Collagen – the ‘fountain of youth’?

Collagen has impressive health benefits, many of which may surprise you. The word collagen comes from ‘kólla’ in Greek meaning ‘glue’. It really does help bind your body together. It can help with ageing skin, weight loss, joint health, leaky gut, bone mass and more.

Studies show positive impacts on health with no adverse side effects. Sounds too good to be true? No, refreshingly not…

So what is collagen?

Collagen is comprised up of three amino acids (proline, lysine and glycine), the building blocks of proteins. It accounts for an impressive 25% of your protein mass. Collagen forms looooooong chains - fibrils - that are found in nearly every body tissue, especially in skin. These triple helical collagen structures give tissues strength, structure and elasticity. Some are so strong that they are comparatively stronger than steel!

Behaviours and processes that damage collagen

The body synthesises its own collagen, mainly within the connective tissues. However, from as young as 20 years old we start producing 1% less each year.

The decline in your collagen levels depends on:

Ageing: It happens to us all. It’s a complex, multi-step process that involves the loss of collagen and elastin. Hence wrinkles appear, we become less flexible as we age, and say ‘ooouuufff’ as you sit on the sofa.

Diet: Eating insufficient amounts of the amino acids needed to build collagen results in not enough being made. Also, a diet high in sugar and blackened foods (eg grilled or barbecued foods) increases advanced glycation end compounds (AGEs) being made in the body, which are damaging to collagen and other proteins.

Sun exposure: UV radiation can reduce collagen production.

Smoking: Smoke toxins are highly damaging to collagen molecules. It also constricts blood vessels, decreasing the amount of nutrients (including collagen) to tissues.

Autoimmunity: your body can mistakenly attack the connective tissues that synthesise collagen in some autoimmune conditions (arthritis and lupus).

Just how good is Jones – Trust Your Gut collagen?

We think it’s as good as you can get: it’s the purest, most bioavailable collagen available.

Jones – Trust Your Gut collagen is natural hydrolysed, sustainably sourced Type I 100% marine collagen.

Hydrolysed means that it has been broken down into smaller proteins (or peptides). This makes it easier for your body to absorb and use as it is fully soluble and highly bioavailable.

As a Type I collagen it has a high biocompatibility in human tissue. Type I accounts for up to 90% of your body’s collagen. It provides structure to skin, bones, tendons, fibrous cartilage, connective tissue, and teeth.1

JONES collagen has a completely neutral taste. It can be added to hot or cold food or drinks. Collagen is stable enough to be used in cooking, e.g. baking and it fully dissolves so it is not noticeable at all. I’ve started adding it to my husband’s tea and he hasn’t noticed! Ssshhhh!

Our pouches are also fully compostable. No plastic has been created let alone needs to be recycled. As ever, we’re looking at the big picture!

Collagen benefits

Being the glue that holds you together, here are the most notable benefits of supplementing with collagen:

Skin – Collagen has three major benefits: increasing skin’s moisture retention ability so it doesn’t dry out and elasticity (i.e. firmer and more supple so fewer wrinkles). Thirdly, it stimulates fibrin and elastin production for further skin health. Nails and hair also grow stronger and longer. 2,3,4,5

Studies show that daily supplementation of hydrolysed collagen for 12 weeks leads to significant wrinkle reduction and improved skin elasticity.6

‘Leaky gut’ – the lining of your gut wall in your intestines needs to be strong yet supple to only allow tiny food particles (three amino acids long or less) into the blood. A damaged lining can lead to food intolerances/allergies, autoimmune disorders, metabolic conditions and obesity. 7 By healing the gut, other benefits materialise, including improved brain health (thanks to the gut-brain axis) and a stronger immune system (80% of immune system is located in the gut).

Joints – Collagen is a major component of cartilage, the rubbery connective tissue that holds joints together. Collagen may help lower inflammation and reduce joint discomfort according to several studies, which means less pain and more mobility as you age. 8

Bones – 90% of your bone’s organic matrix is made from collagen. 9 Bone quality depends on its density and also preventing bone loss. Studies show that 10 g of hydrolysed collagen daily reduces pain in patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis.10

Weight loss – by increasing protein intake, you feel fuller for longer, so will snack less. Then, by relatively increasing muscle mass, you will burn more calories just by existing!

Heart health – collagen’s flexible structural strength allows blood vessels the elasticity needed to transport blood around the body. Not enough collagen can lead them to become stiff, weak and narrow causing heart issues.11

Collagen sources

The amino acids needed to make collagen, are found in collagen-rich foods. Since collagen is created in connective tissue, this tends to mean the skin or bones of animals.

Collagen is naturally found in bone broth (similar to stock, but cooked for hours to ensure collagen release), chicken legs (think of all that connective tissue) and whole fish, e.g. tinned sardines or anchovies. Although these foods will help, you will still need to supplement with collagen to equal the therapeutic dose used in studies.

Other supportive nutrients include egg whites (high proline levels), foods high in vitamin C – essential for collagen production, plus meat, legumes, nuts, especially cashews and seeds – high in zinc and/or copper, which are also required for collagen production.12

Want to enjoy the benefits of collagen too?

By now we think you’ll agree that adequate collagen is vital for optimal health, helping you to look and feel great. Since collagen takes a little time to grow, and following the studies on collagen, we suggest you trial it for 12 weeks to start seeing results.

Take 10g of JONES collagen daily for 12 weeks (that’s x2 of our 400g pouches) to begin noticing the benefits.

Enjoy it added to your morning tea, coffee or maybe stirred into your favourite breakfast smoothie or porridge. It is stable to 300°C13, tasteless, fully dissolves and is very easily digested.

Try Jones – Trust Your Gut Collagen out today! We’d love to hear your health stories relating to collagen.

References:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34451183/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1606623/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7271718/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16723701/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23949208/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11071580/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28174772/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18416885/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2577747/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28384173/