Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body, exactly type 1 collagen. We can find collagen in muscles, bones, tendons, skin, blood vessels and digestive system. The skin benefits from collagen are mainly related to skin strength, elasticity and ability to replace dead skin cells. For joins and tendons, collagen is what glues them together to hold the body in 1 piece.
As we age, our collagen production decreases and due to that we become more prone to wrinkles, saggier skin, joint pains (less cartilage). Collagen production decreases also due to high sugar intake, smoking or high amount of sun exposure.
Most conditions that are related to our structural health, are a combination of genetic defects, poor intake of collagen-rich foods, nutritional deficiencies and an unbalanced gut microbiome (affecting the absorption/synthesis of collagen).
Collagen is made up of 19 amino acid both essential and and non-essential, a complex protein. Proline and glycine are the main types of amino acids found in collagen chains. These 2 are incredibly important and mainly found in organ meats, while really not abundant in average meat cuts.
While non-essential aminos are often overlooked, take into account that during sickness, stress or unhealthy periods, your body might not be able to produce enough! That’s the perfect opportunity to supplement or focus a lot on your diet.
The highest % found in collagen are: proline, glycine, glutamine, arginine.
- Collagen improves your skin’s and hair’s health
- Reduces joint pain and degeneration (PMCID: PMC2764342)
- Heals a leaky gut (PMID: 14600124)
- Boost metabolism, energy output and muscle mass
- Strengthens nails, hair and teeth (PMID: 25989472)
- Improves liver health (PMID: 22913202)
- Supports your cardiovascular health
Stay tuned for more info coming on collagen‼️I added sources for this post by sharing the PMC Identifier (search the number and find the study/research). I wont always do this as it’s also question of time which is not abundant always.
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