Collagen plays many important roles in the body. It is good for the health of skin, hair, and nails. It also helps in making clots of your blood and makes the structure of your skin.
It is used as a main ingredient for the shampoos and skin lotion.
Collagen is also getting popularity as a nutritional supplement. It is used to strengthen bones. It is also used as a pre-workout drink before high-intensity exercise.
But many people are confused about what is collagen and why it is getting popularity. We will discuss it in this article.
What is Collagen:
Protein is the most important nutrient for the body and collagen is the type of protein that is found in abundant. A cell is the building block of the human body and collagen is the building block for bones, muscles, ligaments, skin, and tendons.
Collagen is found in many parts of the body. Blood vessels, teeth, and corneas are some of them. Collagen peptides or hydrolyzed collagen is an easily available collagen supplement.
Purpose of Collagen:
There are four main types of collagen. Type 1, 2, 3, and 4. There are 12 other types of collagen.
The main purpose of collagen in our body is to provide structure to the skin, tendons, connective tissues, bones, fibrous cartilage, and teeth.
The second purpose of collagen is to keep joints together. It also supports arteries, muscles, and organs.
The last use of collagen in our body is filtration. Collagen is found in the layers of skin and exchange liquids.
With the passage of time, your body gets older and reduces the amount of collagen production.
You can increase collagen production by consuming nutrients that are capable of increasing the amount of collagen production.
Glycine and proline are two amino acids that are used to make procollagen. Vitamin C is also required in this process.
Here are some nutrients, eating them in good quantity can boost the production of collagen in your body.
- Vitamin C
- Glycine
- Proline
- Copper
You can get vitamin C from citrus fruits such as orange, strawberries, and bell peppers. Proline is found int egg whites, dairy products, asparagus, wheat germ, cabbage, and mushrooms.
Pork skin, gelatin, chicken skin, animal bones, beak, and some other animal parts are good sources of glycine.
Copper can be found in organ meats, cocoa powder, lentils, sesame seeds, and cashews.
To make new protein, your body needs protein. You can get a good amount of protein by eating meat, seafood, legumes, tofu, poultry, and dairy.
What Destroys Collagen?
Producing enough collagen is good but you should avoid things that destroy collagen. Here is a list of things that are not good for collagen. Avoiding them means saving collagen. Protecting collagen results in many benefits for health.
- Sugar and refined carbs disrupts collagen ability to repair itself.
- Avoid excessive sun exposure because it can reduce collagen production.
- Smoking can reduce collagen production, create wrinkles, and slow down the wound healing.
- Immune disorders can also slow down collagen production and reduce collagen repair.
Natural Food Sources for Collagen:
Connective tissues of animals are a great source of collagen such as skin and bones. This is why bone broth is also considered a great source of collagen. It is made by slowly cooking the animal bones. Read more about the benefits of bone broth.
Benefits of Collagen:
Two types of collagen supplements gelatin and hydrolyzed collagen are very popular in the United States of America. You can get gelatin after cooking collagen.
Here are some benefits of collagen:
- Strength training and collagen, both are a good combination. You can gain more muscles by doing exercise and using collagen peptides as a pre or post-workout food.
- A good amount of collagen in your body can increase the density and strength of your bones. You can prevent bone-related diseases such as osteoarthritis.
- It can increase the quality of the skin. Brighten and soften your skin. It can prevent lining and wrinkles on the skin.
Ending Thoughts:
Collagen is good for overall health. Our bodies can make and protect collagen. But by consuming foods rich in collagen or foods that can boost collagen production you can enhance this system.