Collagen is the ‘glue’ that holds everything together.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. It is a long, fibrous structural protein that is a major component of the extracellular matrix that provides support and functionality to most tissues and systems of the body.
While dietary protein, in general, contributes to the growth of muscle and maintenance of muscle mass, collagen does all of this plus more, promoting bone health, immune system health and the healthy function of all vital organs.
Collagen not only supports skin health promoting elasticity, but also helps build and repair all membranes throughout the body, including those of the mouth and digestive system, the blood vessels and the respiratory tract.
Research shows that our natural production of collagen starts to decline in early adulthood.
Nowadays, people consume much less collagen in their diets. This simply comes down to time, many people do not cook homemade bone broths, stews or soups. These slow cooking methods allow for collagen to be released from bones into the cooking liquid.
Collagen Supplementation
To gain all the amazing benefits from collagen supplementation the following specifications are important:
Hydrolyzed Collagen
Collagen in its natural state is a long, fibrous structural protein that can be difficult to breakdown and digest.
Amino acids (the building blocks of proteins ) join together by peptide bonds to create a protein. Peptide bonds are formed by a biochemical reaction that extracts a water molecule as it joins the amino acids together.
When these proteins are hydrolyzed they are reduced to a smaller chain length and a are known as peptides. The hydrolysis of collagen increases its functional properties such as antioxidant capacity, antimicrobial activity, and allows for maximum absorbability and bioavailability.
Collagen Types
A broad spectrum of collagen ensures whole body benefits
There are six major collagen types (I, II, III, IV, V and X )
Types of Collagen:
I – Skin Elasticity
II – Joints & Immune System
III – Skin, Blood Vessels, Vital Organs
IV – Cell Health and Growth
V – Skin, Tendons & Immune System
X - Joints, Bones, Muscles and Hair
Collagen Sources
There are many sources of Collagen for example:
Bovine Collagen – Type I, II, III
Marine Collagen – Type I and III 4
Chicken Collagen – Type II 5
Eggshell Membrane – Type I, V and X 6 7
It is vital to ensure these sources are clean and sustainable
Clean ingredients will have virtually no flavour or aroma
Collagen Digesting Enzymes
The action of proteolytic enzymes such as papain and pepsin ensure that maximum absorption and bioavailability are achieved.
Studies on the benefits of Collagen
• Skin Health - a study in the Journal of Medical Nutrition and Nutraceuticals reports a significant reduction in the depth in wrinkles along with improved skin hydration and elasticity in several women who drank a mixture containing various vitamins, minerals, hydrolyzed collagen, and hyaluronic acid 8.
A study in the Journal of Medicinal Food showed that consuming dietary collagen not only resulted in healthier skin and greater degree of collagen deposition and repair, but also slows down the process that damage collagen in skin tissue9.
• Immune Health – collagen has been associated in recent studies with stimulation of immune system modulators of the inflammatory response. Not only does collagen type II inform the immune system to cease its attack on similar molecules in the joints, but overall healthy collagen status has been reported to improve the integrity of the columnar epithelial cells of the respiratory and digestive systems10, which support, reducing the likelihood that they will improperly trigger or respond with and inflammatory response.
• Body Fat – one study concluded that a long-term therapy with orally administered collagen peptides leads to an improvement of cellulite and has a positive impact on skin health. The study reported clear improvement of the skin appearance in women suffering from moderate cellulite with regular ingestion of collagen peptides over a period of 6 months11.
Much research suggests that collagen plays a vital roll in the deposition of body fat.
• Bone Health - eggshell powder due to its over-all mineral content has been reported to increase bone mineral density in people and animals with osteoporosis.
