Benefits of Collagen Supplements for Overall Health
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, comprising 30% of its total protein mass. It serves as the scaffold to hold the body together while providing strength and structure.
The body's capacity in synthesizing new proteins decreases with age, as a result, the body's ability to produce collagen falls by as much as 75% by the time a human being reaches 80 years of age.
This decline in collagen production is considered normal. This decline also leads to the poorer structural integrity of the skin, allowing wrinkles to form and joint cartilage to weaken.
Researchers have shown how taking hydrolyzed collagen supplements can accumulate in cartilage and trigger your tissues' response to make collagen. This is beneficial not only for your bones and joints, but also for attenuating the effects of certain diseases like osteoarthritis, diabetes, and inflammation.
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Benefits of Taking Hydrolyzed Collagen Supplements
1. Improve skin health.
Collagen is an anti-aging supplement due to its ability to strengthen the skin and improve hydration and skin elasticity.
With aging, the body produces less collagen causing dry skin and wrinkle formation. Collagen supplements can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles as it stimulates the body to produce its own collagen. It also promotes the production of other proteins like elastin and fibrillin, which helps in the structural integrity of the skin.
2. Relief of joint pain.
Since collagen plays a role in maintaining your cartilage's structural integrity, the rubber-like tissue protecting your joints, the decrease in the amount of collagen in your body as you get older would put you at risk for developing degenerative joint disorders such as osteoarthritis.
Taking supplemental collagen can stimulate your tissues in collagen production and lower inflammation and provide better joint support and pain reduction.
3. Improve bone health.
Bones are mostly made of collagen which makes them strong and gives them their structure.
Bone mass deteriorates along with the collagen in the body with age, leading to osteoporosis, a condition where low bone density increases the risk for bone fractures.
Studies have shown that with the intake of collagen supplements, it helps inhibit bone breakdown associated with osteoporosis.
4. Improves muscle mass.
Around 1-10% of muscle tissue is made up of collagen. This protein helps keep muscles strong and functioning properly. Collagen contains amino acids like arginine and glycine, which are building blocks of creatine. Since creatine can help improve muscle mass and strength, taking supplemental collagen can potentially boost muscle mass.
5. Improves heart health.
Collagen provides the structural integrity of arteries and prevents plaque buildup in the arteries.
With low levels of collagen, it will lead to weak and fragile arteries and plaque buildup, which may cause atherosclerosis, narrowing of arteries, and blocking blood flow to other organs. This can greatly increase the risk of heart-related conditions such as heart attack and stroke.
6. Supports a healthy gut.
Research shows that collagen supplementation can help repair the damaged intestinal lining. This can be beneficial to those who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome and gut inflammation conditions like ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) as it brings healing to the gut.
Collagen supplements are generally safe and easy to use with little known risks and offer many benefits, which can be worth trying.
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Oct 13, 2020 07:20 AM EDT
