Collagen Powder: Everything You Need To Know

Find out how collagen powder can keep you looking young and vibrant.

In this article:

• What Is Collagen Powder?
• How Is Collagen Powder Processed?
• Where Does Collagen Powder Come from?
• Why Is Collagen Powder Important?
• When Should You Take Collagen Supplements?
• Who Exactly Needs Collagen Powder?

Collagen Powder | What It Is and Its Importance

What Is Collagen Powder?

Collagen is an essential protein in your connective tissues, bones, muscles, and skin. A collagen molecule consists of more than 1,000 essential amino acids. With the rapid advancement in technology, science, and commercial businesses researchers have found that pulverized collagen makes great supplements. This conclusion stems from the fact that powder is easy for the body to absorb.

Powdered collagen supplements help your body produce more of the natural protein, bringing a number of health benefits, including wrinkle reduction, joint pain relief, and gut function improvement.

How Is Collagen Powder Processed?

Collagen powder or hydrolyzed collagen is made through a process called hydrolysis. The procedure includes breaking down the molecular bonds between peptides and collagen strands through biological, chemical, or physical means.

For collagen from animal skin, the usual procedure involves loosening collagen bonds. People who are doing the process place the animal hides in a lime slurry pit for 3 months then, they wash them to eliminate the lime, and soak them in a boiling water to extract the collagen. They, then, concentrate, desiccate, and pulverize the extracted protein.

Where Does Collagen Powder Come from?

It is important to know where your purchased or preferred collagen powder comes from because it has several sources. You might have an aversion of a specific type of meat.

• Egg Collagen

Egg collagen is from the inner (egg whites) and outer (eggshells) membranes of the egg. The egg collagen offers types I and V (usually found in the placenta and hair) collagen.

It aids in connective and joint tissue disorders, enhances skin quality, reduces wrinkles, increases range of motion, decreases stiffness and pain, and improves digestion.

• Marine Collagen

This source is commonly from fish that offer type I collagen. It has a smaller size and has bioavailability and absorption properties. Marine collagen is great for maintaining the strength and health of the hair, nails, eyes, gums, blood vessels, tendons, muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, and skin.

• Animal Collagen

Most collagen supplements are from chickens and cows. Bovine collagen is from cow bones, muscles, and skin and offers types I and III collagen. It’s good for your blood vessels, eyes, bones, tendons, muscles, nails, hair, and skin.

Chicken collagen comes from the bird’s tissues, bones, and cartilage and carries type II collagen. This type of collagen benefits your gut, joints, tendons, bones, and skin.

For vegans, finding the best collagen powder is a waste of time as there is none available that’s plant-based. What they can do instead is to consistently take vitamin C. When this vitamin enters the body, it adds oxygen and hydrogen to lysine and proline (amino acids). This allows the formation of a precursor molecule called pro-collagen, which is modified into collagen outside the cells.

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Why Is Collagen Powder Important?

Naturally, your body produces collagen on a regular basis. But, as you age, your body’s supply slows down. Unhealthy diet, smoking, sun exposure, and health issues affect and deplete its production, too. Low levels of collagen may result in joint pain, sagging skin, and wrinkles. You need collagen supplements to compensate for the lack of supply in your body.

When Should You Take Collagen Supplements?

You do not need to consume collagen supplements at a certain time of day. The important thing is to get the right daily dose of collagen peptides for best results. For example, for skin care benefits, consuming 5,500 to 6,500 mg of collagen peptides can already boost fibroblasts (collagen factories) in your skin.

Is collagen safe to take without food? Yes, it is! The fear of decreasing collagen with stomach acidity should be eliminated because the acidity breaks down collagen supplements into amino acids to help build collagen in the body. So, whether you take it with or without food, it’s totally fine.

Who Exactly Needs Collagen Powder?

It’s natural to expect that collagen supply declines as you age. But, the question is who needs the supplement more? People who are in their mid-twenties start to decrease collagen supply by about 1%. Yes, if you’re in your mid-twenties, this is the ideal time to start taking collagen supplements.

Collagen makes up 75% of your skin. So, if you don’t want to experience premature aging as early as in your mid-twenties, it’s best to start adding collagen powder into your drinks or food.

Watch this video about the health benefits of taking collagen supplements from Christopher Walker:

While collagen powder and supplements help in keeping the skin looking young, it is also important to note that a good skin care routine is essential.

Are you currently taking collagen supplements? Share your experience with us in the comments section! 

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