Playing your guitar under your neighbors’ balconies, putting on brightly printed clothes, running barefoot in the rain and watching the sunrise on the rooftop – all this (and a little more) can be done at any age, if you choose to stay young.
Collagen is far from the last link in solving this issue. This component is responsible for the general health and appearance of a person.
Is it possible to take “youth” in pills? What foods contain collagen and what is it for?
We talked about this with an expert and are ready to tell you a lot of interesting things. Ekaterina Slobodyanyuk – nutritional consultant, member of the public association “Nutritionists of Russia”.
– Ekaterina, the first question will be a little trivial: why, in a nutshell, does our body need collagen?
– In short, collagen is a structural protein that serves as a building material for the connective tissues of the body. It is part of the skin, bones, tendons, ligaments and so on, providing their strength and elasticity.
– Is it possible to understand that the body does not have enough collagen?
– The most famous manifestation is the appearance of wrinkles, which are a consequence of the decrease in collagen in the body during the aging process. There may also be an early appearance of wrinkles, thinning of the skin, its excessive extensibility and dryness, fragility of bones, pain in joints, their stiffness and much more. These symptoms are not enough for diagnosis, but for a start, you can pay attention to them, and to your general well-being and your diet.
– Let’s go from the opposite: if the body does not have enough protein (thanks to which collagen is synthesized), then collagen is also a priori not enough?
– For the synthesis of collagen in the body, you need a sufficient amount of protein (namely, amino acids into which protein breaks down during digestion), so your statement is true: if there is not enough protein – for example, in case of unbalanced and inadequate nutrition or diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, in which there is disorders of digestion and absorption of proteins, then collagen will not be synthesized in sufficient quantities to cover all the body’s needs for this component.
– What natural functional products can be used to replenish collagen reserves?
– In order to give the body material for collagen synthesis (that is, to give it amino acids), it is enough to eat animal protein or a combination of different plant proteins.
Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids that are divided into two groups:
Replaceable – synthesized from other amino acids;
Indispensable, which “must” enter the body with food, since they are not synthesized in it themselves.
The “gold standard” for protein quality, that is, for the presence of all essential amino acids, is a chicken egg. Other good sources are gelatin, organ meats, bone broth, cottage cheese, chicken skin, fish, and meat.
– Is it true that pure collagen as a supplement is not effective, and why?
– This is indeed the case. Any protein ingested with food or as a supplement is broken down into amino acids during the digestion process. Those, in turn, are “reassembled” back into proteins in the human body for certain needs – for example, they act as a source of energy, breaking down to water and carbon dioxide.
These amino acids can enter the cells of various tissues and organs (heart, skeletal muscle, brain). And, accordingly, there is no reason to believe that a collagen supplement – for example, to improve the condition of nails – will direct its “attention” directly to the nails or will have more benefits for the body than the same cottage cheese or fish, which, in addition to proteins, also contain a lot useful for the body vitamins and minerals.
Also speaking about essential amino acids: there are few of them in collagen. Therefore, instead of buying collagen supplements, a balanced and varied diet with a protein rich in essential amino acid composition will be more beneficial for the body.
– When can collagen supplements bring real results? (For example, if the composition contains a number of other useful compounds)
– If there are serious diseases established by a doctor, when there is a lack of protein, including collagen, then it is possible to prescribe supplements with it in combination with work on improving your diet.
There are collagen supplements with a varied composition of vitamins E, C, D, acids, trace elements, and so on, which can have a complex positive effect – in particular, on a person’s appearance or well-being. And in practice, taking such supplements most often occurs in parallel with improving the daily routine and nutrition, normalizing sleep, which in itself can help the body and all its internal processes, including collagen synthesis.
And if you look at the research, there are currently no qualitative trials that support the superiority of collagen supplementation over protein from food.
Therefore, from a nutritional point of view, no matter how miraculous a collagen pill is, it will not replace a complete and balanced diet.
The material was prepared by Alexandra Goryunova