If you’re wondering what on earth collagen peptides are, here’s what you need to know: they’re a form of collagen, which is essentially the glue that holds the important parts of your body together. Collagen peptide supplements usually come in powder form, to be dissolved in water and taken on a daily basis. They’re high in protein and low in calories, making them appealing for people looking to make a positive addition to their diet without leading to weight gain.
You might have noticed that collagen has become a main ingredient for a number of skin, hair, and nail care products because they’re supposed to be especially good for all three. Collagen peptides tend to be a more effective alternative to topical creams and lotions as when you include them in your diet, you’re letting their full beneficial effects take place from the inside out.
Collagen peptides are no different from any other supplements in that they have their fair share of benefits, as well as a number of side effects. If you’re considering taking collagen peptides supplements yourself, the wisest thing to do is to learn all about what they are, how they may help you, and any side effects to look out for.
Luckily, this video will cover exactly that. Keep on listening to discover everything you need to know about collagen peptides:
Benefits of Collagen Peptides
There are a number of different reasons why people might choose to take collagen peptides, but ultimately, you can expect to experience a range of different benefits from supplementing with them. Here are the most common benefits that collagen peptides offer:
1. Offers essential post-workout nutrition
When you finish off a workout, your muscles will go through a process of repair and generation. The foods that you eat following a workout are essential for helping to speed up the repair process and get you back on track as soon as possible.
2. Repairs a leaky gut
A leaky gut is more common than you might think and can result in toxins, food particles, and infections being able to pass through your intestinal wall and into your bloodstream, causing inflammation. It can eventually lead to an autoimmune disease, and taking collagen peptides is one of the simplest ways to heal your leaky gut before complications can arise.
Collagen is really clever – it contains amino acids that can assist in healthy cellular and tissue growth, effectively sealing your gut and preventing leakage.
3. Helps you to maintain a healthy weight
If you’re struggling to maintain a healthy weight, collagen might be the answer you’ve been looking for. An ingredient found in collagen called glycine forms muscle by converting glucose into energy. This will help you to convert fat into lean muscle tissue, which helps you to burn more calories faster and boost your metabolism.
If you’re supplementing with collagen on a daily basis, you should find that you’re burning more fat, more regularly – even during rest. Because collagen is a great source of protein, it’ll also keep you satisfied for longer, stopping you from reaching for empty calorie snacks.
4. Improves skin, hair, and nails
Onto the reason why most people prefer to take collagen: its ability to improve the appearance of hair, skin, and nails. The ageing process naturally results in looser and less elastic skin, as well as wrinkles in areas that were previously smooth. Other common signs of ageing are a decrease in nail health, which may lead to brittleness, peeling, breakage, and a decline in hair health, which can lead to thinning and split ends.
Because your natural production of collagen decreases as you age, increasing your outside collagen intake can be exactly what you need to firm up and smoothen your skin. It can also improve moisture retention and shine in hair, and strengthen weakened nails.
- 1 Simple Ingredient: Collagen Peptides is a premium powdered supplement that features hydrolyzed collagen peptides — sourced from the hides of grass-fed, pasture-raised cows
- Health Beneficial: Collagen Peptides can be digested and absorbed by the body quickly for maximum benefits. Helps improve the health of your hair, skin, nails, joints and ligaments, and tendons**^
- Easy To Use: Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides is easily digested and dissolves in cold or hot liquids, like coffee, tea and smoothies.
- High quality: Sourced from the hides of grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine to ensure a high quality and sustainable source of this powerful ingredient.
- Replenish Your Skin, Hair, and Nails — Collagen peptides for women can help revitalize skin, strengthen hair, and renew nails.* These benefits contribute to a more youthful appearance you’ll love.*
- Rejuvenating Power — When you look healthier, you take years off your appearance.*
- Natural Taste — While some customers take no notice, since everyone's palate is different, the Live Conscious Collagen Peptides naturally-sourced formula may have a mild taste that you would most prefer adding to your favorite smoothie.
- Premium Ingredients — For the best results, you need the best ingredients. LiveConscious labs uses hydrolyzed collagen peptides from bovine sources certified as grass-fed and pasture-raised.
- RADIANT AND YOUTHFUL APPEARANCE: This collagen powder for women and men provides the protein and amino acids to support healthy nails, and also helps your skin look more radiant and youthful. Give yourself support from the inside out
- JOINT SUPPORT: Amino acids support joint health and improve your body’s response to strenuous exercise, making this collagen powder a great post-workout supplement and joint support supplement
- EASY TO USE: Use one scoop of our drink mix daily as a smoothie powder or as a completely soluble protein creamer for coffee. Our collagen peptides dietary supplements also dissolve in water and are just 40 calories per serving
- MORE COLLAGEN PER SCOOP: Our collagen peptides powder contains 11 grams of low molecular weight type 3 and 1 hydrolyzed collagen peptides with 18 amino acids, including glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. Each serving contains 10 grams of protein
- FEEL, MOVE AND LOOK YOUR BEST: Supports Radiant Skin, strong hair and Nails, Joint function and health, and mixes easily in any food or drink.
