As a wellbeing advocate in menopause and mindful nutrition. I have to say I was totally confused about whether as a perimenopausal woman as to whether I should be taking a collagen supplement? should it be powder or capsule or should it be in liquid form ???and what will it actually do for my body.
My own mind is completely blown away at how many products we are being sold and who do you trust?
Well I am a firm believer that you should get all of your information from the correct sources. My go to, for information on how I should be helping my body is Zoe Nutrition. Why ? because all of their information is evidence based and with the top nutritional scientist and doctors that really do know their stuff.
But how do I know this? because I have read so much information in the past and I am constantly updated my knowledge and facts and checking for conflicting advice. Zoe Nutrition has come up with the best information every time.
So here is what I have found out about the much discussed and advertised Collagen.
Collagen is a protein and is built from amino acids. One of its main roles is to help your body maintain its structure.
It does this job in a wide range of places, these include, skin tendons, bones and ligaments.
Collagen is really important as it makes up a total of 30% of the protein in your body.
Or body makes new collagen throughout our life and the production starts to decrease with age and there is an increase in in enzymes that break down collagen. So this helps explain why our skin becomes less firm and we are more likely to have wrinkles. So really after understanding what collagen is and what it does and knowing that it decreases with age, surely it makes sense to take collagen?
Hair, nails and skin-
HAIR
Our hair is made from a protein called keratin and collagen is a component of hair follicles which are the tiny structures that grow our hair.
All the advertising we see for Collagen supplements is that it can reduce hair loss, promote growth and provide other benefits. However there is no scientific evidence that this is actually the case. So if this is the reason why you are buying collagen then maybe you need to rethink.
NAILS
There is now good evidence that collagen supplements support healthy nails. However there was a small study in 2017 where some investigation was done on collagen supplements and what effects it had on nails. Their results from 25 participants who used collagen in the hope it would help with their nails, showed that it did actually help with nail growth and brittle nails. BUT this was not a controlled group, so it makes it impossible to know if the supplement was responsible for the improvement or whether it was other factors including chance?
SKIN
Collagen creams are meant to help with collagen production. The molecules are too large to get through the uppermost layer of skin so sadly the creams don’t work.
So we are now at the oral collagen question? does this work? so far it has been non evidence based on the above hair, skin and nails but now this is where it gets interesting ?
There have been quite a few studies looking at the effects of the oral collagen supplements and their conclusions have been really mixed.
Zoe Nutrition podcast spoke with a Dermatologist Dr Justine Kluk, She talked about how the collagen is broken down in the gut and the amino acids then travel to your skin and accumulate. This is then meant to trigger the production of collagen and elastin. She mentioned there had been some favourable effects when people have taken it.
A 2021 review and meta analysis of studies into collagen supplements and skin concluded that the ingestion of hydrolyzed collagen for 90 days is effective in reducing skin aging. So improving wrinkles, elasticity and hydration. Although she stated that not all studies have shown a benefit
This is confusing right ? well she then goes on to say that a lot of the studies are sponsored by companies that make supplements so they of course want the data to be presented in a way that it shows a good effect. The products also used in these trials will also include added vitamins and antioxidants, making it even harder to work out what compounds have actually helped.
So in summary what’s the alternative?
Be mindful of your skin in the sun. 15 minutes is usually a good amount of time and then think about wearing a hat! Sun isn’t the enemy its good for you just been mindful of your skin. Also eat more plants and increasing your polyphenol intake having more fibre, reducing or cutting out Ultra processed foods and adding pro and prebiotic foods to your diet, will help every part of your body.
Sadly there is no evidence that collagen supports your hair or nail health and creams won’t look after your skin. Oral supplements may support healthy skin as you age but the evidence isn’t super compelling.
So if you decide to take the plunge and see how it may help support you then I would recommend trying Ancient and Brave.
