Is Collagen Good For You?
The truth of the matter is collagen is incredibly beneficial for your health. As the building blocks of your skin cells, it’s helpful for a number of reasons.
In fact, it’s found in every single connective tissue in the body, which includes your hair’s heath, parts of your nails, teeth, bones, skin, muscles, ligaments, tendons, discs, cartilage, superficial, visceral and deep fascia, as well as the lining of your blood vessels.
Derived from the Greek and French root words, “kola,” which means “glue,” and “gene,” meaning “born from,” collagen is more than just a buzz word. In essence, it holds the body together!
Here’s how collagen can work for you:
Skin Health
For those of you who wouldn’t mind happening upon the fountain of youth, collagen supplementation could be your answer. Proline and lycine, two amino acids found in collagen, tone and tighten the skin, and are the main reason why collagen is found in lotions and cellulite creams touting beautiful, youthful skin.
As we age, our bodies naturally produce less and less collagen, which is why we tend to wrinkle, have saggy skin, see more stretch marks, more cellulite, and overall skin degeneration. Supplementing with collagen can help fight against these signs of aging.
Muscle Mass, Strength and Weight Loss
If you want to get a fit and toned body, collagen is good for that too! It supports a healthy metabolism – crucial for muscle building and fat burning which in turn, is an essential part of the weight loss equation.
That said, if you’re trying to get more protein into your diet to increase your metabolism, supplementing with collagen is a really good idea. Increasing the amount of protein you get each day also helps you lose weight because it reduces cravings, boosts metabolic health, and even helps your body create lean muscle tissue.
One tablespoon of collagen powder is equal to seven grams of protein. What’s more, it’s an easily digestible form of protein, which makes all the difference in the world.
Hormone Balance
Everything in the body and mind is connected, right? Well this also goes for amino acids and hormones. As collagen gains more popularity, emerging evidence is showing that that certain amino acids found in collagen help to support the balance of amino acids in the body, which in turn aids in the production of naturally occurring hormones.
Digestive Health
Collagen plays a significant role in the health of your digestive system – especially for those of you who have digestive issues like leaky gut. If you do, taking a high-quality collagen supplement is ideal to begin the reparation process of your digestive tract.
With leaky gut syndrome, toxins like gluten and casein leak into your blood stream due to little holes in the digestive lining. This causes inflammation not just in your digestive system, but in other areas of the body as well. Leaky gut syndrome can actually be deadly, leading to a wide range of degenerative diseases like autoimmune disorders, joint disorders, and even thyroid issues. These are all reactions to an overly inflamed body.
Because collagen helps tone your digestive tract, it repairs leaky gut syndrome, preventing all those inflammatory disease processes from taking over. By taking a mere two tablespoons of high-quality collagen powder in your smoothies, you’ll be taking the best steps you can possibly take to repair all your digestive health problems – in addition to preventing them from occurring in the first place!
Joint Health, Bone Density and Osteoarthritis
Another compelling reason collagen is good for you, is its role in muscular and skeletal health. Collagen naturally works to promote joint health because collagen is in fact, made up of the building blocks of our tissues. For anyone who puts stress on their joints – through running or any other athletic pursuit, collagen is perfect because it helps you create new, healthy tissue.
If you have hip discomfort, knee issues, back problems, shoulder pain, wrist discomfort – any pain in those areas of the body where your joints and bones become fragile with age, then supplementing with collagen every day is a really good idea.
Collagen makes up approximately one-third of all the naturally occurring protein in our bodies, but that percentage decreases substantially as time marches on. Aging and the decrease of collagen leads to osteoarthritis and other skeletal issues. Healthy collagen supplementation might just prevent osteoarthritis while making the bones stronger and more dense.
Proper Sleep
One of collagen’s star amino acids is called glycine, and it actually helps relieve stress and anxiety, as well as promoting a good night’s sleep.
Glycine’s key role as a neurotransmitter is the primary reason it helps us relax into a restorative night of zzzzz’s.
Cardiovascular Health
Because the lining of the arteries are partially made up of collagen, supplementing with collagen might very well be essential in sustaining cardiovascular health. In fact, according to one study by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a decrease in the collagen mass of cardiac tissue might very well lead to the weakening of cardiac muscles. This cardiac vulnerability sometimes makes us more prone to strokes and heart attacks.
Conclusion
What’s more, it’s dairy-free, meaning it’s easy on every one’s digestive system – especially those with dairy allergies. It’s also gluten-free, making it accessible to those with gluten intolerance. Even those with the most sensitive of tummies can benefit from taking collagen in the form of an easy-to-digest powder each day.
As research emerges with the growing popularity of collagen supplement benefits, we can conclude that consuming hydrolyzed collagen is indeed very, very good for you.
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