These days, we don’t just want to feel OK. We want to feel
absolutely, positively amazing—and look the part, too.
Aging gracefully depends on how you nurture your body.
Today, a trove of studies shows the importance of following a nutrient-dense
diet, being active and taking dietary supplements to support a healthy aging
process. One of the clear standouts to help along the way: collagen, an
antiaging nutrient that rose to stardom in Japan decades ago and now is making
its prowess known here in the United States, thanks to innovative,
research-backed products and an understanding that what goes inside your body
supports your skin, hair and nails.
“In Asia, collagen supplements have long been a craze, and
even before [collagen supplements], the tradition of consuming certain foods to
rejuvenate the complexion is an old one,” says Naomi Whittel, founder of
Reserveage Nutrition. “Asian diets are rich in collagen from foods like
homemade bone broth from skin-on, bone-in chicken.”
Found plentifully just about everywhere in our bodies—from our
skin, hair and nails to our bones and joints—collagen is an important protein
for staving off wrinkles and keeping our joints healthy. The problem? As we
age, we start to lose it. A notable decline in your collagen production starts
at age 25, which means relying on your body’s stores simply isn’t enough.
Are you getting enough?
When it comes to collagen, experts agree it’s nearly
impossible to get enough from diet alone, so you have to look elsewhere.
Luckily, with food products getting more functional and supplements using new
delivery formats, it’s no challenge to find products that contain the powerful
antiaging protein.
“My first goal is for my clients to get everything they need
from their food,” says Brooke Alpert, RD, founder of the website and
nutritional practice B Nutritious. That’s why she recommends that clients drink
bone broth, as well as cook bone-in poultry to up their dietary intake of
collagen.
“It’s still not enough to really reap the health and skin
benefits; that’s why I always recommend a collagen supplement.”
Today, supplement companies offer many ways to get collagen.
Whether you favor a pill, a powder or a chewable, collagen supplements are
beneficial for a few reasons: As with other supplements, they can send a quick
dose of the nutrient to your body. Unlike other supplements, a collagen
supplement can also stimulate cells to produce even more collagen at a faster
rate, spawning natural rebuilding of the body’s tissues.
Focus on quality
With the rise of collagen supplements has come more scrutiny
over the quality of ingredients. In order to find a top-notch product, ask your
retailer or the manufacturer about the collagen in products—does clinical
research support its joint or skin benefits? Also be sure to ask where and how
the ingredient was sourced. “Collagen is produced all over the world, so it’s
important to pay attention to the way the animals are raised,” says Corey
Friese, Vital Proteins cofounder and vice president of product strategy. The
three main types of collagen are bovine, chicken and fish, so responsible
companies source only the highest quality ingredients that meet the same
standards you’d look for if you were eating those foods—for example, grass-fed
cattle or wild-caught fish.
Of course, if you’re vegetarian or vegan, collagen is off
limits. That’s one reason that the next frontier for collagen may be
plant-based collagen precursors, Whittel says. “Ingredients such as
high-quality vitamin C, preferably organic plant based; specific amino acids
such as glycine, proline and lysine; and silica-rich compounds such as bamboo
extract all help our bodies synthesize and produce more collagen.” Some
collagen companies are also adding these ingredients to collagen to help you
get more value for your money.
Source: https://goo.gl/vSFrfB
