Over the past three years, Yim and I have shifted to a plant based diet and along the way, we’ve started paying more attention to our bodies and what we need more of as we age. Collagen is one of those things I’ve learned more about recently since I began doing some strength training.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body.
Its fibre-like structure is used to make connective tissue. Like the name implies, this type of tissue connects other tissues and is a major component of bone, skin, muscles, tendons, and cartilage. It helps to make tissues strong and resilient, able to withstand stretching.
In food, collagen is naturally found only in animal flesh like meat and fish that contain connective tissue. However, a variety of both animal and plant foods contain materials for collagen production in our own bodies. Some plant based collagen-boosting foods include dark green veggies, peppers, tomatoes, carrots and berries. Getting a variety of plants in your diet is key for a healthy body and therefore for your collagen production too.
Our bodies gradually make less collagen as we age, but collagen production drops most quickly due to excess sun exposure, smoking, excess alcohol, and lack of sleep and exercise.
With aging, collagen in the deep skin layers changes from a tightly organized network of fibres to an unorganized maze. Environmental exposures can damage collagen fibres reducing their thickness and strength, leading to wrinkles on the skin’s surface.
As we age, our body’s ability to produce new collagen declines, and existing collagen begins to break down. The loss of collagen effects skin, joints, and bones. The decreased collagen may also lead to increased digestive problems, weakened immune systems, and increased risk of chronic illness. That said, science has shown that collagen supplementation can protect against and reverse these effects.
Marine Collagen, which we use in our smoothies, is a type 1 collagen. It is made of collagen peptides derived from fish and has the most efficient absorption of all collagen types. It is also environmentally friendly and sustainable as it uses parts of the fish that are normally thrown away.
Top Ten Benefits of Marine Collagen:
1. Builds Bone Strength – Studies have shown that marine collagen peptides help the absorption of calcium and other minerals that are essential for bone strength.
2. Improves Skin, Hair and Nails – Increasing type 1 collagen levels can help your skin look firmer, increase smoothness, and help your skin cells keep renewing and repairing normally. Clinical trials have shown patients who supplement with marine collagen have a decrease in wrinkles and improved skin hydration and firmness.
3. Stabilizes Blood Sugar – A 2016 study by the Alberta Diabetes Institute found consistently low levels of circulating glycine among people with type 2 diabetes. Thus, supplementing with marine collagen, which contains high amounts of glycine, may help balance blood sugar levels, which is especially important for diabetics.
4. Boosts Metabolism – A boost in collagen may help improve metabolism by adding lean muscle mass to your frame and helping with the conversion of essential nutrients.
5. Improves Wound Healing and Reduces Scars – Supplementing with marine collagen can lead to faster and more complete healing of wounds. As the main component of the dermal matrix of the skin, collagen is necessary for regeneration of skin after any skin injury or deformation, such as scars, rashes, and burns. Collagen is the major protein component of connective tissue and is composed primarily of glycine, proline and hydroxyproline. Collagen synthesis requires hydroxylation of lysine and proline, and co-factors such as ferrous iron and vitamin C. Impaired wound healing results from deficiencies in any of these co-factors.
6. Reduces Inflammation and helps with joint pain – With its gel-like, smooth structure that covers and holds our bones together, collagen allows us to glide and move without pain. Studies are showing that it helps your joints move more easily, reduces pain often associated with aging and even reduces the risk of joint deterioration.
This is one of the main reasons we started to integrate it into our daily smoothies as we are both aging and we exercise for more than 90 minutes daily.
7. Brain Health – Glycine makes up roughly 20% of the amino acids in collagen. Some of the glycine benefits range from improving sleep to having inhibitory functions that take action against excessive excitation in the brain. This allows your mind to calm down and focus.
8. Thyroid Boost – Collagen can help boost your thyroid hormone levels by simply balancing the other proteins in your body. collagen helps to boost your liver’s ability to convert thyroid hormone into active T3 thyroid hormone by lowering cortisol levels in your blood.
9. Antibacterial Effects – Recent research has discovered that peptide fragments contained within marine collagen have antibacterial properties. Specifically, collagencin, a peptide derived from collagen, has been found to inhibit the growth of infection and disease-causing bacteria.
10. Superior Protein Source for Weight Management – It is a pure protein source that does not contain any carbs, sugar or fat. Daily intake of marine collagen may help to suppress appetite by keeping you feeling full longer and thus can help promote weight loss. That said, collagen is NOT a complete protein source therefore it is more beneficial to mix collagen powder with a complete protein powder. We use an organic Vega brand protein powder in our smoothies also. Collagen contains a different spectrum of amino acids than a traditional protein source and collagen peptides do not contain tryptophan and are low in cysteine and methionine. It is crucial to add a whey or vegan protein powders to get full complete protein benefits.
Other Interesting Facts;
• Marine Collagen is derived from fish and it is up to 150% more bioavailable than bovine or porcine collagen
• Marine Collagen supports lean muscle mass & flexibility which makes it ideal for physically active individuals
• Collagen is important for preserving youthful skin as we age and as natural collagen production declines
• Marine Collagen is a low calorie pure collagen protein and contains no fat, sugar, soy, or carbs
What to look for in a Marine Collagen
The healthiest, cleanest collagens should have nothing to hide. When shopping for a marine collagen supplement, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Marine Collagen should be derived from sustainably wild-caught fish to avoid any added hormones or antibiotics from farmed fish. Most collagen brands will tell you right on the label if they use wild-caught fish, so if that’s missing, it’s your first red flag.
Secondly, avoid products with any sweeteners or flavours added to the mix, as they’re often used to mask any taste or odour left over from impurities. For extra third party verification of the purity of the product, you can also look out for collagens that have non-GMO or “cGMP” certifications on the label.
So how much collagen do we need? I know I add about a teaspoon and a half daily to my smoothie, which is about 7 grams. I’ve read that for general health, most research considers 2.5 to 15 grams of functional collagen peptides per day as a safe dosage. So, a simple teaspoon a day will help.
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