What is collagen?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. It’s the main component of connective tissues that make up several body parts, including tendons, ligaments, skin, and muscles. Collagen has many important functions, including providing your skin with structure and strengthening your bones.
Foods that contain collagen
Foods that contain gelatin, such as bone broth, provide collagen. Gelatin is a protein substance derived from collagen after it’s cooked. Collagen is found in the connective tissues of animals. Thus, foods such as chicken skin, pork skin, beef, and fish are sources of collagen Vitamin C is crucial for collagen synthesis, so you should also be sure to eat foods rich in this vitamin, such as citrus fruits, broccoli, and bell peppers.
Health benefits of collagen supplements
Collagen supplementation provides a variety of health benefits.
1. May improve skin health
Collagen is a major component of your skin. It plays a role in strengthening skin, as well as in elasticity and hydration. As you age, your body produces less collagen, leading to dry skin and the formation of wrinkles. There are also many anecdotal claims that collagen supplements help prevent acne and other skin conditions, but these aren’t supported by scientific evidence.
2. May relieve joint pain
Collagen helps maintain the integrity of your cartilage, the rubber-like tissue that protects your joints. Researchers have theorized that supplemental collagen may accumulate in cartilage and stimulate your tissues to make collagen. In turn, this may lead to lower inflammation, better joint support, and reduced pain. If you want to try collagen supplements for potential pain-relieving effects, most research suggests that you’ll see an effect with 10 grams per day.
3. May prevent bone loss
Your bones are made mostly of collagen, which gives them structure and strength. Just as the collagen in your body deteriorates with age, so does bone mass. This may lead to conditions such as osteoporosis, which is BMD is a measure of the density of minerals, such as calcium, in your bones. Low BMD is associated with weak bones and osteoporosis risk. Although these results are promising, more human studies are needed.
4. May boost muscle mass
As the most abundant protein in the body, collagen is an important component of skeletal muscle. However, collagen protein isn’t more effective than whey protein for building muscle or strength. That’s because, unlike whey protein, collagen is low in essential amino acids — especially leucine — which play a key role in muscle building. More research is necessary to investigate collagen’s potential to boost muscle mass.
5. May promote heart health
Researchers have theorized that collagen supplements may help reduce the risk of heart conditions. Collagen provides structure to your arteries, the blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to the rest of your body. Without enough collagen, arteries may become less flexible and elastic. Nevertheless, more studies on collagen supplements and heart health are needed.
Other health benefits
Collagen supplements may have other health benefits, but these haven’t been studied extensively.
Hair and nails Taking collagen may increase the strength of your nails by preventing brittleness. Additionally, it may help your hair and nails grow longer.
Gut health: Although no scientific evidence supports this claim, some health practitioners assert that collagen supplements can treat the leaky gut syndrome, also called intestinal permeability.
Brain health: No studies have examined the role of collagen supplements in brain health, but some people claim that they improve mood and reduce anxiety symptoms.
Weight loss: Proponents believe that collagen supplements may promote weight loss and faster metabolism. However, no studies support these claims.
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