What's the Hype on Collagen Supplements ?
- Amy Aravantinos
- Feb 11
- 3 min read
Collagen supplements have been linked to various health advantages with minimal recognised drawbacks. They can potentially boost muscle mass, prevent bone density decline, alleviate joint discomfort, and enhance skin condition by reducing wrinkles and dryness.
This piece will concentrate on collagen's benefits for skin, nails, and hair.
Before we get into it lets look at what collagen is:
Collagen is a protein in your body that amounts to 30% of total protein. Proteins are the building blocks of life. Every cell in the human body has protein. Protein is made out of Amino Acids, Amino Acids can be found in an abundance in our daily food we eat. We will take a closer look at which food has amino acids later in this piece.
Now that we know what collagen is and where to find it. Why do we need additional supplements for a "Youthful , glowing skin and hair"?
Like a lot of things in life, if you follow a balanced lifestyle and eat a healthy diet you should not need to spend money on any supplements. It is called a supplement for a reason, and not a main source.
If we look at the age factor, as we get older our body slows down in a lot of things and collagen production is one of them. This is where we start noticing things like stiff joints, wrinkling skin, loss of mobility due to joint damage, weaker muscles etc.
One of the bigest things people do not want to look at is life style. Because it's easier to drink a "magic pill" than what it is to admit and change our bad habits, I know I am one of them. But in reality small lifestyle changes can make a huge impact on your over all health. A few things to look at, that is damaging your collagen production is:
The convenience of a quick and easy snack or lunch on the go. (Biscuits, fast food, cereal bars, chips etc.) Sugars and refined carbs are the best things and worst things that has happened in our lives.
Smoking, Vaping. Nicotine constricts blood to the vascular channels that supply your skin, preventing important nutrients (proteins) and oxygen to keep your skin healthy.
UV rays , from the sun to some comercial lighting (sun beds, black lights, uv lamps when we go to the naill salon) and even the welding machine, UV rays are found all around us. Over exposure is extreamly harmful to the skin. The best way to protect against it is with sunscreen.
So do we really need to take collagen?
There is no scientific efidence that shows its benificial to take it as a suplimnet. If you eat a healthy and balanced diet you get all the collagen your body needs. Rest is also a huge factor here, your body needs rest in order to heal and build.
Amino Acids
Proteins are made up of amino acids, In order to function properly, your body requires 20 amino acids, some of which it produces internally. However, nine of these amino acids are not produced by the body and must be obtained from foods. These amino acids are known as essential amino acids.
Where to find these essential amino acids:
Eggs
Poultry
Cottage cheese
Mushrooms
Seafood
Legumes
Beans
In conclusion and my opinion
There is no evidence that shows it is beneficial to take collagen supplements; a healthy balanced diet will give you all you need to stay healthy. Save your money, stay healthy, and live longer.
Disclaimer:
I am not a medical practitioner and what I have put in this piece is by no means any medical advice. This is purely based on my own research and personal experience.
Below are some links, should you want to do some more reading into topics mentioned.
Types of Collagen:
UV rays:
Health effects of to much sugar:
Amino Acids: