It’s all over social media and in every health food store. Maybe you haven’t splurged on collagen quite yet likely due to the high price tag attached. So is collagen really worth the hype and the money? Does it really live up to the claims to strengthen and protect your hair, skin, nails and muscles, or is that just a bunch of bull?
I’m giving you the background you need to know and my personal experience with collagen, plus some of my favorite products that I recommend you try out!
What the heck is collagen?
Collagen is a complex protein filled with 19 different amino acids. These include a mix of both nonessential (or conditional) and essential types. Collagen is a particularly great way to get more conditional amino acids, like arginine, glutamine, glycine and proline into your body.
As the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making 25% to 35% of the whole-body protein content. Its primary role is providing support for our tissues like bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and skin.
As you get older, your body produces less collagen naturally, hence the need for supplements or adding more collagen rich foods to our diets to continue the essential functions it provides.
Perks of collagen
Supplements can fill the void where our body’s natural production of collagen can’t. All the packaging for collagen peptide powders and pills claim to help your hair, skin and nails. But collagen has more benefits than this, including both appearance and physical perks.
Hair: When taking collagen regularly, it can help your hair become stronger and less brittle, limiting split ends or hair falling out in the shower. By helping the amino acid keratin in our hair thrive, your locks will continue to grow faster and fuller.
Skin: By promoting elasticity and reversing the effects of aging, collagen can also help your skin appear younger looking. Reducing the appearance of wrinkles, increasing skin hydration and smoothness, are among the other benefits. Over time, it can even help reduce the appearance of cellulite.
Nails: Especially for those of you that get your nails done with gel or dip regularly, you may want to consider a collagen supplement or powder. It helps to strengthen your nails and improve growth.
Gut Health: Have you ever heard the gut referred to as the body’s second brain? If you’ve ever had digestive issues, or even a stomach ache, you know this is true. Collagen can play a role by building the gut’s connective tissue and strengthening the lining of the digestive tract. Higher levels of collagen are linked to decrease risk of IBS and leaky gut syndrome.
Muscle Gain & Fat Loss: As you can imagine, protein has a positive impact on muscle gain and fat loss. Collagen contains a concentrated amount of glycine, an amino acid involved in the synthesis of creatine, which is often found in pre workout and protein powder formulas. Basically, it will help your muscles fuel through tough workouts and allow you to push yourself harder. Since it takes your body longer to break down protein, when compared to fats and carbs, you’ll likely feel fuller longer when consuming higher amounts of protein. For these reasons, collagen can promote both muscle gain and fat loss, depending on your goals and eating habits (whether in a caloric surplus or deficit).
Joint pain: The cartilage protecting our joints is made up of collagen, proteoglycans, water, and chondrocytes. As we age, this cartilage starts to weaken and deteriorate. We can also thank collagen for elevating the symptoms of arthritis and achy joints, commonly found in hips, knees and the spine.
Collagen supplement uses
Collagen comes in various forms, such as powders, gummies and pills. Depending on the supplement form you choose, collagen can be very versatile. It’s easy to incorporate a plain collagen powder into foods and drinks you are already consuming, such as:
- Coffee or matcha drinks
- Smoothies
- Soups
- Baking treats
- Sauces or dips
- Pancake or waffle batter
- Yogurt
Worth the hype?
I’ve been using it on and off for about a year or so now and I have definitely noticed a difference in nail strength and growth. Over the last year, I’ve lost 15 pounds and I can attribute part of this to incorporating collagen into my diet.
If you’re like me and constantly trying to hit your protein goals, or just trying to up your intake, this is a great option.
In my opinion, collagen is worth the hype!