Do Collagen Supplements Really Work?

Okay, so I’m sure you’re seeing all over TV and “mommy blogs” that collagen supplements are all the rage and the next big thing in anti-aging supplements.

And I’m also sure by now you’re scoffing and writing it off as something too good to be true. Understandable. But I’m here to tell you to give collagen a chance.

First, let’s talk about what exactly collagen is.

Collagen is a special type of protein that acts as the support for your body. It’s responsible in the formation of tendons, ligaments, muscles, and cartilage. Collagen also provides strength for your bones, flexibility for your joints, and smoothness in your skin. Basically, collagen is kind of a big deal.

Here’s the thing; as we age, our bodies don’t produce as much collagen.

That’s where collagen supplements can help with restoring a normal level of collagen production. You’ve probably heard about the benefits of a collagen supplement for hair, skin, and nails. I’ll bet you even know someone who’s raving about it for this very reason, but here are a few more reasons to consider taking a collagen supplement:

1. Collagen Helps Relieve Pain: A lack of collagen can lead to joint pain, inflammation, and deterioration. This is because collagen provides a gel-like structure that holds our bones together, and it allows us to move without pain. As we age and our collagen production decreases, we often find that we end up with more joint pain and arthritic symptoms. Since it also supports the re-growth of joint tissue, that “bone on bone” pain experienced by arthritis sufferers can be alleviated. A collagen supplement can restore the smooth coating that holds our skeleton together, reducing the amount of joint and muscle pain we experience.

2. Collagen Helps Your Skin in More Ways Than One: Collagen can help prevent the appearance of wrinkles, cellulite, and stretch marks. It can also improve certain skin conditions and leave your skin feeling soft and supple. Since collagen is responsible for making skin feel soft, it is also the reason that as we age, we develop wrinkles and cracks where our skin moves the most. Boosting collagen as we age can help fight the appearance of wrinkles. Collagen can also repair the tissue in our body that cause cellulite to appear in the first place. It also helps restore skin’s elasticity in order to combat wrinkles and stretch marks.

3. Collagen Supports Healthy Teeth and Bones: Collagen is one of the building blocks for healthy teeth and bones. Collagen stimulates bone-creating cells. Throughout our lives, our bodies go through a natural process of bone cell creation and destruction in order to maintain a healthy structure. As we age, less creation takes place, and therefore, a collagen supplement can aid our body’s creation of bone-creating cells. This is beneficial to our smile as well since our teeth and jaw are essentially bone. Collagen also forms the structure of our gums. Avoiding sugar and consuming collagen-rich bone broth can provide proper nutrition that promotes healthy teeth and bones.

4. Collagen Promotes a Healthy Heart and Liver: Collagen contains glycine, the amino acid that helps reduce liver damage after it absorbs foreign substances. With all the toxins we are exposed to on a daily basis, it’s important for our liver to be able to detox properly. A collagen supplement or collagen-rich bone broth is a quick and easy way to detox your liver and other vital organs. Do you know what the walls of your arteries are made of? You guessed it: collagen. Having healthy collagen in your bodies is vital in preventing the hardening of your arteries. In addition to a collagen supplement, ensuring that you get enough Vitamin C is crucial since it’s the vitamin for growing new collagen. 

5. Collagen Grows Strong Hair and Nails: Collagen is crucial in hair growth because it fights off free radicals that can impact its texture, growth, and thickness. As we age and our natural collagen production goes down, our hair can start to thin out. Collagen strengthens and thickens air, and can also aid in the speed of hair growth. Collagen is also responsible for building strong and healthy nails because like hair, they are composed of keratin, minerals, and collagen. A collagen supplement can lead to stronger, healthier skin and hair.

6. Collagen Can Help You Lose Weight: I’ll bet you haven’t heard about this one. Collagen can not only boost metabolism, but it can also reduce our appetite. Glycine helps form muscle tissue by helping to convert glucose into energy. So, while collagen doesn’t directly help you lose weight, it does aid in the processes that are responsible for weight loss and muscle building.

7. Collagen Can Promote Sleep and Balance Hormones: If your hormones are imbalanced, it can spell serious trouble for your health. Collagen helps balance insulin, cortisol, estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, melatonin, progesterone, and human growth hormone because they contain the necessary amino acids to make all of these hormones. Proper balance of these hormones can lead to proper moods, sleep, and fat loss just to name a few things. Since hormone balance can be achieved, collagen has been linked to alleviating anxiety symptoms. Glycine in collagen works to improve the quality of our sleep and can help combat daytime drowsiness. Balancing melatonin can ensure that we feel tired at the right time of night.

So, there you have it. Collagen supplements are not all hair, skin, and nails. In fact, many women have reported that they started taking a supplement just for these things and found that their pain disappeared and their overall health improved. Now you can see what all the fuss is about.