Have you ever heard the word ‘ collagen ‘ thrown around but aren’t positive what it is or what it does? Is it just one other fad or does it truly work? The information on the market could be complicated and misleading so we’ve saved you the trouble and summarised the principle facts about 2019’s hottest supplement. Right here it goes…

Collagen is one of the most ample proteins within the human body and a key structural element of connective tissues resembling muscles, bones, skin, blood vessels, digestive system and ligaments and tendons. Did you know that our body produces less and less as we get older? To be more specific, the collagen formation in our skin decreases by around 1% annually after the age of 20 and breakdown significantly increases from the age of 40. Lower levels of collagen within the body leads to negative effects reminiscent of wrinkly, less elasticated skin and weaker tendons. Cue current interest in supplementation! So, is it really attainable to slow down the ageing process and forestall joint injuries by increasing collagen consumption in the food plan? Let’s take a closer look…

What are gelatin and collagen peptides?

There are no plant sources of collagen, it can only be extracted from the connective tissues of animals. However, the molecules found in animal tissues are too large to be digested and absorbed by the human body so should be broken down (by hydrolysation process) into gelatine or collagen peptides.

Gelatin is partially hydrolysed collagen

The collagen is broken down to amino acid strands, making it simpler to digest and more bioavailable, for instance in bone broth. The more gelatine in your broth, the more jelly-like the broth is when cooled. Broth that stays watery when cool doesn’t have much gelatine in it.

Collagen peptides are completely hydrolysed collagen

The amino acid strands are hydrolysed even further and broken into individual collagen peptides, which is what you discover in supplements. In this form, the collagen is simple to digest and highly bioavailable. Unlike gelatine, collagen peptides don’t gel and might be dissolved in each warm and cold water. Studies have shown that more than 90% of collagen peptides are digested and available in the blood stream within one hour. The collagen peptides are then transported into the target tissues, e.g. skin, bones and cartilage, where they act as building blocks for native cells and help enhance the production of new collagen fibres. This, of course relies on your digestion and another contributing factors.

Key nutritional factors affecting collagen formation within the body

Vitamin C: How vitamin c impacts collagen formation

Vitamin C is a key factor in collagen synthesis and new collagen fibres can’t form without it. Furthermore, vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that protects our body in opposition to free radicals, which damage our collagen and cause untimely ageing.

Sugar: How sugar impacts collagen formation

Sugar within the bloodstream attaches to collagen and elastin molecules through the glycation process, forming dangerous new molecules called ‘advanced glycation finish products’ (AGE’s). The more sugar you eat, the more AGE’s you develop, and the more collagen and elastin fibres get damaged. The glycation process additionally transforms essentially the most stable and lengthy-lasting collagen fibres to more fragile fibres. This is without doubt one of the main reasons sugar makes us age on each the inside and outside. Too many AGE’s causes the skin to wrinkle, negatively impacts the biomechanical properties of tendons and leads to intestine points (resulting from damage caused to the intestinal lining resulting in inflammation).

If that wasn’t bad sufficient, sugar competes with vitamin C for house in cells due the sameities in their chemical structure. Diets high in sugar leads to low levels of vitamin C, thus inhibiting formation of new collagen fibres.

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