The Benefits of Taking Collagen

If you follow me on Instagram and Facebook, you’ll know that I have been taking collagen for several months. I first heard about collagen as a supplement from one of the Instagram fitness accounts I follow. But before I invested in collaged, I wanted to find out exactly what are the benefits of taking collagen.

Why is Collagen Important?

Collagen is the building block of our bodies including skin, hair, nails, bones, and joints. Most of our tissues are made of collagen but we make less of it with age. When we are children, our bodies produce collagen in abundance. Ever wonder why babies have such supple, bright skin that bounces back when you pinch their cheeks? Collagen! Lots and lots of collagen!

What is Collagen powder?

In simplest terms, collagen powder is a tasteless, odorless protein that you can put into your daily coffee or smoothie. If you want the nitty gritty details, I encourage you to read the FAQ page at Vital Proteins. If you prefer taking tablets, these are the ones I taken while traveling.

What are the Benefits of Taking Collagen?

By the time we reach 20, our bodies start producing slightly less collagen. This decline increases as the years go by, so taking a collagen supplement helps reduce the natural loss of skin elasticity, hair and nail strength, and joint health.

Beauty

Ever since taking collagen I’ve noticed a “halo” of baby hairs around my crown. It’s a love-hate relationship, as they are the first hairs to betray me in the humid climate of Florida, but I tolerate them because I know the collagen is helping!

I’ve also noticed that, in conjunction to having a skincare plan, my daily collagen is helping my skin glow. I also take multivitamins and biotin so that my hair, skin and nails have the best chance to succeed. Vital Proteins’ collagen beauty water also contains hyaluronic acid to support skin moisture and improve elasticity from within.

My skin is prone to stretch marks. Everything I’ve read about stretch marks is that “they’re genetic.” Well gee, thanks, Google. My personal opinion is that since my skin is prone to stretch marks, its elasticity needs help. My nails are also brittle, so my body really does need a collagen supplement.

Fitness

Muscle, ligaments, joints and tendons are all mainly comprised of collagen. I like to lift weights and I like to lift heavy. I also like how effective HIIT exercise is, but those can all be hard on your joints and ligaments.

Since starting my fitness journey, I knew that with fat loss I would potentially see new stretch marks as my skin struggled to “shrink” back. Sure enough, the tell-tale itching on my areas that are prone to stretch marks told me I was losing fat. As soon as I started taking collagen the itching went away, so I am constantly restocking my collagen supply to help keep my skin supple and toned.

Health

I’ve noticed that if I forget to take collagen for a few days, my elbows start cracking (guys, I’m just in the beginning of my 30s!). As soon as I’ve taken collagen for a week straight, the cracking is greatly reduced. I’m not saying collagen will do this for you, but it’s just an observation I’ve made. I sent my parents collagen a few months ago, and my diabetic dad said his circulation improved, whereas my mom said her arthritis improved greatly. So the benefits of collagen extend far beyond the sake of vanity.

How do I take Collagen?

Collagen is water soluble, so you can easily mix it in with water, hot or iced tea, and fruit juices. I add one scoop to my daily coffee. That’s it! Since the recommended dose is 20mg (two scoops) sometimes I may add a scoop to herbal tea at night, or in my lunchtime smoothie.

What are you waiting for?

If you made it this far, well now you know you HAVE to try some! Amazon is a certified reseller of Vital Proteins collagen, so you can order a canister for your daily coffee, or travel packets if you’re on the road a lot.

I promise that the only thing that will bother you after trying collagen is waiting so long to try them in the first place.