If you are experiencing fine lines, dryness, dark spots, acne scars, or wrinkles on your skin, and from somewhere, you have heard that Collagen is the root of all these problems, then you are right; Aging and Collagen go hand in hand.
In this blog, you will learn what Collagen protein is, its benefits to the skin, why it starts causing a problem with age, how you can fulfill its deficiency and much more. So, keep reading if you wanna keep young for a little longer.
➔ Checklist
1.What is Collagen and its role in the human body?
2.How Collagen helps in keeping beautiful skin?
3.What happens to Collagen as humans age?
4.What are the signs of Collagen deficiency?
5.How to increase Collagen levels for healthy skin?
1) What is Collagen?
“Collagen is a protein ( just like muscle ) and is present in all animals. In humans, Collagen is the most abundant with a ratio of 30% of all proteins.”
Collagen protein is present everywhere in the human body, for example;
- •Skin
- •Bones
- •Organs
- •Muscles
- •Tendons
- •Ligaments
- •Blood vessels
- •Intestinal linings, etc.
Collagen supplementation plays many vital roles in all these parts of the human body, but in short, you can say that it shields, renew, and reinforce these.
2) How Collagen helps in keeping beautiful skin?
Collagen benefits for skin are immeasurable; it plays a very vital role in keeping human skin healthy and young, and some of its benefits are explained below;
i) Heal wounds
ii) Decrease wrinkles
iii) Hydrates skin cells
iv) Keep skin tone fresh
v) Lessen dark spots & scars
vi) Maintains good blood flow
vii) Keep skin young & slow aging
i) Heal wounds
“Studies have proven that placing Collagen on skin wounds helps them heal faster and reduces scar risks.”
Well, it does look superficial because a patient is not taking collagen by an IV or orally, but it's true because naturally, Collagen attracts fibroblasts from your blood to wound sites, which are the main agents in healing.
You can also leave Collagen on wounds without the risk of the body's immune reaction or the development of bacterial infection.
ii) Decrease wrinkles
“Collagen supports the connective tissue to maintain skin elasticity which will prevent wrinkles & fine lines formation.”
Just as an unstretched cloth has many wrinkles, less elastic skin has many wrinkles, and this happens with age for many reasons, but the main factor is a deficiency of Collagen in the body.
An experiment was done with a woman of age 69; a few grams of collagen supplement were introduced into her body, and after some days, her skin looked way younger than other women of the same age who don’t take collagen.
iii) Hydrates skin cells
“Collagen moisturizes skin cells, which gives a soft, radiant, and smooth appearance.”
As you have seen, old people have dry skin, which makes their appearance unattractive, and one of the major factors in losing skin hydration is collagen deficiency with age. Environmental factors can also lead to skin drying, even at a young age. So, make sure you take enough collagen peptides in your daily diet, and when out of the house, always cover your body and use sunscreen cream.
iv) Keep skin tone fresh
“Amino present in Collagen helps skin smooth and fresh.”
There are no proven studies because the study of Collagen is particularly new, and due to multiple factors in the human body, nothing can be said with a 100% guarantee. However, it is seen that people taking collagen supplements have fewer wrinkles, dark spots, and damaged cells, so their skin tone looks much fresh.
v) Lessen dark spots & scars
“Collagen also helps make new cells which lessen dark spots and scars.”
It is proven that Collagen promotes the formation of new cells, preventing scar formation from acne and other skin diseases in the first place. Besides, scars and dark spots are unnatural damaged skin states, so Collagen promotes healthy cell growth and helps reduce them.
vi) Maintains good blood flow
“Collagen is also present in blood vessels where it keeps their structure & elasticity so it helps ensure a good blood flow.”
As you know, blood vessels carry blood that contains oxygen, minerals, vitamins, and all kinds of components for the proper function of skin cells. But with age, blood vessels weaken, and blood supply gets disturbed, which leads to skin complications. So, it's essential to keep an optimum level of collagen to avoid the weakening of blood vessels.
vii) Keep skin young & slow aging
“Introducing Collagen in the body regularly helps prevent aging symptoms and keeps you looking younger for longer.”
