What do you think of when you hear the word “collagen”?
Chances are you conjure up images of glamorous celebrities looking for ways to maintain their youthful appearance and vibrancy as they surpass the (gasp!) age of 30.
In some ways, you’d be absolutely right. Collagen can be used as a beautifying treatment to enhance all manner of physical features.
But there’s so much more to it than this.
Collagen is a protein that our bodies actively need to perform various tasks and functions at their best.
But, as we age, our natural levels of collagen production start to decline—and this can often lead to signs of ageing that we generally want to avoid.
Which is when people begin turning to collagen supplements as a way to reverse the trend.
It appears to work for the celebs, so surely it can also work for you—right?
To find out, let’s take a look at what collagen is, the different types of collagen, the health benefits of collagen, and everything else you need to know before you start taking collagen supplements for yourself.
What is collagen?
We’ve already mentioned that collagen is a type of protein. But it’s actually the most abundant protein in the human body, making up a significant portion of our skin, bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues.
Physically, collagen is made up of amino acids, which are essential for maintaining tissue health and regeneration. Collagen also provides structural support to these body parts.
In doing so, collagen contributes hugely to their strength, stability, integrity, and overall function.
But, as we age, our body's natural collagen production decreases, leading to changes in skin elasticity, joint health, and other connective tissue functions. This is the kind of stuff that can fill us with dread as we age.
That’s why supplementing with collagen is becoming more and more popular—to help support these vital functions, promoting better all-round health and wellbeing in the process.
Read more: The ultimate guide to collagen: everything you need to know
What are the different types of collagen?
So that’s what collagen does. It serves multiple essential biological functions. But there are several different types found in your body—each with their own specific roles and locations within the tissues…
- Type I: The most abundant type of collagen in the body. It’s found in various places, such as skin, bones, tendons, ligaments, and teeth. This type of collagen provides structure and support to all of these tissues and helps keep them strong.
- Type II: Primarily found in cartilage, this type of collagen helps to cushion and protect your joints, contributing to better joint flexibility and enhanced mobility.
- Type III: Often found alongside Type I collagen in tissues like skin, blood vessels, and internal organs. It plays a role in giving tissues their elasticity and structure.
- Type IV: Found in basement membranes, which provide support and separation between different tissues. Type IV collagen is essential for maintaining tissue integrity.
- Type V: Found in cell surfaces, hair, and placenta. Type V plays a role in regulating the assembly of collagen fibres and supporting tissue development.
- Type X: Mainly found in the growth plates of bones, this type of collagen contributes towards bone formation and growth during development.
These different types of collagen may have varying structures and jobs, with each playing a crucial role in maintaining the health and integrity of specific tissues in your body.
But between them, they cover a wide range of biological functions and provide a whole load of health benefits, which we’ll look at next.
Read more: Bovine vs Marine Collagen: what is the difference?
11 health and beauty benefits of collagen
So, just what are the beauty and health benefits of collagen?
We’ve seen what collagen does and the different types that can be found inside your body.
Now let’s dig a little deeper and find out exactly what supplementary collagen could mean for you.
1. Younger-looking skin
Collagen plays a key role in maintaining skin strength. It can also enhance skin elasticity and improve skin hydration levels.
This leads to improved skin health, smoother texture, enhanced firmness, and increased moisture content.
Plus, collagen helps to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and promote a youthful complexion—those exact anti-aging effects that you want for your skin as you get older.
It’s the secret behind the much-coveted natural look that requires less makeup and fewer skincare products and other cosmetics to keep you fresh-faced and elegantly youthful.
2. Better joint health and pain relief
Collagen is a vital component of connective tissues that cushion and protect your joints, like tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.
Supplementing with collagen has been shown to provide extra support to your joints by alleviating joint pain, improving joint function, and reducing symptoms of conditions like osteoarthritis.
All of this can mean better joint flexibility, mobility, and overall joint health for you.
3. Improved digestion and gut health
Collagen contains important amino acids like glycine and glutamine, which aid in repairing and strengthening the gut lining.
By supporting the integrity of the gastrointestinal tract, collagen also contributes to better gut health, enhanced digestion, and more efficient nutrient absorption.
So, that’s a happy and healthy tummy for you from now on.
4. Increased bone strength
Collagen provides structure to your bones to help them maintain their strength and improve bone mineral density—which is particularly important as you age, and bones will naturally start to weaken somewhat.
Supplementing with collagen can have a positive effect on this framework by contributing to the health of your bones and reducing your risk of bone fractures and bone-related conditions such as osteoporosis.
5. Healthier hair and stronger nails
Some of the most sought-after beautifying effects of collagen that those celebs are all striving for are resilient nails and sleek, shiny hair.
And, wow, do they get them.
When your body has enough collagen, it can keep your hair looking glossy and gorgeous by promoting stronger and healthier strands.
