Collagen has become just as trendy as other natural remedies, available in various products, from cosmetic injections to skin creams.
Collagen is essential for improved health and is naturally produced within your body. In this article, we’ll talk about how collagen can help reduce joint pain and eliminate wrinkles, but let’s dive into answering what exactly collagen is first.
What Is Collagen?
As mentioned previously, collagen is plentiful in your body, a protein found in muscles, bones, tendons, organs, blood vessels, and skin. The count of collagen found in your body decreases as you age, contributing to more joint pain, wrinkly skin, weakening muscles, and gastrointestinal problems.
Poor diet leads to a lack of collagen, and even though your body produces it on its own, it requires certain elements to do so. Think about it this way: if you want to build a house, you need the foundation, the bricks, the wood, the tiles, and so forth. Those elements are nutrients and vitamins, and the house is the final product of collagen.
Your body combines amino acids with vitamin C, zinc, and copper in this process. So, to reach the count of collagen that your body needs, you may have to adjust what you eat or take supplements.
How Collagen Affects Joint Pain
Amino acids play an important role in building joint cartilage and may have anti-inflammatory effects. You can buy collagen capsules from pharmacies or health food stores.
These supplements are rich in amino acids and are suggested to improve symptoms of osteoarthritis by triggering your body’s production of collagen. In addition, introducing this protein via the mouth may create oral tolerance, thus reducing side effects. Those who indulge in these supplements may experience minor symptoms, like diarrhea, a rash, or a feeling of heaviness in the stomach.
In the end: type II collagen is one of the main proteins in cartilage, lessening swollen joints and tenderness and reducing pain while walking.
Is Collagen Good for Your Skin?
Beauty products claim that collagen improves the health of your skin, increasing elasticity and blood flow and lessening wrinkles. Thus, this gives you a more youthful look. But, the question is: does it work?
Collagen is one of the main contributors to bone, skin, hair, and muscle health. In your mid-20s, you will begin to lose collagen; hence, many brands produce popular collagen supplements, like powders, capsules, and liquid products.
Nonetheless, doctors state that stomach acids break down most of what we ingest, and the bloodstream does not absorb them. Therefore, doctors still don’t know whether eating forms of collagen work or if the collagen dissolves before any benefits occur. As long as you pick safe products, there’s no harm in giving them a try.
There are treatments, such as retinol, that are scientifically proven to promote collagen formation. Regardless, antioxidants like vitamin C are crucial in reducing skin inflammation. Therefore, you would probably benefit more from vitamin C skin products or wear sunscreen to increase the longevity of your skin.
How to Get More Collagen in Your Diet
The best way to get more collagen into your diet is by eating foods packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals. Collagen also comes in a tasteless powder form that you can add to smoothies or soups effortlessly.
Below is a list of suggestions of what you should eat if you want to add more collagen to your diet and reap the rewards it has to offer:
- Beef, chicken, or fish
- Beans
- Eggs and dairy products
- Citrus fruits
- Broccoli and other greens
- Shellfish
- Nuts and whole grains
If you eat healthily and feed your body all the nutrients it needs, or consider a supplement, then you won’t have any issue maintaining this necessary protein.
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