From making your skin supple to tackling various signs of ageing, collagen has a plethora of benefits. Here’s how to boost collagen naturally.
What is collagen?
Collagen is the most common protein in the human body. Other areas where it can be found include tendons, fat, and ligaments. It is essential for numerous body processes, including wound healing. Collagen functions independently to keep our skin supple. It increases the skin’s blood flow, making it more elastic. Your hair can benefit from it as well because it gives them power, causing them to grow long and lustrous. Collagen is unique in that encouraging its development has a cascading impact. The more collagen you have, the more your body can produce and maintain.
A person’s body creates less of several forms of collagen as they age, and the quality of the collagen they have in their bodies degrades. It can result in:
- Loss of elasticity in the skin and other connective tissues
- Lines, wrinkles, and looseness in the skin
- Joint stiffness
In order to effectively combat these issues and keep your skin soft and supple, you need to boost collagen in your body.
How to boost collagen?
Here are some effective ways to boost collagen in your body:
- Collagen supplements
If you need to boost collagen levels in your body, collagen supplements are an excellent idea. According to a 2021 review, using hydrolyzed collagen supplements for 90 days can reduce wrinkles and improve skin elasticity and hydration. Additionally, according to a 2020 review, collagen peptides in supplements have been shown to have a direct impact on fibroblasts, which are collagen structures in the body. Additionally, there are vegetarian and vegan alternatives for those of us who adhere to particular diets. Furthermore, blendable collagen is an option if you’d rather avoid taking tablets entirely.
- Vitamin C
If you want to boost collagen, vitamin C can help. Low collagen levels caused by a vitamin C deficiency can result in scurvy, a potentially dangerous illness. Since the human body cannot make vitamin C, you need to get it from your diet. Incorporating foods like citrus fruits, green or red peppers, strawberries and broccoli can help boost collagen levels in your body. According to research, topical applications of vitamin C can also protect your skin from the sun’s rays and pigmentation changes.
- Diet rich in antioxidants
Antioxidants help protect the body from free radicals. But what are free radicals? They are the molecules that the body produces during metabolism. Free radicals can also enter the body as a result of chemical exposure, such as that from smoking. By encouraging collagen production certain antioxidants can protect and revitalise the skin. But how to get them? Antioxidants are present in many plant-based foods. Research from 2013 suggests that the antioxidants in the following foods and drinks may be beneficial for the skin:
- Blueberries
- Green tea or epigallocatechin-3-gallate, green tea’s active component
- Yerba mate
- Liquorice extract
- Mulberry extract
- Pomegranate extract
- Coffee extract
- Astragalus
- Cinnamon
- Basil, oregano, and thyme essential oils
- Light therapy
Did you know that light therapy can boost collagen and improve wrinkles and other signs of ageing? Red light treatment may be a quick and effective method to boost collagen in the skin, according to the authors of a 2013 study report. Other researchers examined the impact of near-infrared light and red light on skin cells in a lab in 2021. They discovered that it boosted collagen and elastin synthesis. This may help to prevent wrinkles and other skin problems frequently linked to ageing.
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