We have heard the term “
collagen” a lot lately...Well, what makes collagen so popular? What is collagen? And, what does it do?
Collagen is a substance that is present between the cells and holds them together. The most important function of collagen in the skin and muscle cells is to strengthen the connective tissue and maintain the body integrity and to provide structural support for bone, cartilage and muscle tissues. Many of us thinks that collagen is only present in our skin and helps to reduce the signs of aging. Collagen improves skin brightness and elasticity as well as hold tendons, joints and organs together.
The body produces it is own collagen from the moment we open our eyes to this world till the day we pass. The rate of collagen production starts to decline at about age 25 and further declines at about age 35. And, the signs of collagen deficiency are mostly noticed on our skin. When our skin becomes dull and starts to sag and wrinkle by loosening it is firmness, our body begins to give signals that something is wrong! Besides all these, joint pains, dental and nail problems develop.
There is No Single Type of Collagen
There are at least 16 known types of collagen, but 80-90% of the collagen in our body consists of Types 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10. Type 1; is the most abundant type of collagen in human body and it is effect is mostly felt on skin, joints. It supports the bones and holds the joints together.
Type 2; makes contribution to cartilage production and supports the joint health. Type 3; forms hearth blood vessels and blood tissue and increases skin firmness.
Type 5; serves for placenta, forms the surface of developing organ to provide the baby with oxygen and nutrition in pregnancy and removes wastes. Type 10; plays an important role in the formation of bones, improves bone fractures and repairs synovial joints.
How Collagen is Taken Naturally?
There are many nutrients we can take collagen naturally. Of course, the most known one among them is bone broth. Important substances such as glycine, proline and arginine in bone broth are natural, effective sources of collagen for the human body.
However, if you have a cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol, you should be careful when consuming bone broth. You can take collagen naturally by eating egg white. If we eat the whole egg, we intake both collagen and high protein.
We can take collagen naturally by eating green-leafy vegetables such as purslane, spinach, arugula, parsley. Just a little remainder: We should consume enough Vitamin C together collagen. Thus, we can support the collagen production by eating citrus fruits.
There is another important reason for garlic, that is a reputation as a cureall, to be included in our diets: Sulfur! Garlic is rich in sulfur, which is another factor to support the collagen production.
Superfood or Miracle from the Sea: Algae
It may sound weird but algae will support the collagen production in your body. Algae known as spirulina is available in powder so you can consume it by adding to a fruit juice.