- CLEANER INGREDIENTS: Includes hydrolyzed grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine collagen peptides and essential amino acids: Lysine, Leucine, Histidine, Methionine, Isoleucine, Phenylalanine, Theronine, Valine
- HIGHER STANDARDS: Because we’re serious about clean, you can rest assured this product is made without lactose, dairy or soy ingredients, gluten free, has no sugar added*, Non-GMO, and contains no artificial flavors, preservatives, or colors.
- EASY TO MIX: Since it’s unflavored and dissolves easily, this collagen blend can be used any way! Hot or cold – stir it (we love it in coffee), blend it (protein shake, anyone?), bake it (a secret upgrade for that batch of cookies?).
5. Positively effects joints
Without sufficient collagen, we may find that our joints, tendons, and ligaments are not able to move, bend, and straighten easily. When your collagen production decreases with age, it’s common for your joints to become stiff, swollen, and painful, and inflammation may occur, leading to conditions like arthritis.
Studies have found that the amino acids glycine and proline, which are found in collagen, help to promote a healthy inflammatory response and improve the mobility of joints – so it’s worth supplementing if you’re not getting enough of it.
6. Promotes good heart health
There’s not so much evidence to share about this yet, but some studies have found that proline, which is found in collagen, can have a positive effect on the depositing of fat in your arteries and the repair of tissues within them.
We know that fatty build-ups in the arteries can lead to a high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries, and collagen may be able to prevent this fat depositing and promote healthier tissues around the heart.
7. Improves liver functioning
Did you know that we’re exposed to toxins every day of our lives? Without our liver to process them, we’d risk falling seriously ill. Glycine, a key nutrient in collagen, can help your liver to work effectively to detoxify the bad stuff from your body.
Collagen also forms an essential protein to help keep the liver functioning normally, which can improve your overall health and even promote weight loss.
8. Promotes the formation, growth, and repair of bones
Many people don’t realise that it’s not just calcium that we need to maintain healthy bones. One-third of our bones are actually made up of collagen, which is what gives them their flexibility.
Adding more collagen to your diet can do wonders for your bone health by increasing bone mineral density, as well as providing them with support and elasticity. Some studies even show that supplementing with collagen can prevent the onset of osteoporosis, a degenerative disease that leads to the weakness of the bones.
Choosing a collagen supplement
There is more than one type of collagen supplement to choose from – in fact, there are more than ten of them overall. If you’re unsure where to begin, go for the one that you think would be the most beneficial to you, depending on what you personally hope to achieve from supplementing with collagen.
The most common types of collagen are type one, for skin, hair, and nails; type two, for joint health; type three, for improving the elasticity of the skin; type four, for promoting the healthy growth of the placenta in pregnant women; and type ten, for improving bone health and assisting in good development. Some of these types are more popular than others, but it’s worth knowing that they’re all available.
You can buy collagen peptides from your local health store or online, and with so many varieties to choose from, it’s worth dedicating some time to decide which is for you. Do your research and look out for trusted product providers. Take a look at a product’s reviewing history to help you reach a balanced conclusion as to whether a product is worth its cost.
How to Safely Take Collagen Peptides
Collagen peptides are safe to take as long as you stick to the recommended dosage. It’s a myth that the more collagen you take, the better – you’ll eventually reach a point where you’re doing your body more damage than good. Start off by taking up to 12 grams of the supplement per day, and seek medical advice if you think you need it. You can click here to find the best collagen peptides on the market.
Be aware that collagen peptides aren’t always suitable for vegans and vegetarians. They’re often made using the bones of animals, but that’s not to say that you won’t find vegan-friendly alternatives that are completely free of animal products. Be sure to triple-check the ingredients’ list of a collagen supplement before purchase if you want to be certain it’s suitable for your diet.
Side Effects of Collagen Peptides
The side effects of collagen peptides are rare, and most ingredients found in the supplement are well-tolerated, but it’s important to be aware of symptoms you may experience just in case. The most common side effects of collagen peptides are as follows:
1. Skin rashes
2. Liver abnormalities
3. Diarrhea
4. A sensation of heaviness in the stomach
If you experience any of these symptoms, stop supplementing with collagen peptides immediately. If the symptoms persist even after stopping, it may be worth checking in with your GP to make sure everything’s alright.
You can also experience symptoms if you’re allergic to the collagen source you’re supplementing with. Some collagen proteins are “marine-derived” and come from fish scales or shellfish.
A shellfish allergy can cause skin reactions, vomiting, stomach pain, fainting and dizziness, and trouble breathing. Always check your collagen supplement’s ingredients if you know you have a shellfish allergy.
Conclusion
While nearly all of us know collagen to be linked with improved skin, hair, and nails, the additional benefits of the supplement are far less widely spoken about. Collagen can support a wide range of functions inside the body, and if you’re not already supplementing with it, you’re missing out.
If you’re taking collagen peptides specifically for joint pain, then you might start to notice a difference in your symptoms after around three to six weeks. If you’re taking it for skin, hair, and nails, or to improve your muscle repair following a workout, you’ll start seeing real results after about two or three months.
Thanks to the internet shopping scene, it’s easier than ever to get your hands on your collagen peptides supplement of choice. Just make sure that you make wise purchasing decisions if you want to get the most out of a product.