Collagen is a complex protein, and not in an ”it has a lot of feelings’ way. Collagen is a hard, insoluble and fibrous protein that makes up one third of the protein in the human body.1 There are 16 different types of collagen but 80-90% of the collagen is type 1, 2 & 3. Collagen help to support and attach cells to each other, helping the body become strong & flexible.1 Collagen can be found throughout the body. It’s in our skin, bones, and connective tissue.1 It’s also hard at work helping our skin stay elastic, our joints stay un-creaky, our connective tissues stay flexible.1
As time goes on, the body makes less collagen. Collagen production also drops due to too much sun exposure, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, decrease amounts of sleep and exercise.2 In the skin, collagen product decreases along with the tightly organized network becoming unorganized2 which leads to the wrinkles and loss of skin’s elasticity.
Let’s take a closer look at how, exactly, collagen can help supplement your lifestyle.
COLLAGEN CAN HELP BUILD LEAN MUSCLE
Building lean muscle is not only important for athletes but also important for overall health and aging. To build lean muscle, amino acids are needed. What a better source of amino acids than collagen?! Collagen contains 19 out of the 20 amino acids and is a great source of proline and glycine.3 Interesting research showed benefit in lean muscle mass & strength after participants did resistance training and supplemented with collagen within an hour.4
COLLAGEN CAN HELP SUPPORT CONNECTIVE TISSUES
While you’re hard at work building that muscle mass, don’t forget about your connective tissue. Just like muscles and joints, connective tissues like tendons and ligaments get strained and broken down by exercise. But, since they’re made up of collagen, a collagen supplement can help connective tissues rebuild after a vigorous workout.