COLLAGEN - Everything you need to know

Collagen is a relatively new health ‘craze’ that has really come into its own in the last 12 months.

With health benefits ranging from gut health to reducing the appearance of cellulite, no wonder people are going crazy for collagen!

But how much do you know about where the collagen is coming from, and how it works within the body? Below are some points to help you debunk the whole collagen craze, and to see if its right for you.

Collagen is a form of protein that is found in the connective tissues of the body. It is found in bones, joints, cartilage and skin.

As we age the amount of collagen within the body reduces, and in this modern day of eating, we don’t get much of it through our foods. Previously we would be getting collagen from bones in soups and stews, but with these types of foods limited these days it is harder to come by.

Collagen works within the body in a number of different ways. For skin health, it works to give the skin strength and elasticity and works to replace dead skin cells.

Other functions that collagen has on the skin includes:

Reduce cellulite
Acts in dermal (inner) skin area against the root cause of ageing
Slow the process of the skin loosing its firmness
Increase skin moisture significantly

Collagen also helps to protect gut health, increasing gut healing capacity of the body to help boost immune function, mental health and overall digestive function. The college helps to strengthen the intestinal lining.

Joint health is another area which collagen can play a major role. As it stimulates the repair of connective tissue, the cartilage within the joint capsule may be protected against further degeneration.

Collagen vs protein powder vs gelatin powder

In the health and wellness space, we often hear collagen and gelatine get used interchangeably. It is essentially the ‘cleanest’ form of protein on the market, with it just being a pure ingredient being the collagen/gelatin. Rather than traditional protein powders that use fillers, flavours etc along with the protein itself.

They are essentially the same thing, just processed slightly differently. Gelatin is usually used to set foods and thicken foods whilst the collagen is smaller particles, allowing it to be dissolved and used more as a supplement.

Because of the nature of the product the collagen is always from an animal source, often bovine or porcine (beef or pork).

You can get marine sources of collagen from fish.

My favourite brands- these brands are as close to 100% grass fed as you are going to get, plus they are Australian companies.

Nutraorganics