With age, Collagen naturally decreases in the human body, so the fine lines start to appear, which eventually become wrinkled due to;
- •Decreased connective tissues ( which gives elasticity )
- •Disturbed blood flow because of weakened blood vessels
- •Less formation of new cells.
However, if you take enough Collagen in your diet daily, these symptoms will not appear, and you can slow the skin aging process for many years.
3) What happens to Collagen as humans age?
Collagen protein is naturally present in our bodies. Our body produces it throughout life, but as we age, its production decreases. For example, in newborn kids, collagen production is at its peak, which makes their skin soft and smooth, while in adults, due to decreases production, the skin begins to dry, lose flexibility, and eventually, wrinkles start to form.
You don’t have to worry about collagen until age 25 because in this period body will produce enough collagen to maintain good skin. However, when we cross 25, our body ages making less collagen than needed, and later on skin becomes saggy. So, it's best to add additional collagen products to your diet because it will decrease aging.
4) What are the signs of Collagen deficiency?
Nobody can stop aging, no matter what. But you can slow it down. You probably have seen people in their 30s looking like 50s; it's because their collagen synthesis has been affected severely due to their destructive lifestyle, like poor diet, smoking, too much under the sun, untreated diseases, etc.
Well, when your body starts losing collagen, you will see the following symptoms;
- •Dry skin
- •Fine lines ( appears before wrinkle formation )
- •Wrinkles
- •Thin and fragile skin
- •Skin becomes saggy
- •Hair & nails become fragile
- •Pain in joints ( collagen helps increase bone mineral density )
Naturally, the skin begins to dry after 25, but it's not that much. However, in your 30s, fine lines will start appearing along with skin weakening. And eventually, in your late 40’s or the start of your 50’s, wrinkles will form. But if you take a collagen diet & care for your skin, you can move these symptoms at least 2 ~ 3 decades forward and remain young.
In the case of severe diseases, collagen deficiency can happen anytime, even in kids, and severe symptoms can happen, like skin rashes, muscle aches, joint pain, mouth ulcer, hair loss, etc. In that case, check yourself with a doctor and treat the problem as soon as possible.
5) How to increase Collagen levels for healthy skin?
All proteins are made up of amino acids, just like a room is made of bricks. So, collagen, which is also a protein, is also made of 3-kinds of amino acids called;
- •Proline
- •Glycine
- •Hydroxyproline
When we are adults, our body metabolism slows down, and collagen deficiency starts happening, which ruins our skin, bones, and muscles. So, it's necessary to take as much collagen in our body as possible to slow aging, and you can do it in 3-ways;
i) Via Natural Diet
ii) Via Collagen Capsules
iii) Via Collagen Rich Creams
i) Via Natural Diet
The best way and safest way to get collagen into your body are by eating & drinking Collagen rich foods, like beef, chicken, sardines, berries, broccoli, Aloe vera juice, eggs, legumes, citrus fruits, beans, etc.
ii) Via Collagen Capsules
Unfortunately, in our body collagen doesn’t get eaten directly by the stomach; first, the collagen in food is broken down by enzymes & acids into amino acids, which then are absorbed and used to make collagen. So, people with poor digestion, which is a case 30’s onward, don’t get enough amino acids to make collagen.
Fortunately, these days, hydrolyzed collagen capsules are made by pharmaceutical companies which are rich in all three basic amino acids ( proline, glycine, and hydroxyproline ), Vitamins, and all other basic components which are needed for collagen making.
The best thing about oral collagen supplements, as compared to food, is that they are easy to digest because amino acids are in raw form, while in the case of food, your body has to break it down to make amino acids.
ii) Via Collagen Capsules
It is also possible to heal your skin by applying creams and other skin care products which are rich in Vitamin C & E, natural Collagen, etc. These applicable products give instant results as compared to diet.
However, it must not be misunderstood that these skin care products can solve your collagen shortage. These skin care products are only an addition to the diet & capsules, which you should take daily.
Post time: Jul-10-2023
