What Are The 8 Benefits of Collagen And How Useful Are Probiotics?

 

What is collagen & what are the 8 benefits of collagen?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body and an important component in the structure and elasticity of muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, blood vessels as well as connective tissues.
Collagen is produced naturally in the body by a combination of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins found in food.
Collagen contains the following specific amino acids – Glycine, Proline, Hydroxyproline, and Arginine.

To produce collagen, your body needs:

• Amino acids
• Vitamin C
• Zinc
• Copper

Over 24 types of collagen have been identified, the most common of which are:

• Type I, present in skin, tendons, teeth, internal organs, and bone
• Type II, present in the eyes and cartilage
• Type III, present in muscles, bone marrow, lymphoid tissue, and blood vessels

Unfortunately, as you age, your collagen levels drop, which contributes to several signs of aging, including:

• Wrinkles
• Saggy skin
• Joint pain
• Stiffer tendons and ligaments
• Weaker muscles

Common collagen terms explained:

Collagen peptides
Collagen that is broken down into smaller chains of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, are sometimes referred to as collagen peptides.

Collagen hydrolysate
Most collagen supplements are either labeled as collagen peptides or collagen hydrolysate. They are the same.
The collagen has been hydrolyzed, meaning it is broken down into smaller pieces, also known as peptides.
Collagen that is hydrolyzed and turned into peptides is easier to absorb and digest.

Collagen supplements
Most products marketed as collagen supplements are animal-derived collagen that has been broken down into small peptides so that your body can absorb it more effectively.
Collagen supplements are most commonly made from fish scales or cow bones, so those who follow a strict vegan diet may want to find an alternative.

Benefits of collagen:

• Improves overall skin tone
• Reduces hair loss
• Maintains a healthy gut barrier
• Builds stronger muscles
• Promotes bone health
• Healthy for your heart
• Impacts joint health
• Impacts liver function and detoxification
• Restores sexual and hormone health

1. Improved skin elasticity, hair and nails

As you age, your skin becomes looser and less elastic and there may be wrinkles or creases where your skin was once more smooth and supple.
You might also experience brittle, peeling, or breaking nails and your hair becomes thinner, dry, and brittle.
Collagen protein is essential for healthy hair, skin, and nails, and taking collagen may increase the strength of your nails and improve your hair’s fullness and shine.
Source
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – collagen and nail growth

As you age, your skin becomes looser and less elastic and there may be wrinkles or creases where your skin was once more smooth and supple.
You might also experience brittle, peeling, or breaking nails and your hair becomes thinner, dry, and brittle.
Collagen protein is essential for healthy hair, skin, and nails, and taking collagen may increase the strength of your nails and improve your hair’s fullness and shine.
Source
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – collagen and nail growth

Increasing collagen intake can greatly improve your skin, making it appear firmer and smoother.
Collagen can also help in reducing the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks.
As skin loses its elasticity and becomes thin, cellulite becomes more obvious.
Studies include: ResearchGate; JMNN; Pub med

On a personal level, I have definitely noticed an improvement in my skin’s elasticity, especially on my thighs and around the knees. 
Also, my hair is much fuller and looks healthier since I have been using collagen supplements.

 

2. Maintains a healthy gut barrier

Collagen contains large amounts of the amino acids, glycine, and glutamine which are important to the intestinal tract.
Collagen is important in the regulation of gastric juices secretion, ensuring enough acid for proper digestion.
Glycine, found in collagen is effective in preventing stomach ulcers and harmful gastric secretions in the stomach lining.
Glutamine, one of the amino acids found in collagen, has been linked to preventing inflammation of the gut wall and healing leaky gut syndrome.

