Collagen

Collagen means “glue-maker”. It is an abundant protein that builds and binds together much of the soft and connective tissues in the body. It is also fundamental to how we look and feel, and amongst other things is needed for the structural integrity of the intestines.

A bit of science

Life is dominated by four elements carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. These atoms can combine in infinite different ways, but life needs order not chaos. That order exists because the 4 elements are tethered in 22 building blocks called ‘Amino acids’. Its somewhat like having a lego set with 22 different kind of blocks. Just like lego, amino acids blocks are designed to be connected together and they do so in glorious variety.

When fewer than 50 amino acid molecules are joined together, they are known as peptides. When more than 50 are connected together, they are known as proteins.

Collagen is a large protein molecule. It is the most abundant protein in the human body and it is fundamental to the way the body is built and bound together. It represents about a quarter to a third of all the protein in our body. Because it is such a large molecule, collagen is difficult to absorb through digestion, and there is some evidence that the smaller peptides are more readily absorbed and available in the blood stream.

What challenges do we have with collagen?

The main problem is that we lose about 1% of our collagen a year, from the age of 21. As we age, our collagen production decreases (and so does the quality), meaning that the making and breaking gets out of balance. Our skin loses its childlike plumpness, our joints feel less supple, we lose muscle mass. The body conspires to age itself.

What do we do about it?

One way of looking at this, is that ageing is a deliberate part of nature’s design. Birth, death, ageing and renewal are entwined. The process might be inevitable, but we are not totally helpless to slow progress in a way that can make us look and feel better.

The first and obvious thing to do is slow the unnecessary damage to existing collagen. As with most things health-related, common sense gets you a long way because it’s the usual suspects that trash your collagen. The biggies are over-exposure to sunlight, smoking, alcohol and processed or fried foods. It can come as no surprise that smoking, drinking and eating a fry up in the sunshine is not considered an anti-ageing regime.

Again, it can come as no surprise that good diet does help. Collagen is held in the deeper layers of the skin so is best rejuvenated by nutrients from the blood stream. Collagen is a large molecule and difficult to absorb directly through the skin. So the answer, as ever in our opinion, starts with eating the good stuff that nature gifts us:

Protein rich foods such as lean meats, legumes and eggs give us the core building blocks
Dark green leaves, citrus, kiwis, parsley are rich in vitamin C, important for collagen synthesis, and scavenges the free-radicals that can damage collagen
Omega 3 is a fatty acid found in chia seeds, walnuts and mackeral. It helps to fight damage to collagen
Folic acid rich foods (again dark green leaves) help cell division and DNA repairs
Lycopene in red fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and red peppers scavenge free radicals and protect collagen.
Orange vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes are high in vitamin A and caratinoids which help to restore and repair collagen
Garlic includes sulphur and taurine which help to build and repair collagen.

Here at Jones, we always talk about how ‘nature has the answers’. 3.8billion years of evolution has made us pretty well attuned to the nutrients and phytochemicals that are abundant around us. To be clear we try to get all of the above nutrients without going near a supplement.

However, because ageing is a deliberate natural process, this is one area where we believe that we need some help to hold back the tide. That leads us to a third way to help ourselves, namely by taking collagen peptides.

What is the level of evidence for collagen peptides?

As ever, with science in food we need to be careful because evidence is not conclusive. There are scientific studies, such a 2020 systemmatic analysis “Collagen supplementation for skin health: A mechanistic systematic review” which performs a meta-analysis of smaller studies. It concludes that collagen has a beneficial effect over a range of skin indicators, with no drawbacks and consistency across the studies.

Evidence points to collagen peptides being absorbed into the blood stream and stimulating the production of collagen. Further, the immune system ‘samples’ the gut, finds collagen peptides and modifies its behaviour to back off attacking our existing collagen.

But perhaps more easy for us laypeople to understand is what Dr Anil Rajani says. About 30% of his patients believe Collagen supplementation does an amazing job. 30% say ‘don’t know’ and about 40% say it’s a waste of money.

Why take collagen peptides, and what is collagen good for?

Our personal experience is that we feel the benefit from a sustained period of taking 10g per day. The results typically accrue from taking the powdered collagen consistently for 6-8 weeks. Put in pure money terms, that will cost about £50 to find out whether it helps you look, feel and move better. If not, then its cost about the same as a pot of posh skin cream (that almost certainly doesn’t work compared to hydrolysed marine collagen).

Collagen is a critical building block throughout all of the soft tissue in your body. The intestine is no different. Poor lifestyle can lead to ‘leaky gut’ where the wall of the intestine ruptures. Fixing that is a precursor to great gut health, and collagen is believed to help in that regard.

Hydrolysed Marine Collagen Peptides – WTF?

Our hydrolysed marine collagen comes from sustainably sourced fish skins. The collagen peptides are small chains that are absorbed into the blood. It comes as a white powdered collagen that is easily stirred into a morning coffee or even your baking and cooking.

WTF – where’s the fishiness? Nowhere. It is tasteless and barely perceptible in your morning drink.