Use products with collagen?

Are you asking about it as a dietary supplement or as an ingredient in skincare?

BOTH.

Awesome. Because you need both to be your best, inside and out.

Because collagen is the most abundant protein in our body, it is vital for literally holding our bodies together. There is a ton of information available about it, so I will just try to break it down into a couple of bites (pun intended) that you can use and remember.

Human interest part here....when I was a young teenager, we were told we could have better hair and nails by drinking gelatin...unflavored, plain gelatin. It sounded gross to me, so I never tried it. I did try putting raw egg in my hair. I still have a terrible habit of picking at my cuticles, (I did quit biting my nails around age 10), but I digress.....Anyway, we have known for a long time, that collagen is extremely important for all parts of our body. We can see the need in our hair and nails when they become brittle and break. We can't see the need in our bones, joints, and muscles until we fall and break a bone or wrench a joint; or we end up with blood pressure and heart issues.

Lesson here....pay attention to what your body is telling you!

Collagen is like the frame of a house. The walls and roof must be sound to withstand the assaults of weather and kids. Attacks from the inside and out....

Let's just take a brief look at some of the key parts of our body where collagen is so important:

Skeletal tissue: Bones, ligaments, tendons, and skin. This also includes the vertebrae in our backs. Oh and our ears and noses!

Eyes: Essential for corneal health - the part of our eyes that focus on images.

Cardiac: Heart muscle, valves, and blood vessels

Muscular: All types of muscle, even the muscles that keep our guts moving...

Integumentary system: The skin and its appendages acting to protect the body from various kinds of damage (Wikipedia), such as loss of water or damages from outside. Remember that our skin is our largest organ and is responsible for waterproofing us, excreting wastes, protecting deeper tissues, and regulating body temperature. It is also the place where we detect pain, sensation, pressure, and temperature. Plus, it is where our body makes vitamin D.

When we eat or drink collagen, it becomes a smaller particle called peptides which are available and transported to where it is needed within  an hour. Talk about a quick fix!

Here are three easy signs to know that you DEFINITELY need more collagen:

1 - Thin or flat hair. Does the bottom of your shower fill up with hair, or does it comes out when brushing your hair? If it is excessive, you might also have a thyroid problem and should definitely get it checked out. 

2 - Wrinkles and cellulite. Collagen is the protein in the body that gives skin its strength and structure. We naturally produce less collagen as we age, so that's why we begin to sag and wrinkle as we accumulate birthdays. Sun exposure accelerates skin aging. And when the super structure of our skin breaks down, the fat cells pull on the skin and cause the formation of cellulite. Ugh!!

3 - Stiff joints.  Body aches, muscle weakness, fatigue, even fever can be a sign that our body is hungry for more collagen.

There are multiple sources of dietary collagen supplementation. I happen to love the one I use in my morning cup of coffee called Keto Kreme. If you are interested in knowing more about it, just click on the RocketCity link to the right of this article. Also think bone broth..another great topic of discussion.

So, on to skincare.

Collagen molecules are really too large to go into your skin. Peptides (broken down collagen molecules) are smaller particles that may pass into the deeper layers of skin. They have been shown in studies to increase the skin's own production of collagen, which, in turn, gives smoother and firmer skin over time. Some scientists think that the peptides actually "signal" the skin to make its own collagen. 

It also acts as an "occlusive" layer to hold skin treatments onto our skin, allowing them to penetrate into the deeper layers, and as protection against environmental hazards to our skin. 

Bottom line....Collagen and the related peptides are a great addition to good quality skincare, and with consistent daily use will give you healthier, younger-looking skin.

Here are some of the peptides used in quality skincare products that have been shown to be effective: Palmitoyl pentapeptide-3, Acetyl hexapeptide-3, Palmitoyl oligopeptide, and Matrixyl-3000. And, yes....I know an excellent line of skincare products that contain Matrixyl-3000. If you are interested, click on the Karine Joncas link to the right.

So, if you are pursing better inside and out....

Find some good quality collagen to add to your diet and put on your skin.

Any other questions?

Martha