Collagen- the new “Superfood” in town. If you’re health-conscious, you’ve surely heard of Collagen. If not, then you’re missing out on something amazing.
So, let’s take a deeper dive and know what Collagen exactly is!
VItal Proteins Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. It’s the significant building block of bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. You can think of it as a glue that holds things together in our body. It also has various other important roles such as providing texture to the skin and helping in the blood clot. Isn’t that amazing?
Our body naturally produces its collagen by breaking down dietary protein into amino acids. We receive our collagen from a healthy protein-rich diet. There are at least 16 different types of Collagen that provide texture and structure to our body. It forms about 70% of our skin structure. Recently, Collagen has gained popularity as a nutritional supplement and as an ingredient in body lotions that makes your skin ‘glow’ and it has found use in shampoos.
You might be curious about natural food sources of Collagen. Right?
Natural Food Sources
Animal products such as fish, chicken skin, bone broth, gelatin and pork skin are extremely high in Collagen. Also, Vitamin C rich fruits can help you with a good amount of Collagen.
Now the question arises, whether we should take supplements or increase the consumption of such natural food sources. Don’t worry, we will make your task easy.
Let us first know how the protein works in our body. When you consume protein, it breaks down to amino acids and then it gets reassembled. And so, the collagen you eat wouldn’t translate directly into higher levels in the body. Also, there’s a debate on whether consuming collagen-rich foods directly increase the levels of it in our body (As there’s no research that proves that).
Consuming it as a supplement
sounds wise, Isn’t it?
Important fact: After the age of 20, the production of collagen starts decreasing by 1% every year and that’s where the consumption of it as a supplement becomes important.
You can help your body preserve and protect collagen by avoiding too much-refined carbs, sugar, smoking and intense sun exposure.
Collagen supplements are easily absorbed in the body which help in increasing the Collagen level directly as they are large protein which are broken into small peptides.
Significant benefits of collagen
- It improves skin health
- It prevents bone loss
- Boosts muscle mass
- Stimulates your hair and nails to grow longer
- Helps relieve joint pain
- Improves heart health
Bovine vs Marine Collagen- which is better?
Bovine collagen is primarily made from cow hides and marine collagen from fish skin and scales. While Bovine Collagen is rich in Type 1 and 3 Collagen, which help in building and healing the body, Marine Collagen is rich in Type 2 Collagen which primarily helps with skin health and glow. So, the best collagen is the one that supports your health goals!
Hydrolyzed Marine Collagen however has a faster absorption rate compared to other collagen supplements. For best results, consume collagen that is Hydrolyzed and that should be your pick!
