What is collagen? 

There are many collagen supplement benefits available to the average person. But what exactly is collagen and what collagen supplement benefits can you get by including them in your self-care routine?

The simplest way to think about collagen is as the glue that keeps our body together.

Without it, we would literally begin to fall apart. It performs many important functions across our entire system. Therefore, taking a collagen supplement benefits your body in a multitude of ways.

1. Collagen supplements are effective at keeping your skin looking great

Collagen is what gives your skin both elasticity and strength. Collagen is the protein responsible for replacing skin cells when they die, but collagen production slows down the older we get.

For our skin, this can be very bad news, as wrinkles start to appear and skin can begin to sag. To keep skin looking healthy, we need to replace the collagen we have lost.

Collagen has been shown in double-blind studies to improve skin elasticity whilst reducing both roughness and dryness. It is an ideal and completely natural skin care product.

Taking a collagen supplement can be an effective way of helping your skin maintain the natural firmness and smoothness of your youth.

2. Collagen supplements help to reduce cellulite

When our collagen levels reduce we get more visible cellulite. As the skin begins to thin, cellulite becomes more noticeable.

Boosting your levels of collagen will help to improve skin elasticity and reduce dimples on the skin, giving you a confidence boost when you need it most.

3. Collagen supplements are effective at keeping your hair bright and shiny

A recent study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology tentatively linked collagen intake to follicle regeneration in hair.

Collagen is one of the key building blocks in the production of new hairs and taking a collagen supplement can be an effective way of ensuring that your hair remains lustrous, shiny and full of life.

4. They ensure your nails stay healthy

A lack of collagen is often the root cause of peeling and splitting nails. Without a high enough level of collagen in your system, nails quickly become more flimsy, more easily broken and have a tendency to split.

You can keep them looking strong by including additional collagen in your diet or by taking an effective collagen supplement.

5. Collagen supplements are effective in aiding your digestive system

Collagen helps with the formation of connective tissue and this means that it is very important for your gut. It can both seal and heal the lining of your intestines, giving you additional protection and reducing permeability across the intestine wall.

For people who have bowel issues, taking collagen supplements helps reinforce natural defences and prevents irritation and inflammation.

6. Supplements keep your joints feeling young

It's well known that we start to creak as we age and our joints stiffen. People generally report more pain in their legs the older they get. As our collagen levels deplete, our tendons and ligaments don’t move quite so easily as they used to and this can lead to swollen joints, stiffness, and difficulty maintaining a full range of motion.

Collagen is the gel-like substance that both coats and holds our bones together. When you add it back into your diet or take effective collagen supplements, it's like adding oil to the hinges of a creaking old door.

Everything moves more smoothly than it used to and with less pain and effort.

7. Collagen supplements are effective at helping with your osteoarthritis

Collagen supplements are often recommended for people struggling with osteoarthritis and other joint disorders.

A study published in the International Journal of Medical Sciences determined that patients suffering from osteoarthritic joint pain reported a significant improvement in their quality of life when given effective collagen supplements alongside traditional painkillers.

8. They are great for boosting your metabolism

Type I collagen helps convert naturally occurring sugars like glucose into energy that is used to feed muscle cells. A depleted amount of collagen means that it’s harder (but not impossible) to build lean muscle mass.

Taking collagen supplements benefits your body because it is able to generate useful proteins from amino-acids and repair itself more efficiently. With greater muscle mass, your metabolic rate increases significantly and it becomes easier to burn off some of that unwanted weight.

9. Collagen supplements are effective in helping your heart

Proline, an amino acid, helps artery walls release fatty deposits back into the bloodstream and reduces further accumulations of fat. One of the lesser known benefits of a collagen supplement is that it stops the hardening and narrowing of our arteries.

This is especially important for people who have a family history of heart problems.

10. Collagen supplements are effective at assisting your liver

Your liver is the front-line defence against toxins, and one of the benefits of taking collagen supplements is that you reinforce the levels of glycine in your liver. Glycine is a key ingredient in rebuilding the liver after it has been under strain.

The lower the amount of collagen in your body, the harder the hangover will hit if you consume alcohol. You weren’t imagining it when your hangovers started to get worse with age!

Am I taking enough collagen?

That really depends on a number of factors. If you eat a high sugar diet, smoke, or spend a lot of time in the sun, you are very likely to be reducing your collagen levels. You will begin to see the effects on your skin and feel it in your internal organs before long.

There’s a genetic element as well and some people produce less collagen than others. Most collagen-related illnesses are a product of poor genetics and digestive issues that can adversely affect how this very necessary protein is created in the body.

What to do now?

Hopefully, you now understand some of the many benefits of taking an effective collagen supplement and feel ready to give your body the boost it might need.

Whether you want to fight the signs of ageing, reduce joint pain, improve gut absorption or give your heart a good clean out, collagen supplement benefits are clear and there for everyone to experience.