The wonderful world of supplements can be a hard place to navigate. Each and every day there are new supplements hitting the market, and they all seem to promise the world, despite having very little evidence to support their use. This can make it hard to know what really does works, and what doesn’t.
Hearing success stories and positive reviews about certain supplements can be really exciting. When a specific supplement gets some evidence to support its use, people tend to trust it and keen to try it out. One of the supplements that is recently raved about and has a lot of supporting evidence behind it is collagen – especially for beauty purposes.
What is Collagen?
Practically every single cell in your body is made up of a different amalgamation of protein molecules. These proteins combine in different ways to form the tissues of your body, say the experts.
They pretty much make sure that you have everything you need to function and maintain your shape as a human. Taking this into consideration, collagen is one of these proteins. However, it is a little bit different to many others in that it is the most abundant protein in your entire body, making up approximately thirty percent of your total protein content.
The reason being? Well, it is used in practically everything. First and foremost, collagen is one of the primary proteins used to build your bones, muscles, skin, tendons, and ligaments. Secondly, it is also used in large amounts to help form arteries, veins, organs, teeth, the corneas in your eyes, and the cartilage in your joints.
See? It’s in everything. With all this in mind, you can think of collagen as the glue that holds many of your cells together. It provides strength and structure to every major tissue in your body, which allows it to function effectively on a daily basis. And because of this, supplementing with collagen can have some profound benefits.
Now, as with anything, finding the best collagen supplement for you can be difficult. Which is why we recommend exploring reviews on the best collagen supplement and finding one that suits you.
1.Better Skin
As I touched on above, collagen is one of the major components of your skin. In this manner it helps it maintain its smooth structure, while also encouraging a high degree of skin elasticity and hydration.
However, as you get older, your body’s ability to produce collagen becomes impaired, leading to less collagen production. Many experts believe that it is this process that causes your skin to develop wrinkles as you get older.
But never fear, because there is good evidence to suggest that taking collagen supplements can have a positive effect on your skin and reduce what many would consider “normal” age related skin damage.
Most of these studies have explored the best collagen supplements that contain between 2 and 5 grams per day, and involve daily supplementation for between 8 and 12 weeks. The most popular form is marine collagen, which you can mix with water and consume daily. You can get this from wellbeing and health stores online, like Life Essentials.
And the cool bit? Practically all of them have demonstrated an increase in skin elasticity and skin hydration, while also showing reductions in skin dryness and wrinkle depth — indicating a seriously positive impact on skin health and quality. All of which means that if you want great skin well into your ninth decade, looking for the best collagen supplement is an excellent idea.
2. Improves Bone Health
Much like in your skin, your bones tend to see a decline in density as you age. This can lead to conditions like osteoporosis, with an increased risk of bone fractures and breaks.
However, because collagen is also a major component of your bones, it can offer significant benefits in this area. In the short term, the best collagen supplements appear to slow the breakdown of bony tissue, while increasing the production of new bony tissue. Over time, this can lead to significant improvement in bone mineral density, which indicates an increase in bone health.
In fact, one study found that women who took a collagen supplement every day for 12 months saw an increase in bone density of up to 7%, while women who did not take the supplement saw no no change at all.
3.Reduces Joint Pain
In a similar fashion to bone, collagen is also a core component of the cartilage in your joints. As a result, its supplementation can improve joint health and reduce joint pain.
More specifically, research has shown that taking a collagen supplement can help prevent much of the normal cartilage degeneration that occurs with age, while also improving upon joint disorders like arthritis.
Interestingly, collagen supplements have also been shown to reduce exercise-related joint pain in athletes. This suggests that if you are someone who suffers from achy joints, then collagen could be a great option. It also indicates that taking the best collagen supplements might be a great way to reduce some of the normal changes in joint function that occur as you get older. For additional support, JointXL Plus Joint Health Supplement can be a great choice, offering key nutrients to promote joint flexibility, reduce discomfort, and support long-term mobility.
4. Increases Muscle Mass
Finally, about 10% of your muscle is made from collagen, where it plays an important role keeping it strong and functioning to the best of its ability.
There is research suggesting that collagen supplements can increase muscle mass in older individuals, which can go a very long way to prevent the normal loss of muscle that occurs with age.
Additionally, there is evidence demonstrating that those people who take collagen supplements while undergoing a weight training regime will build more muscle than those who perform the same exercise regime without collagen.
All of which suggest it could be a great option at improving your muscle health.
Key Points
Collagen is arguably the most important compound in the human body. As a result, its supplementation can improve the health of your skin and joints, while also promoting the growth of new bone and muscle tissue.
Just make sure you do your research and find the best collagen supplement for you.
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