3. Boosts muscle mass when paired with resistance training

Collagen can play an important role in building muscle mass.
The amino acids arginine and glycine, which are found in collagen are important building blocks for creatine.
Research has shown that collagen supplementation can increase muscle growth and strength.
Quoting an article in the British Journal of Nutrition: “Collagen peptide supplementation in combination with resistance training improves body composition and increases muscle strength”

4. Bone health

As you age, bone mineral density decreases, especially after menopause.
Studies have shown that collagen peptides can help to increase bone mineral density, thereby slowing the aging process that makes bones brittle and helping your body to produce new bone.
Studies have indicated that taking collagen supplements may help slow down the bone degradation that leads to osteoporosis.
Source: Pub med; Scielo.br

5. Maintains heart health

Proline, which is found in collagen, slows the depositing of fat in the arteries and repairs the tissues within them.
Arterial fat may affect blood pressure and the hardening of the arteries.
An article in the Journal of Atherosclerosis concluded there was a significant reduction in measures of artery stiffness, compared with before taking supplements, and helped to improve cholesterol levels and reduced other risk factors for hardening of the arteries.

6. Reduce joint pain

Collagen helps to stimulate the production of cartilage, the tissue that cushions and supports joints.
Cartilage helps joints move smoothly.
As you grow older, collagen and cartilage production declines and you can experience joint pain as well as arthritis.
There is some evidence that collagen supplements can help to reduce joint pain and other symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Source
pubmed.com – effect of collagen on improving osteoarthritis

7. Impacts detoxification & liver function

The liver processes the toxins you are exposed to every day, by removing them from your body.
Glycine, which is found in collagen, helps to support your liver during the detoxification process. 
This is also important if you consume alcohol.
Glycine can also contribute to a calming and restful sleep.

8. Restores sexual health

Women produce less estrogen after they turn 30, which has an impact on their sexual health amongst many other symptoms.
Intercourse can be painful due to vaginal dryness and a thinning of the skin in the vaginal walls.
Vaginal walls also require collagen in order to retain their firmness and taking a collagen supplement can help women restore and preserve the firmness of vaginal walls.

Does collagen work for weight loss?

To date, not enough research has been done on the impact of collagen supplements on weight loss, but there is some evidence that collagen can indirectly help your efforts.

Feeling of fullness
Collagen supplements may increase the feeling of fullness, thereby reducing hunger and ultimately how many calories you eat in a day.
Collagen might have this effect because of its high protein which increases satiety hormones (glucagon-like peptide-1 and cholecystokinin) and also suppresses ghrelin, the hunger hormone.
In a study conducted in 2020 “The mechanism underlying HPD-induced weight loss involves an increase in satiety and energy expenditure.”
You can’t meet your protein needs with collagen supplements alone, however, supplements can increase your overall protein intake, potentially improving satiety.

Increase muscle mass
Lean muscle tissue increases your metabolism because muscle burns more calories than fat and collagen helps to turn your body into a fat-burning machine.
Glycine, one of the amino acids found in collagen, forms muscle by the conversion of glucose into energy.

Reduces fat accumulation
Some evidence suggests that collagen may reduce the development and accumulation of adipocytes or fat cells.
A 2018 study noted that skate, a type of fish, reduces body fat in humans.
The amount of fat lost was small but does pose potential benefits for weight loss.

How to add collagen into your diet

Supplement your diet with collagen supplements
You can find good sources of collagen in the following:

• Spinach, kale
• Tomatoes
• Beets
• Fish
• Chicken
• Egg whites
• Citrus fruits
• Berries
• Red and yellow vegetables
• Garlic
• Cashews
• Bell peppers
• Beans
• Avocados
• Soy

Collagen side effects

Currently, there are few known risks associated with taking collagen supplements.
However, some supplements contain common food allergens, such as fish, shellfish, and eggs.
To prevent allergic reactions, those suffering from allergies should avoid ingredients associated with these foods.
For some people, collagen supplements can cause digestive side effects, such as feelings of fullness and heartburn.
Some people complain of a lingering bad aftertaste.
However, by and large, collagen supplements appear to be safe for most people.
Source
medicalnewstoday.com – collagen benefits safety effects

How useful are probiotics?

