Everything you need to know when choosing collagen products
14. May 2021
Lifestyle
Collagen is the major protein of the body that makes almost a third of all protein in our bodies. It is one of the major building blocks of bones, muscles, skin, teeth and ligaments. Collagen could also be found in many different organs, like vessels and corneas. You could think of collagen as glue, that holds everything together and provides structure to different body parts.
Be More pais extra attentions to quality. We use only high-quality fish collagen and bovine collagen in our products, which has been tested thorough cooperation between a professional product development team and specialists.
There are 28 different collagen types, but the most common are types I, II, III and IV:
Type I collagen makes up 90% of all the body collagen and gives structure to skin, bones, tendons, connective tissue, and teeth.
Type II collagen is found in elastic cartilage, which works as a cushion for the joints.
Type III collagen supports the structure of muscles, different organs and arteries.
Type IV collagen helps with filtration and it could be found in different skin layers.
When we are younger, our body is able to produce enough collagen, but the older we get the less our body produces it. One of the visible signs is the condition of the skin – wrinkles and lost firmness. Even though it is possible to stimulate production of collagen with nutritious and balanced food, different body care products with collagen, collagen powders and other food supplements become more and more popular.
What is the difference between fish collagen and bovine collagen?
The most common collagen today is hydrolyzed bovine collagen. But more and more people discover fish or marine collagen.
Bovine collagen consists of types I and type III collagen, but fish collagen is made up mainly of type I collagen. It doesn’t mean, that fish collagen is somehow worse. Type I collagen could be found everywhere in our body, except for cartilaginous tissue. It is the collagen type that makes up 70% of our skin and is the most abundant collagen in our bodies. It has many important tasks as well as benefits, for example it improves skin elasticity, slows down aging processes, provides health of the bones and strengthens vessels.
Fish collagen is more effective than bovine collagen because it is more like to the collagen in our bodies and in addition its’ molecule is much smaller than the bovine’s one. That is why fish collagen molecules are able to easily pass through the intestinal wall, quickly reach the tissues and to absorb up to 1,5 times more effectively. Fish collagen is being produced from fish skin, scales or bones. Hydrolyzed marine collagen is powder microgranules that are produced from fish skin. Now Be More has also fish collagen with two different flavours – Mango with lemon and Strawberries with black currants.
Fish collagen is rich for two particular amino acids: glycine and proline. Glycine is foundational to DNA and RNA strand creation, while proline is foundational to the human body’s ability to naturally produce its own collagen.
What are the benefits of collagen?
Like it was already mentioned before, fish collagen has a positive effect on our body.
It makes skin look younger – it reduces wrinkles and fine lines, enhances skin elasticity, improves skin hydration and tone. It is also believed that collagen decreases the appearance of cellulite. Some researches have shown that daily consumption of 5g collagen for 12 weeks may improve hydration of skin up to 28%, elasticity of the skin up to 19% and reduce fine wrinkles up to 26%.
Collagen plays an important role in building processes in our bodies, but it is also important when it comes to repairing. Collagen helps after different skin injuries and deformations, like wounds, scratches, scars and burns.
Skin is not the only organ that benefits from collagen. Collagen also helps to prevent the loss of bone mass and osteoporosis. Fish collagen helps calcium, phosphorus and other minerals to absorb, and stimulates the synthesis of collagen in bones.
About 1-10% of muscle tissue is composed of collagen, which is necessary to keep the muscles strong. Collagen promotes the synthesis of muscle proteins like creatine and stimulates muscle growth after sports.
In addition to all benefits mentioned before, collagen is also good for the health of hair, nails, and gut, it strengthens the vessels and helps to relieve pain in joints.
So, if you want to discover how collagen affects your body, you can make a choice of your preferable flavour from Be More new marine collagens. Marine collagen peptides dissolve easily in hot and cold liquids. So you can add them to your morning coffee, favourite smoothies or porridge.
Which nutrients increase collagen production?
Nutritious and balanced diet is the key to proper functioning of the body. And if we want to help our body to produce collagen, we should definitely pay attention to these four nutrients: vitamin C, proline, glycine and copper. That is why Be More collagen powders contain plenty of Vitamin C, because it is necessary in collagen synthesis.
But still, it is important to remember that there are some factors, that damage collagen. Excess consumption of refined sugar damages the ability of collagen to repair itself. Getting too much sunshine or UV radiation is also damaging. It is better to avoid exposure to bright sunlight for a long time. Smoking is also one of the factors that slow down collagen synthesis, and as a result it leads to wrinkles and it can also impair wound healing.