Collagen is an important and essential protein in the body. It is the main part of connective tissues that are required to develop several body parts such as skin, tendon, ligaments, and muscles.
Collagen has many important functions, some of which include improving the skin with structure and strengthening the bones. In the past few years, collagen supplements have been quite popular. Most of these supplements are hydrolyzed, which means collagen is broken down into small lumps to get easily absorbed in the body.
Apart from supplements, there is a large variety of foods available that are rich in collagen including pork skin and bone broth or you can also consume collagen supplements. Supplements stores in Canada are well known for collagen supplements.
The following are the benefits of consuming collagen powder for the smooth functioning of the body.
1. Helps in improving skin health
Collagen plays a vital role in improving the texture of your skin. It helps in strengthening the skin by making it flexible and hydrated. As you grow older, the production of collagen decreases which leads to dry skin and wrinkles on the face. Several studies have concluded that collagen peptides and collagen supplements help in slowing down the process of aging by reducing the wrinkles and dryness on the face.
According to a study, women who consumed collagen supplements for about 6 to 8 weeks were less affected by dry skin and improvement in skin flexibility as compared to those who did not consume any collagen.
2 Helps in joint health
We all know that oil is essential for the smooth functioning of the joints in the car, similarly, collagen is important for the smooth functioning of joints in your body.
At a certain age, your joints become stiff, swollen, painful, and can create restrictions in the movements.
Collagen powder contains a large number of amino acids, glycine, and proline that help in improving your joints. People who consume collagen showed improvements in the symptoms of osteoarthritis and overall joint pain.
If you are suffering from joint pain, you must consume about 10 grams of collagen powder every day for at least 24 weeks. A few weeks later, you will experience improvement in joint pain.
3. Improves heart health
According to research, collagen helps in preventing heart-related diseases. Collagen helps your body maintain arteries whose function is to transport blood from the heart to the other parts of the body.
If you are deficient in collagen, then it may lead to poor functioning of the arteries. This may prove to be harmful to your body in terms of a disease known as atherosclerosis which is identified as the narrowing of the arteries. Also, proline present in the collagen helps in removing the unwanted fat from the arteries and repairing the tissues within them.
4. Help in stopping bone loss
Bone is mainly made up of collagen and calcium, which gives them structure and keeps them strong. As collagen helps in preventing skin aging, it also helps in preventing bone loss.
If you lack collagen, then it may lead to diseases like osteoporosis which identifies as low bone density and also increases the chances of bone fracture.
Taking calcium supplements with 5 grams of collagen daily for almost 10 months will help in reducing bone loss. BDM is a term used for the measurement of the density of minerals in the body. Having low BDM in the body may lead to weaker bones and high chances of having osteoporosis.
5. Helps in building muscle mass
Around 4% to 10% of muscle tissue in the body consists of collagen. Collagen is essential for keeping and maintaining the muscle mass of your body. According to studies, collagen supplements help in boosting muscle mass in the people suffering from sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is a disease that leads to loss of muscle mass with an increase in age.
Studies suggest that men who consumed about 15 grams of collagen with frequent exercise for 10 to 12 weeks gained more muscle mass as compared to those who exercised regularly without any collagen supplements. It is also seen that taking collagen supplements can promote the production of combined muscle proteins like creatine and help in growing muscle after exercise.
6. Helps in repairing the gut
About 80% of your immune system is built in the gut. Also one of the main reasons to consume collagen supplements is that they help in repairing the leaky guts.
When you suffer a leaky gut, the toxins, food particles, and infection pass from the intestinal wall into the bloodstream which leads to inflammation. As time passes, this inflammation can lead to autoimmunity.
So if you have a leaky gut and you can recover yourself by adding collagen in your diet. It is essential to add collagen because the walls of your intestine are made up of villi, which are mostly made up of collagen. The amino acids present in the collagen help in sealing up your gut problem by supporting cellular health and tissue repairs.