What is collagen? 🧐

Collagen has seemed to explode as trendy food supplement and many of you all are wondering if the touted benefits are legit or all hype.

✨Let's explore what collagen is, what research says to make wise choices about your diet and supplements.

💫What is collagen?

✨Collagen comes from the Greek work "kólla", meaning glue, because it plays a vital role in holding your body together.

✨It is the most abundant protein in the body and it's main component of our bone, skin muscle and ligament structure.

✨There are several types of collagen but types 1,2 & 3 are the most common in the human body.

Type 1 - accounts for most of our collagen I, made of densely packed fibers needed for teeth, bones, ligaments, skin and connective tissues.

Type 2 - found in elastic cartilage, which provides joint support.

Type 3 - found in the structure of muscles, arteries and organs.

Fact - 🔬Research on collagen is limited withpre studies in the pipeline. Evidence on skin and joint health being the most researched.

⚡One important thing about collagen is you cannot dictate your body to utilise all that collagen you eat/drink, when you consume collagen orally it doesn't necessarily translate to increased levels in our body as the amino acids from dietary sources or supplements are absorbed and used in the body as needed.

⚡Our body creates collagen by itself by combining amino acids which are essentially building blocks of protein - taking a foods first approach by including high quality protein in your diet is key.