In the last few years, it seems like everyone is taking collagen to help their joints, hair, skin and nails. So, is it really a miracle supplement or just an expensive placebo?

What is collagen?

Collagen is a type of protein that contains amino acids, and it’s found in your connective tissue. It makes up your skin, bones, blood, fascia, nails, cartilage, tendons and ligaments. It follows Davis’ Law, which basically states that the body and connective tissue adapts to stress. We need to stress our bodies in order for them to grow, however too much or too little and the body will react negatively. But what does this mean exactly?

The skin 

When we’re young our skin is firm, smooth and radiant. However profound changes occur in the structure of the skin over time as we age. The collagen density of the skin decreases with age, reducing the thickness of the skin, and the collagen network of the body becomes increasingly fragmented producing shorter and less organized fibers, which creates an accumulation of degraded collagen fragments. An increase in certain enzymes that eat up collagen leads to the increased collagen degradation while at the same time, the creation of new collagen by fibroblasts, or connective tissue cells, slows down. The elastic fibers lose integrity during aging and this loss in elasticity and strength leads to sagging and wrinkling. The skin also has a reduced capacity to retain moisture due to a decrease in the amount of hyaluronic acid, leading to dry skin.

Non-age-related causes of collagen degradation

If you don’t move all that much, or you continuously do the same exercises, if you have a proinflammatory diet, and you’re not well hydrated, collagen in the body becomes short and weak.

Collagenase is an enzyme that eats old or injured collagen, so you can produce it new along different lines of stress. If you have chronic inflammation from a poor diet or have chronic stress, white blood cell count can increase, which then increases the production of collagenase, which eats the collagen in the body, decreasing the quality and quantity of collagen.

Can ingestible, or hydrolyzed, collagen help?

This is the million-dollar question. There is an abundance of research that has positive findings for improved skin hydration and elasticity with oral ingested collagen peptides, however some research shows there is no reliable evidence to suggest that orally digesting it becomes preferentially localized to the skin as opposed to other parts of the body. It has been argued that the amino acids required for synthesis can be consumed from a normal protein diet which negates the need for additional supplementation. In addition, there are many other vital proteins, other than collagen, that contribute to the appearance and properties of skin.

What can we do?

Nutrition and hydration have a major influence on the function and appearance of skin. When you exercise and move in creative and varied ways you deform the connective tissue in the body creating lines of stress. Fibroblasts are attracted to, and line up along, these lines of stress and produce collagen.

For joint health, exercise is key: Specifically, strength training to help stabilize the joints, and mobility exercises to maintain optimal range of motion of the joints.

Michol Dalcourt, an exercise physiologist, founder of the Institute of Motion and international lecturer on health and human performance, states that “If you stress the tissues, you produce collagen automatically…this is why most people that work out and exercise…age better. Their skin is healthier.”

Our take on the subject is to eat a healthy, balanced diet, stay well-hydrated, avoid too much sun exposure, avoid smoke-filled and polluted environments, and perform exercise that takes the body through many varied movements and ranges of motion.

Beacon Physical Therapy

At Beacon Physical Therapy, we support our clients in establishing healthy movement patterns that help maintain strength, flexibility and mobility. If you are having an issue, make an appointment today. We’d love to meet you and get you back to doing what you love.