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What is collagen?
Collagen is the most plentiful protein in the skin. It makes up 75-80% of the skin, and its primary purpose is to work as a building block, as some kind of glue that connects things. It is also available in many places, including muscles, bones, cartilage, tendons, blood vessels, corneas, and even teeth.
How many types of collagen are there?
To date, 28 types of collagen have been discovered, but about 80-90% of collagen throughout the body is of Types I, II, and III [1].
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Type I is the most common and abundant form of collagen in the body. It creates the structure of the skin, organs, tendons, and bones. Since its main role in promoting skin, this is the type you need to look for in beauty products.
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Type II collagen is known as a building block of cartilage, the strong elastic tissue in the body, particularly in joints.
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Type III collagen is present in many organs like the lungs and the skin. It often comes with Type I collagen to promote skin, bones, and more.
What are the benefits of collagen for your skin?
As mentioned above, collagen makes up a huge part of our skin. But as we age, skin starts losing its strength and elasticity since the production of collagen reduces. That’s why we need to supplement collagen to achieve our beauty requests for the skin. Keep reading and find out the amazing benefits that collagen helps your skin.
Enhance your skin elasticity and tone
Let’s do a small test, girls! Check your face right after you wake up. Does your facial skin come with any fine lines due to laying on the pillow all night? If yes, this is a clear signal that your skin elasticity has started reducing.
Taking enough collagen makes your skin look younger and prevents fine lines from happening no matter what you change your facial expression. Do you know that smile lines can become fine lines when we get older and older? That’s why adding collagen to your body will help firm your skin.
Also, collagen plays a vital role in keeping your skin look even, smooth, and healthy, thereby giving radiant and glowing skin you are craving.
Reduce wrinkles and fine lines
Aging, poor health choices, pollution, and exposure to the sun can all decrease the levels of collagen in the skin, thereby forming wrinkles and fine lines surrounding your eyes and mouth. However, if you take collagen supplements and products, the antioxidants found in collagen make your skin supple, plump, and hydrated all the time.
Moisturize your skin
The reduction of collagen due to environmental factors or aging can lead to flaky and dry skin. So, by adding collagen back into the body, your skin will get the necessary hydration to keep a soft, glowing, and smooth look.
Minimize acne scars
Acne marks or scars are a big issue our skin meets at some point in time in life. If you read our previous posts, you might know how to stop acne on your face; for example, having a well-balanced diet. And if you include collagen in your nutrition, it helps balance your hormones, resulting in less acne. Also, the amino acids found in collagen help stimulate healthy tissue formation, thereby speeding up the healing process your skin needs to repair itself.
Decrease stretch marks
Pregnancy, stretching of the skin, or hormonal issues are the main reasons to create stretch marks, a common and stubborn skin issue. The presence of collagen helps improve these stretch marks because it increases the way our skin regenerates.
What foods are high in collagen?
While creams and other skin products with collagen help promote the outer layer of skin, most experts agree that the best way to stimulate collagen production is to eat collagen-rich foods.
So, what are they? Let’s help you find out!
Bone broth
Bone broth is the most popular and well-known source of collagen. By simmering animal bones (chicken, beef, etc.) with water for a long time, collagen from the bones and skin will be extracted and mixed into the broth. When making it at home, you should season it with spices for flavor. In case you don’t have much time, you can easily find pre-made, high-quality bone broth at stores.
Fish and shellfish
Another natural and great source of collagen is from fish and shellfish. As compared to porcine or bovine sources of collagen, fish collagen is easily absorbed (up to 1.5 times) [2]. When making fish at home, make sure to chow down on the skin because much more collagen is also found in the skin.
Chicken and beef
Collagen is found in many types of protein-rich meat, including chicken and beef. Particularly, bone and/or connective tissue like chicken wings or a ribeye steak are rich in collagen. Some studies have pointed out that chicken neck and cartilage contain a rich amount of collagen for arthritis treatment [3].
Egg whites
Egg whites do include a large amount of proline, one of the essential amino acids needed for collagen production. 1 large egg white has 256 milligrams of proline [4].
Citrus fruits
Unlike foods that naturally create collagen, you can add citrus fruits like lemons, limes, oranges, or grapefruit into your diet to help your body make its collagen. WHY? It is because vitamin C in these fruits plays a big role in producing pro-collagen, the precursor to collagen [5].
Dark leafy greens
Kale, rainbow chard, spinach, and collard greens are well-known for carrying all kinds of nutrients like vitamin C, copper, and zinc; it’s a collagen-enhancing trifecta. Additionally, these contain chlorophyll that helps increase the amount of pro-collagen in the skin [6].
Is it necessary to take collagen supplements?
Yes, you totally use collagen supplements. Taking hydrolyzed collagen or collagen peptide ensures your body digests collagen with ease. And you can opt for powder or capsules depending on your demands.
Collagen NuBest is a convenient and affordable supplement from the NuBest brand that can help you regain your youthful look. Packed with only Collagen Hydrolysate, your body can easily and quickly absorb it and then get the full benefits from its essence.
The term collagen rings a bell in the skincare industry, and you should not miss it if you want a glow to your skin. Hope the article today helps you know more about benefits as well as different ways to supplement collagen to your body.
