The Protein That Holds You Together (Literally)

Everyone seems to know about collagen; whether from a skincare product or a supplement boasting a way to reverse the signs of age, most of the population has some awareness. However, it's not the nature of collagen in connection to age-reversing that makes it so important. Instead, it's what the protein does for your body in parts you might not always be aware of. Collagen works behind the scenes in almost every part of your body! Once your supply goes down, however, the results are visible in unexpected places.

Collagen is nearly 30% of all protein found in your body. This is no small feat, the next highest protein amounts are nowhere near as prominent. Collagen is your most abundant protein; there's a reason for that dominance.

What Collagen Actually Does

Think of collagen as a "biological glue" and scaffolding system found throughout your body. It gives structures to different tissues, making them stiffened or elastic where necessary. Think about it, your skin, bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, blood vessels and corneas all contain a significant volume of collagen.

Collagen works through long chains twisting into a triple helix structure with bundled helixes creating fibrils, super tough, yet pliable cables on the microscopic scale that allow these tissues to be supportive yet not too tight to create breaks. These cables are like thread used to sew up something more complicated like the stitches on a baseball which keep everything intact but allow for a bit of give and stretch.

In your skin, collagen creates the tightness and elasticity of firmness. In bones, it works with minerals to create a strong and moderately pliable strength (pure mineral is just too brittle). In blood vessels, it helps make vessel walls better than straws while still allowing them to dilate when blood demands movement.

The Different Types Matter

Here's where it gets complicated, there are 28 types of collagen identified thus far. However, approximately 90% of all collagen you have in your body comes from types I, II and III.

Type I collagen works in skin, bones, tendons and ligaments; this type is tougher and fibrous. Type II collagen helps cartilage stay in between joints; this needs to be more elastic and compressible under pressure when movement occurs. Type III collagen supports organs, blood vessels and muscles, keeping all the interstitial parts together.

When collagen production declines or there's a difference in quality, different types decline at different rates which is why aging presents itself across multiple systems and not just one area.

When Production Starts Declining

Unfortunately, collagen production peaks in your early twenties and gradually decreases thereafter. The mid-twenties age range sees about 1% loss every year. While this does not sound alarming, compounded over time it becomes worrisome; by 40 years old, almost all adults have depleted over a third of their collagen. By 60 years old, there's a reduction of more than half compared to younger years.

Certain lifestyle factors exacerbate this decline. Sun exposure breaks down collagen in the skin before it has time to age naturally; smoking damages fibers of both collagen and elastin while restricting blood vessels that would otherwise use essential nutrients needed to promote growth; excess sugar intake leads to glycation where sugar molecules bond with younger collagen fibers leaving them stunted, too stiff and weak.

Chronic stress, inflammation and even lack of sleep all impact collagen production. Your body creates new collagen while you sleep so if you do not get quality REM rest, new collagen synthesis will consistently drop.

Where You Notice the Loss First

Skin is often the first place people notice collagen decline because it's visible, fine lines appear; skin loses its plump demeanor that was once there in the twenties; elasticity degrades as pinching the skin on the back of one's hand results in delayed return thanks to lowered levels of collagen and elastin content.

However, it's more than skin appearance suffering; joint pain becomes elevated, especially as one ages, because cartilage cushioning joints primarily contains type II collagen. This deteriorates joints that don't welcome as much movement and are stiffer by nature making pain on newly formed creaks frustrating. For those struggling with this, choosing to buy liquid collagen online has become a popular option since liquid versions are easier to take consistently than capsules or powder that requires mixing each time.

Furthermore, tendons and ligaments aren't as pliable as once before making people more vulnerable to injuries, that's why older athletes tend to get more tendon-related injuries than younger ones even when fitness levels are par. The collagen that would normally hold these structures together isn't as robust as before.

Bone density fluctuates because bones consist of collagen as well; people focus on calcium but less on collagen when it comes to bone development and health; minerals are important for bone strength but so is collagen, if one's resources on either side lack quantity or quality, bones become brittle even with good mineral content.

The walls of blood vessels contain collagen as well and once that volume decreases, the rigidity increases along with increases in blood pressure and cardiovascular risk as we age.

Even gut health relies on collagen, the lining inside one's digestive tract contains it as well so maintaining intestinal permeability supports healthy maintenance of this lining so nothing else breaks down outside leading to gastrointestinal disturbance.

What Supports Collagen Production

To produce collagen your body needs specific precursors, vitamin C is crucial because it's needed for enzymes that create the new protein; without vitamin C synthesis essentially halts meaning that symptoms surrounding connective tissue degeneration related to scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) make sense.

Amino acids such as glycine proline and hydroxyproline create the structure of collagen themselves; some are body-created but a person must have adequate levels of protein to provide necessary precursors.

Copper, zinc and vitamin A play supporting roles in production or maintenance so deficiencies impact quality production over time.

The Supplement Question

Since supplements have become wildly popular there are plenty of benefits attached to them, all studies boast good news about supplementation especially with hydrolyzed (smaller peptide) versions of collagen that can be digested and absorbed over time providing support for creation in various tissues throughout the body.

The working mechanism involves signaling within the brain that naturally ramps up newer production from within, peptides are linked directly instead of acting like simple precursors.

Studies find improvements over time with skin hydration levels and elasticity, comfort from joint inflammation, bone density strength, even muscle mass accumulation when combined with resistance exercise over weeks and months respectively.

What You Can Control

While you can't stop decline completely you can slow it down and support ongoing production from within by maintaining good habits now for better results later on!

Otherwise excessive sun exposure will ruin existing collagen; over time the best thing you can give yourself outside avoiding extra wrinkles is good collagen maintenance!

Not smoking reduces damage throughout the body for both collagen and elastin systems; eating healthy promotes intake of vitamin C-rich foods (citrus, berries), good protein sources and good plant materials means ultimate success.

Hydration is crucial as well for fibers to maintain their integrity so they can do their jobs properly.

Limiting chronic stress and getting good sleep gives your body what it needs to heal; active resistance through active movement signals your skeleton to develop its connective systems based upon greater demands.

Ultimately knowing that you lose some collagen naturally with age is part of life, the problem lies in how much goes down with less demand for comfort or more ease based upon decisions made earlier down the line.

Understanding what this important protein does all over your body makes more sense when you realize it's not just about how you look younger, but how you can feel better too!