Collagen is a type of protein that constitutes an essential part of our body where it is used as a connective tissue that keeps bones, joints, muscles, and skin cells together. Mainly collagen is said to be an enhancing tool to uplift our skin quality, improve hair growth and texture and also benefit our body with a better bone health.
Collage comes off as an important aspect in maintaining a healthy lifestyle but not a lot of people show concern regarding it. Studies show that with increase in our age, the collagen production within the body starts deteriorating and at a certain point stop. This may lead to having a saggy skin with lost moisture and elasticity, weakening of our bones especially joints and a wee muscle mass that covers up our body.
And so, there are a number of brands that market eating collagen supplements in the form of tables and gummies that are claimed to be effective when followed well by an effective yet healthy diet. All the efforts of a supplement comes down to the type of diet you are consuming for it to work well.
This makes us a conclusion that no matter how many varieties of supplements you might take to improve your collagen requirements but the naturally produced collagen in the body will only work well when it induced by the natural method of having a nutritious balanced diet. A diet rich in healthy fats, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and minerals help to restore the normal collagen production in the body, without any outer supplement.
How does Collagen help in the maintenance of our body?
Like many other essential proteins in our body, Collagen also has a set function to perform in our body that are crucial, important and help our body feel its best in the later years of life. Collagen when produced well enough in body not only enhances the quality of our skin and hair but also internally improve the bone and joint health, muscle mass and ligament connectivity in the body. So, below mentioned are the few functions that are performed by collagen to maintain our overall health,
1.Supports Skin Health: Collagen is most likely used in all kinds of skin products to improve the skin elasticity and texture of our skin naturally. Collagen constitutes the most part of our skin tissues that are responsible for its healthy vibrant glow and moisture. As we age the natural collagen production in our body deteriorates and we need a supplement or a healthy diet and a better lifestyle to bring back its production to normal.
2.Strengthens Bones and Joints: Collagen being a great example of connective tissues, are important to maintain the health of our joints and bone structure. They are a type of protein that helps provide bones its basic structure to hold on to, so that the minerals absorbed by the body get placed correctly to strengthen the bone structure and most importantly the joints to be super healthy.
3.Promotes Muscle Mass: Being a major part of protein collagen help produce enough muscles in the body that is essential for a healthy individual to sustain. These collagen protein help in healing up broken tissues, wounds and other damaged muscle parts and strengthen the overall connectivity of our muscles.
4.Boosts Hair and Nail Growth: As we all know that nail and hair production in our body are greatly affected by the type of protein we consume for their health and quality. Collagen is the best type of protein required by our body to have a healthy long hair and a sturdy nail as well. The quality of our hair and nails really gets impacted by collagen that provides more moisture to our hair and makes our nails less brittle.
5.Aids Digestion and Gut Health: Collagen being an effective connective tissue as it is providing strengthen to various parts of our where there is a need for reparation in the connective tissues. One such example is our digestive tract. The inner lining of our digestive tract is made with a mucous layer and connective tissues that tolerate a whole lot of acid produced by our stomach and get damaged. This damage is repaired by the collagen protein and help maintain a healthy digestion process in the body.
Collagen-rich foods for bones and joints
- Bone Broth: Bone broth is a high-quality protein delicacy that made with the incorporation of chicken/beef bone that is high on collagen protein and is cooked and boiled to form a broth soup. This dish is packed with all the key nutrients from the animal source and are rich in collagen protein with 6-12 grams per serve and help support the overall health of our joints.
- Fish with Edible Bones: Mostly fatty fishes like salmon and sardines are high on healthy fats, omega-3 fatty acids and collagen in them that help replenish the lost collagen requirement in our body. Although is it recommended to have these kinds of fishes in every 2-3 days, they still offer a total of 2-4 grams of collagen in 3 ounce of edible fish bones in them. These fishes do have edibles bones in them that rea safe to eat and provide high quality collagen.
- Chicken: Chicken when consumed from its high muscle areas such as thighs, breast and drumsticks that contain high amounts of protein in them that are broken down in the form of collagen while cooking and consumed for a good quality collagen source. These chicken dishes provide a total of 2-3 grams of collagen protein per serving.
- Pork Ribs: Any kind of pork meat is a great source of collagen for our body as they are made with a large part of connective tissues all over that when cooked in healthy fats release the stored collagen in them and nourish our body. Pork cooked in any for can be used as a source of collagen with providing a total of 4-6 grams of collagen per serving.
- Beef: Beef in the form of soup is the most useful way to incorporate collagen rich foods in our diet. Beef being rich in collagen especially the beef ribs and oxtail part, that are highly nutritious and beneficial for our health and also provide a good 3-5 grams of collagen per serving.
Conclusion:
This article provides the information on how well the collagen helps our body with various functions as well as the different sources of collagen for promoting bone and joint health.
FAQ
Q. Does collagen help with hair and nail health?
A- As we all know that nail and hair production in our body are greatly affected by the type of protein we consume for their health and quality. Collagen is the best type of protein required by our body to have a healthy long hair and a sturdy nail as well. The quality of our hair and nails really gets impacted by collagen that provides more moisture to our hair and makes our nails less brittle.
