What is Collagen?
Collagen is a protein made by your body naturally. It’s commonly associated with the health of your skin but it’s present all over your body and accounts for about 30% of all the protein in your body.
Collagen protein is responsible for keeping your skin plump and elastic and your hair and nails long and strong! It also benefits the joints too, keeping them strong and healthy.
Does Our Body Produce Collagen?
Yes it does – in buckets! Your skin is full of the stuff! In fact, around 80% of your skin is made up of collagen and that’s why it’s known as the miracle protein for youthful skin in the beauty world. Collagen provides the foundation for your skin to essentially hold it up (think of a mattress held up with springs – the springs are the collagen).
Your collagen synthesis is hunky dory until you reach your mid-twenties. This is (quite literally) the peak of your production. After your twenties, your production starts to decline with age (and really is when collagen supplementation should begin).
In fact, you lose 1% of your collagen every year after the age of 25. When you hit menopause, you can lose up to 5% of your collagen each year with 30% lost in the first 5 years!
But all hope is not lost. While your body’s collagen production can decline with age, the rate of decline can be drastically reduced if you start taking natural sources of collagen. This way you can help your body continue to produce this essential protein and continue to reap it's health benefits.
How Do You Increase Collagen in Your Body Naturally?
So, we know the body produces collagen. The question is how can we boost it to reap all the collagen benefits? Thankfully, all the collagen boosting foods can be found in your local grocery store, making your anti-aging efforts much easier!
While certain animal products may be considered as “foods high in collagen” - the reality is raw fish skins or bone broth are exactly the most appetising.
You’ll be pleased to know that fruits and vegetables are also collagen rich foods because they contain all the vitamins and minerals your skin needs to produce its own collagen! Let me explain…
Supplements to Increase Collagen Production
Having a balanced diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables can be hard – and this is where a supplement can help. Collagen supplements can help your skin build collagen and come in both plant and animal forms!
Personally, I’d pick vegan collagen supplements over animal supplements because they are inclusive of all diets, less likely to cause any horrible side effects because they are additive free, and come with the added boost of antioxidants proven to smooth fine lines and help tighten skin!
While bovine or marine collagen might seem like the best collagen source as they boast a certain “mg” of collagen – the reality is that your body can’t directly implant that collagen into your skin and body. It would have to break it down into the individual nutrients and then build human collagen into your skin.
This means that the industry’s focus on 'mg' of collagen is more of a marketing play than any indication of the results you can expect. I always recommend looking at a brand's before and after results or checking to see if they have a money back guarantee (indicative of a company’s faith in their product) to get an idea of the results you can expect.
