What is Collagen, how important is it and should we drink it ?

What is Collagen, how important is it and should we drink it ?
by Karen Baraguz on October 15, 2022

WHAT IS COLLAGEN:

Collagen is the MOST ABUNDANT PROTEIN in the body gram for gram, it's stronger than steel.

Collagen makes up:

30% of your body's PROTEIN

80-95% of the protein in your SKIN

(Young skin is composed of 80% type I collagen and about 15% collagen type III)

80% of all protein in your BONES

it also makes the lining in your ARTERIES, ORGANS & INTESTINES.

IMPORTANT FACTS:

By the age of 20 we start to lose collagen from our SKIN at the rate of approx 1% per year.

By the age of 50 years old - we have lost about 25-30% of our skin's collagen.

By 75 years old - we have lost 50-55% of our skin's collagen

Young skin is composed of 80% type I collagen and about 15% collagen type III.

* Collagen levels drop naturally as we age, and while it is true that eating a healthy diet and taking exercise can help us to mitigate (or at least not exacerbate) these falls, regular high-intensity exercise actually depletes our collagen supplies more quickly. 

* You see collagen is the main component of muscle. But long periods of exercise put muscles under pressure. Oxidation, inflammatory reactions and muscle macro and microlesions can occur in the muscles during high-intensity exercise and lead to collagen loss. For this reason, many athletes have been shown to have significantly lower collagen levels than non-athletes of the same age.

* However, all is not lost. Taking a collagen supplement will help maintain and replenish collagen levels, and while we recommend most people do not start taking collagen before the age of 25, anyone involved in rigorous daily sport or training should begin taking collagen significantly earlier from the age of 18. 

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