerous …
Glucosamine and chondroitin are supplements commonly used to support joint health. But a new study reports that these supplements may also support colon health via anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Data from the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow up Study published in the International Journal of …
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.
Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is inflammation in the joints, mainly due to a breakdown of cartilage. Osteoarthritis frequently occurs in the knees, hips, spine, and the fingers. Common medical treatments do not usually improve healing or change the path of this condition. …
Osteoporosis is a health condition where your bones are weak and brittle. Health risks of osteoporosis may include an increase of fractures of the hip, wrist and spine. Generally speaking, osteoporosis is bone loss and, every day since the day we are born, our bones …
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported roughly one in four women over the age of 65 have osteoporosis of the hip and spine, a painful and debilitating bone disorder. Yet, this disorder only plagues less than 6% of men over the age of 65. The report used data from the 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Ethel Siris, MD, director of the Osteoporosis Center at the New York Presbyterian-Columbia University Medical Center says the difference of the results between men and women are because, “Men tend to have bigger bones, and they go through different hormonal changes. Compared with men, women suffer a “double-whammy” when it comes to bone strength. They have less bone to lose and menopause’s hormonal shifts further deplete bone density.”
Here are some tips, according to Prevention, on how to practice good bone health:
Get Tested
Usually carried out by a simple X-ray test, a bone mineral density test measures the density of the minerals in your bones (like calcium) and is used to determine your bones strength. Yet, the journal Osteoporosis International reports, “…only a small proportion of older men and women have a BMD (bone mineral density) test.” This test is very important for women and men over the age of 50 who suffer from fractures of the hip, spine, shoulders and wrists, as Prevention advises those may be clear indicators of osteoporosis.
Three important factors in preventing osteoporosis
Siris explains that women over 50 and men over 70 need about 1,200mg of calcium every single day – “You can easily get adequate calcium from your diet, through foods like yogurt and cereal fortified with calcium. But you may also need calcium supplements, which you should discuss with your doctor.”
Vitamin D helps you maintain great bone health by helping the body absorb calcium, aiding in the proper function of your liver and kidneys, and boosts your immune system to be sure it is working at its full potential (USDA). Siris advises taking a vitamin D supplement, as getting enough vitamin D through food and sunlight can be difficult.
Studies have shown exercise to “improve agility, muscle strength and posture”, which in-turn will help reduce your risk of falls and fractures. Siris suggests working out your muscles to relieve some of the pressure from your bones which may slow down the progression of bone loss.
If you have already been diagnosed with osteoporosis, Siris suggests, “Several drug options are well tolerated, inexpensive and effective at reducing your fracture risk. In addition to prescriptions, your doctor may advise you to take a calcium supplement. Of course, calcium, vitamin D and exercise will continue to benefit your bones even if you’re suffering from osteoporosis. Speak with your doctor to work out the best treatment plan for you.”