All About Probiotics

Probiotics are health-promoting bacteria that can be found in some foods as well as in supplements.
Your gut contains about 100 trillion micro-organisms with a combined weight of about one kilogram, of which some are already acquired at birth in a process called colonization.
Many of these bacteria are considered beneficial or “friendly” and their functions include:

• Converting fiber into short-chain fatty acids
• Synthesizing certain vitamins
• Supporting your immune system

Taking probiotics can help to increase the number of beneficial bacteria that reside in your gut.
Having a healthy gut microbiome is extremely important and taking the right type of probiotics may help you target specific health issues and improve your overall health.
Some foods such as yogurt have natural probiotic benefits
Probiotics are also available as capsules, tablets, liquids, and sprays.

What are some of the types of probiotics & their uses?

Support the body’s natural defenses
Probiotics are bacteria that are good for you and which your body needs in order to survive.
Bacteria are responsible for processing the food that the body digests and extracting the nutrition so that the body can actually use that food.
Bacteria give nutrition to the body
They assist the body in creating its own vitamins and natural antibiotics and are also responsible for up to 80% of the body’s immunity.
They are responsible for fighting infections and preventing the build-up of disease-causing bacteria.

Probiotics that are effective against diarrhea
Probiotic therapy has been shown to help reduce the severity and frequency of diarrhea related to infection and antibiotic use.

Probiotics that may improve IBS symptoms
Certain probiotics have been shown to help relieve bloating, abdominal pain, and other symptoms of IBS.

Probiotics that might help you lose weight
Results from several studies suggest that certain probiotics may promote fat loss in obese people, however, more research is needed.

Probiotics to support brain health
Brain and gut health are strongly connected.
Taking specific probiotics may help to promote better mental health and reduce anxiety, sadness, and depression.

Probiotics that may improve heart health
Taking certain probiotic supplements may help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol and decrease blood pressure.

Probiotics to boost immunity Taking probiotics may help strengthen your immune system and help to reduce the risk of infection and illness

Why does your body need probiotics?

Essentially probiotics increase the number of healthy organisms in your gut and reduce the number of bacteria that could be harmful.

• They strengthen the gut barrier against harmful substances
• They support the immune system in the gut
• They lessen inflammation in the gut
• They help digest and absorb nutrients

Research has shown that your gut microbiome can be thrown off balance by several factors including:

• Medications especially antibiotics
• Too much alcohol
• Stress
• Poor sleep
• Disease

This means the good bacteria that work well within your body may reduce in number which allows bad bacteria to take over.
Harmful bacteria have been linked with several conditions including obesity, heart disease, allergies, and cancer.

What conditions have probiotics proven to benefit?

Diarrhea caused by antibiotics
This has been well established that taking probiotics whilst on antibiotics can prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea in both children and adults.
Irritable bowel syndrome
Probiotics are effective in the treatment of IBS, especially, for lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium

Mixed reviews about what conditions can be improved by a probiotic

• Recurrent urine infections – Studies have been mixed but a benefit can’t be ruled out
• Bacterial vaginosis and vaginal thrush – Results are unclear if there is a beneficial impact
• Eczema – Unfortunately, in large studies probiotic strains make little or no difference in improving eczema symptoms

What are the risks of taking probiotics?

There haven’t been any specific studies looking at the safety of probiotics but in general, they are safe except when someone is critically ill.

• There might be a risk of allergy to probiotics, which is the same risk one might have had to any other food or medicine
  This can include upset tummy, gas, diarrhea, or bloating
• One of the criticisms levelled at probiotics is that the products may not contain the actual strain of microbe that they are supposed to have
• That the quantities of live microbes are too low or too weak to have an effect and potentially they may contain harmful microbes
• Those with immune system disorders, or those that are critically ill or have had surgery are at greater risk of infections and other side effects.
  That being said, the risks are still very low in the general scheme of things.

 

Should you start taking probiotic supplements?

The answer to this depends on the condition you are trying to treat and which probiotic to use.

Sources
myclevelandclinic.org – probiotics what is it benefits side effects
webmd.com – risks and benefits of probiotics
health.harvard.edu – health benefits of taking probiotics
nccih.nih.gov- probiotics what you need to know

https://youtu.be/1sISguPDlhY https://youtu.be/B9RruLkAUm8