Are you worried about dry skin, brittle nails, and hair that's losing its volume? It may not be your beauty products, but the lack of collagen in your diet. Collagen is a type of protein in our bodies that's made up of rich amino acids. This fiber-like structure makes up 30% of our body's protein and is naturally found in areas of our body like skin, hair, nails, bones, ligaments, and cartilage that aid in building our connective tissues.
Collagen is essential for our bodies, but unfortunately, our natural production starts to slow down as we age. Collagen production can slow down as soon as you hit age 20 and continue to decrease, reducing the volume in your face, which can also make you appear older than you are.
There is good news. You can stimulate collagen production in your body with the help of supplements and a collagen-rich diet. Here's what you should know about getting more collagen in your day and all the ways it helps you age gracefully.
How Does Collagen Help Your Skin?
If your skin is feeling lackluster, collagen can help. People who consume collagen see an improvement in their skin's moisture, elasticity, and hydration. Over time, collagen has also been shown to help reduce wrinkles and roughness in your skin by helping skin cells renew and repair themselves.
How Does Collagen Help Your Hair?
Collagen supplements can do wonders to strengthen your hair and simulate hair growth. It could reduce the appearance of grey hair by supporting your hair follicles and rebuilding any damaged areas. Volume and thickness are also factors during the aging process. When your scalp loses collagen, you may see a reduction in the volume of your hair. With a combination of supplements and an improved diet, you could see healthy hair.
How Does Collagen Help Your Nails?
If you're tired of thin, weak nails, collagen can help. Collagen contains amino acids that are essential for nail growth. These nutrients, including arginine and proline, also help provide nutrients and oxygen for your tissues. Without enough collagen and nutrients like proline, your keratin production also slows. The overall effect is brittle, weak nails.
How Do You Get More Collagen in Your Diet?
There are ways to get more collagen in your diet with foods you probably already love to eat. Here's a round-up of where to get started:
- Skin-On-Chicken: Enjoy more chicken in your diet to help improve your crow's feet and skin elasticity. If you enjoy ground chicken, you can ask your local butcher for ground skin-on thighs or breasts.
- Berries: Pick up some blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries to get in more nutrients, including vitamin C that can help your body build collagen. Our bodies also don't naturally produce vitamin C, making it an essential vitamin we need to get more of in our diet.
- Broccoli: Like berries, broccoli also adds more vitamin C to your day, playing an essential role in building up more collagen in your body.
- Sardines: If you enjoy sardines, you can get a boost from their concentration of bones, skin, and scales. Choosing other skin-on fillets, like salmon, could also provide even more collagen.
- Beef or Pork Broth: If you enjoy bone broths, they add more collagen to your day and play a big role in the health of your skin, nails, and hair.
Another option is to take easy-to-digest collagen supplements. Collagen supplements are easy to mix and digest and help your skin, nails, and hair, as well as smooth cellulite. WAYT Nutrition's collagen supplements are sourced from grass-fed cows that are high in antioxidants and improve your gut biome.
Next Steps
We can't stop aging, but collagen goes a long way toward keeping your skin, nails, and hair healthy, strong, and vibrant. Ready to give your collagen a boost? Start shopping for our supplements or comprehensive health programs to pick up organic greens, multivitamins, probiotics, and more.