Did you know collagen is essential for glowing skin, luscious hair, strong ligaments and healthy joints? So what is collagen?
Read on to learn how collagen nourishes your skin and body from the inside out.
Collagen makes up about one third of the protein in our body. It’s what keeps our skin supple, hair shiny, nails strong and joints moving freely. In fact, up to 75% of our skin is made up of collagen – it’s a major component of the integrity of the outer extracellular matrix (aka what gives you smooth, healthy and glowing skin).
Collagen can also be found in bones, teeth, tendons, blood vessels, cartilage and even in our digestive tract. It’s a pretty amazing protein and essential to keeping us strong and healthy.
As we age, our natural collagen production begins to slow down, causing things like fine lines and wrinkles, stiff joints, brittle nails and lacklustre hair. Other factors like poor diet, stress and sun exposure can also make collagen production less efficient.
Taking a collagen supplement works to increase the body’s collagen levels and stimulate the production of new collagen.
The body relies on protein and other key nutrients to produce collagen. The body breaks down protein from our food into amino acids. These amino acids then become the building blocks of the various types of protein in the body, including collagen.
Protein-rich foods are essential for collagen production. But making sure you eat enough protein isn’t quite enough. This process also requires vitamin C, so if you’re not getting enough of either of these this can result in less efficient collagen production.
Collagen is rich in arginine, glycine and proline – the amino acids that help your body make new protein. Collagen itself is made of three polypeptide chains that resemble rope strands twisted together. This structure makes collagen strong yet highly flexible.
There are around 28 different types of collagen in the body, each with its own benefits. The three most common types of collagen are type 1, 2 and 3.
Adding a collagen supplement into your diet not only tops up your body’s stores of collagen, but it can also stimulate collagen production. It’s like a double-whammy for your body’s health.
The most beneficial type of collagen is hydrolyzed collagen. The process of hydrolysation breaks collagen down into smaller peptides, making them more bioavailable and easier for the body to absorb and get to where they need to go.
Hydrolyzed collagen dissolves in hot and cold liquids (and can even be added into baked goods) making it a convenient way to get your daily dose. Taking just 5 grams of collagen a day provides health benefits like increased energy. Taking 10-15 grams of collagen will give you visible results such as shiny hair, smoother skin, stronger nails, improved joint function and better gut health. And if you’re wanting to fast track your results then up to 30 grams of collagen is recommended.
Remember when we said there were different types of collagen? That means to really get the best results of a collagen supplement, it needs to incorporate the main types of collagen peptides.
A collagen blend that stimulates Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 collagen targets skin, hair and nail health, ligaments and tendon strength, joint function and gut health.
The Collagen Co collagen blend contains three types of collagen in a generous 15 grams of collagen per serve.
Our collagen is derived from 100% grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine and also includes Vitamin C for collagen synthesis, Biotin to boost the energy uptake in skin and hair cells and Hyaluronic Acid for joint lubrication and skin hydration.
