Collagen is a protein that naturally occurs in our bodies, however overtime we start making less of it, which is why it is important to replenish our bodies with a collagen supplement. These are a few of the ways collagen helps to maintain overall health and wellness:

Collagen makes up 70% of the protein in your skin, thus the nickname given to collagen as “the glue that holds your body together”. As we age, collagen production begins to decrease over time (this starts as early as you mid 20’s!), which leads to looser skin and more wrinkles! However, adding a soluble collagen supplement to your diet can help increase the collagen levels in your body and in turn help increase skin elasticity to give your skin a firmer, smoother look! This can also help in the reduction of cellulite and stretch marks.

It doesn’t stop there either!

Collagen is also important in hair and nail growth, strength, and regeneration. Collagen helps increase blood flow in your body, which in return increases blood flow to your scalp and nails. This helps provide your hair follicles with the necessary amino acids and nutrients needed for strong, healthy hair.  While your hair follicles are primarily made up of keratin protein, the building blocks of your hair, it’s structural support system and the amino acids the keratin protein needs come from collagen!

 

One of the great things about collagen peptide powder is that is easily absorbed compared to other protein powders and is an efficient way to increase the amount of protein in your diet. Studies have shown that collagen peptide powders can leave you up to 40% fuller than other dietary supplements and give a kickstart to your metabolism. The amino acids in our collagen peptide powder comprises of 20 amino acids, 8 which are considered essential amino acids (you can read more about amino acids here). One of those abundant amino acids is Glycine, which helps improve digestive health and the intestinal tract. Glycine can help stimulate the production of stomach acids and improves its ability to absorb nutrients. Glutamine is another amino acid that has been tied to helping the body’s metabolism and help curb your desire for sugar and alcohol.

 

As we have mentioned before, collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and is an integral part of bones, joints, and tendons. As we age, we produce less collagen which leads to that achy stiffness and tighter joints and tendons. In fact, collagen is about 90% of bone mass and studies have shown it to be effective in treating osteoarthritis and other joint, tendon, and pain disorders. Another study published by The International Journal of Medical Sciences showed those suffering from osteoarthritis had improved pain symptoms from regular daily exercises like walking up a flight of stairs.

 

Collagen can help in a number of ways in terms of gut health and the immune system. Glutamine, an amino acid in collagen, has been identified as a key amino acid in helping the prevention of inflammation in the gut wall and healing leaky gut syndrome. It has been associated with helping the intestinal lining of the stomach and opening junctions in the connective tissue. Collagen has also been found to help with heartburn and other stomach acid issues in the body. Studies have shown that collagen helps regulate the release of gastric juices which are some of the main causes for heartburn, stomach ulcers, and digestion issues.

 

Collagen plays an important role in helping heart and liver health because of the amino acids prevalent in collagen. One of the those amino acids, proline, is especially helpful in reducing fat buildup in the bloodstream and repairing tissue within the arteries as well as joints. Another amino acid, arginine, helps within widening the arteries for better blood flow and relaxing the blood vessels to improve circulation.