As our body ages, our skin unfortunately begins to show its age by losing its elasticity, becoming dry and wrinkly and even a little saggy!! 

This is because from about the age of 40 our collagen production begins to slow. Collagen is the protein which is necessary to maintain the health of our skin particularly helping in tightening our skin. Collagen is the principal building block for our skin assisting us in maintaining our youthful appearance. Once this collagen begins to be depleted our skin begins to show the inevitable signs of ageing.

This decrease in collagen production is also accelerated by our exposure to free radicals such as sun exposure, chemicals, pollutants and smoking.

It isn’t all bad news, however! Taking hydrolysed gelatin collagen regularly may help stimulate the production of collagen in our body. It’s believed it also protects our skin and re-establishes elasticity.

As I have written previously, gelatin is derived from collagen and the amino acids contained in hydrolysed gelatin collagen are beneficial for healthy skin.  An 8-week scientific double-blind study of 69 women aged 35-55 exploring the anti-ageing benefits of collagen supplementation, found supplementing with collagen hydrolysate enhanced the elasticity of the skin, helped with dryness, created smoother skin and improved skin moisture. (1) A 12-week study of over 1000 adults also concluded supplementing with collagen daily improved the level of protein in the skin and reduced signs of ageing of the skin. (2)

The amino acids contained in hydrolysed gelatin collagen are also believed to be beneficial for improving the health of our hair and nails.  Our hair is made up predominantly of protein keratin and to build keratin our body needs several amino acids. The three main amino acids contained in gelatin collagen are proline, glycine and hydroxyproline. Proline is the foremost component of keratin and by supplementing with gelatin collagen, which is rich in proline, we are giving our body the building blocks to generate healthier hair.

Because collagen shields the layer of skin that holds our hair roots, collagen may well also assist in preventing age-related hair loss plus thinning of hair. It is thought hair follicles may be harmed by free radicals. Because collagen may act as an antioxidant, attacking free radicals it may also prevent hair damage as well as slow down greying.

Our nails are like our hair, requiring certain amino acids to promote healthy nail growth. The amino acids sourced from gelatin collagen can be beneficial in improving the health of our nails.

As you would now have realised gelatin collagen has some amazing health benefits from helping with joint pain and cartilage repair to gut health and now hair, skin, and nails!!

For more information on the benefits of gelatin collagen call down to see Bev and the team at Go Vita your health shop in North St in the Bay. Don’t forget to tune into Bev on 2EC every Wednesday at 12.45 pm

(1) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Int J Cosmet Sci 2015 Dec;37 Suppl 2:25-30 doi: 10.111/ics.12286

(2) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Clinic Interv Aging 2014:9:1747-1758