Collagen is a protein that’s abundant in the human body. It’s found in body parts such as bones, tissues, muscles, skin, tendons, intestines, ligaments, blood vessels, and organs. As you age, your body produces less collagen. When your body suffers from low levels of collagen, this may cause problems such as gut issues, wrinkles, joint pain, weak muscles, and tight tendons and ligaments.
Another possible cause of low amounts of collagen in the body is improper diet. If you’re not getting enough collagen in your diet, you may take collagen peptide supplements to keep your body healthy. Among the available supplements are marine collagen peptides, which are claimed to come with a myriad of advantages. The composition of marine collagen, extracted from fish scales or skin, is meant to help your body obtain the following health benefits.
1) Better Skin Health
Collagen is an important makeup of the skin. It’s said to perform a critical role in strengthening your skin, improving its elasticity, and increasing its hydration. Since the body produces less collagen as you age, it may result in dry skin and wrinkles. Therefore, it may be best to take collagen supplements to prevent dryness, wipe off wrinkles, and reduce the rate of skin aging.
If you take collagen supplements, it may trigger your body to produce collagen on its own. It’s believed these supplements may also help in protecting your skin from acne and other skin ailments. However, more scientific studies are needed to fully prove this claim.
2) Bone Loss Reduction
Human bones are made of collagen, which contributes to improving their density and keeping them strong. When the body produces a low amount of collagen, it may cause a reduction in bone mass. This may cause ailments, such as osteoporosis, which normally results in low bone density and increased chances of bone fractures. By taking collagen peptides and supplements, however, bone breakdown could be prevented, which may reduce the chances of osteoporosis.
3) Muscle Mass Improvement
The human muscles are said to be composed of 1-10% collagen. This protein in the body is key to keeping your muscles properly functioning and strong. Especially for people with sarcopenia, a condition associated with the loss of muscle mass and function, mostly occurring among older persons, taking collagen supplements could help improve your muscles. These supplements may also increase the synthesis of key muscle proteins, such as creatine, and may trigger muscle growth after exercise. However, more studies are currently being made to explain the impact of collagen on muscles.
4) Better Heart Health
Consuming collagen supplements or peptides may help you lower the risk of getting heart-related conditions. Collagen may improve the structure of your arteries, which transport blood out of your heart to other parts of your body.
The lack of enough collagen could result in fragile arteries. With time, this may cause atherosclerosis, a sickness that results in narrow arteries. In turn, severe atherosclerosis may lead to stroke and heart attack. However, long-term consumption of collagen is believed to reduce the level of artery stiffness.
5) Joint Pain Relief
Collagen is thought to improve the strength of your cartilage, a rubber-like tissue that cushions your joints. Given that the level of collagen in your body decreases as you age, this may result in degenerative joint disorders, like osteoarthritis.
In case you’re suffering from osteoarthritis, consuming collagen supplements or peptides may help alleviate the symptoms of osteoarthritis and overall joint pain. Taking supplemental collagen may cause its accumulation in your cartilage tissues, triggering them to produce body collagen. It’s also believed to reduce inflammation and improve joint support.
6) Faster Wound Healing and Scar Reduction
Supplements containing collagen are thought to influence faster and complete healing of wounds. Collagen may help in the regeneration of your skin after an injury or deformation, like burns, scars, and rashes. This protein may also boost cell proliferation, regeneration of the extracellular matrix for tissue strength, and protein synthesis.
Conclusion
General body health is important for the normal functioning of your body. But as you age, the secretion of important proteins, like collagen, in your body may go below the required percentage. However, supplements such as marine collagen, extracted from fish scales and skin, may help you boost collagen amount in your body. You can also try the more popular bovine collagen such as Great Lakes Wellness collagen hydrolysate as another possible collagen source.