Having healthy collagen levels will also make your nails tougher so that they’re less likely to crack or chip. Bonus.
6. Enhanced muscle recovery and growth
Along with bones and tissues like cartilage, collagen supplementation can also aid muscle recovery and growth by further supporting connective tissue and promoting the synthesis of muscle proteins.
This contribution to the structure of muscles supports their proper functioning and aids their repair after exercise.
So, if you like to keep active (and you certainly should try, especially as you get older), collagen can help improve your overall performance and help you stay fit and strong.
7. Improved heart health
Along with muscular improvements, collagen also provides cardiovascular benefits.
It provides structural support to your blood vessels and arteries, contributing to overall heart health and potentially reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases.
A strong and healthy heart isn’t just important for those times when you want to exercise either—it’s crucial for your general health and to keep your blood pumping as you go about your daily life.
You should never overlook your heart health, as it's a key part of being able to keep yourself young.
8. Aids metabolism and weight management
In addition to its health and fitness effects, collagen is also beneficial for weight loss efforts.
As a satiating protein, collagen can actually help reduce your appetite so that you’re less likely to crave unhealthy foods or overeat during the day.
Likewise, oral collagen supplementation has shown potential in being able to boost your metabolism.
This enhanced rate of energy expenditure can then lead to increased calorie burn and extra weight loss—which, as we all know, usually becomes much harder to achieve with age.
9. Enhanced healing
Just as it can provide better pain relief and reduce joint aches and pains, collagen plays an important role in the wound healing process.
By promoting faster and more efficient tissue repair, collagen is heavily involved in wound repair and tissue regeneration, helping you heal more efficiently from minor injuries.
10. Promotes healthy teeth and gums
Your dental hygiene also gets a boost from enhanced collagen production, as it’s an essential component of the connective tissues that support your teeth and gums.
Raising your collagen levels can therefore contribute to healthy oral tissues and prevent nasty conditions like gum disease and tooth loss—which nobody wants to experience at any age.
11. Better nerve health
Not the most obvious of benefits, but it’s certainly an important one nonetheless.
An underrated function of collagen is its ability to help maintain the protective covering (the myelin sheath) around nerves to support their proper functioning.
This impact on nerve health can be substantial, as it directly influences the maintenance and function of your nervous system.
Collagen can improve nerve function, reduce nerve pain, and boost overall neurological well-being by supporting nerve structure, providing neuroprotective effects, and potentially reducing inflammation.
What this means for you is reduced signs of mental and cognitive ageing—and a healthier brain that stays sharp and active over the years.
Are there any side effects to taking collagen?
All of these benefits sound great. Oh, and thankfully, oral collagen supplements are generally considered safe with minimal reported side effects.
While collagen supplementation may sometimes lead to mild digestive symptoms like bloating, diarrhoea, and constipation, it's important to note that these effects are typically rare and mild in nature.
So, if you want to increase the amount of collagen that your body has at its disposal, then supplements are the way to go, as they’re generally considered much safer than injections or surgical procedures—for multiple reasons…
- They’re less risky: As you take them orally, supplements eliminate the need for invasive procedures like injections or surgery. This reduces the risk of complications associated with these procedures, such as infection, bleeding, or adverse reactions to anesthesia.
- They’re safe: Most collagen supplements are typically derived from natural sources, like bovine or marine collagen. So they undergo rigorous quality control measures during manufacturing to ensure that the supplements are safe and free from contaminants.
- They’re natural: Supplemental collagen can provide a more gradual and natural increase in collagen levels in the body. Injections, on the other hand, involve direct delivery of collagen into specific areas, which can carry a higher risk of uneven distribution, overcorrection, or adverse reactions.
- They’re convenient: Supplements offer the convenience of being readily available over-the-counter or online. So you’re easily able to incorporate them into your daily routine without the need for medical procedures or consultations and without any unnecessary risks.
Do I need a collagen supplement?
So, should you take a collagen supplement?
If you want to push back against signs of ageing, then absolutely.
Smooth, supple skin. Shiny, luscious hair. Luxurious nails. Strong bones and healthy joints. Better all-round physical and cognitive health. What’s not to love?
This is what collagen does for you.
But the real trick is to find a collagen supplement that contains additional ingredients—ones that get your body producing extra collagen of its own, on top of the boost you’ll be getting from the collagen contained in the supplement itself.
YourBiology’s Collagen+ does all of this and more. There’s marine collagen to enhance your natural radiance, hyaluronic acid for additional joint support, plus eight extra vitamins and minerals to stave off ageing and keep you young.
Getting older is inevitable, but fading away meekly isn’t. You can make your thirties, forties, fifties, and beyond whatever you want them to be—and it all starts with taking care of yourself with collagen.
Grab some Collagen+ for yourself to stop ageing in its tracks and rediscover those feelings of youth. It’s time to flip the script…for good.
