Collagen. You seem to be hearing this word everywhere lately! You’ve seen it everywhere from ingredients in body lotions to collagen supplements at the store. The truth is that it is one of the most abundant proteins in the body, and our body’s production of it slows as we age. Here is why you need to start adding more collagen to your diet.
What is Collagen?
Collagen is a protein that’s found in muscle, bones, digestive system, skin, tendons, and blood vessels. It gives our skin strength and elasticity as it helps replace dead skin cells. Our bodies produce this protein in abundance… while we’re young.
Production slows naturally over time and this is the reason we experience signs of aging such as wrinkles and sagging skin. Our lifestyle can speed up this process– diets high in sugar, smoking, or too much sun.
It’s important to supply the collagen to our bodies in other ways. Adding collagen to the diet can have some awesome benefits.
1. Improves the Health of Skin
Adding collagen to the diet can make your skin appear firmer while smoothing it out. One study conducted with 69 women showed that after 4-weeks of supplementation, a statistically significantly higher skin elasticity level was determined in elderly women. It may also reduce stretch marks and cellulite on the body. In addition, another study showed that collagen aided in reducing wrinkles.
2. Can Reduce Joint Pain
With age, your cartilage weakens which causes stiff and achy joints. Collagen may be able to reduce some of these symptoms. A study done in 2009 showed that osteoarthritis participants who took collagen supplements had their symptoms reduced by 40% and it lessened the severity of the symptoms they still had.
Even athletes can benefit! Another study showed that athletes who supplemented with collagen experienced reduced pain levels that have had a negative impact on their athletic performance. They had lower levels of pain while standing, at rest, or while lifting.
While the study states that more studies should be done, it indicates that collagen aids in slowing down joint deterioration.
3. Makes Nails Stronger
A broken or chipped nail can be a frustrating ordeal. Or if you’re like me, any time you try to grow your nails out, they start to peel. Collagen can help make your nails stronger and less prone to breaking.
In one study of 25 participants, adding collagen to the diet resulted in a 12% increase in growth, a 42% drop in broken nails, and a 64% percent improvement in formerly brittle nails. These changes happened for most participants in four weeks!
You don’t need to go out of your way to obtain expensive supplements, you can still add it to your diet in other ways. Bone broth and egg yolks both contain collagen. It’s also a key ingredient in MariGold’s fat bombs
I LOVE THAT YOU HAVE COLLAGEN IN YOUR FAT BOMBS!!!! They are DELISH!!! ♥️
Thanks, Stacy!