Because of pregnancy, I plan to buy some bird’s nest to eat, because everyone said that bird’s nest is rich in collagen, pregnant women eat it will be good for the skin, and also help the growth of the fetus. In fact, besides bird’s nests, there are more convenient ways to obtain collagen. Nowadays, there are liquid, powder, jelly, and even tablet, capsule forms of collagen on the market. In fact, are these bird’s nests or factory-processed collagen really effective in improving the skin?
Let me give you a basic concept first. Collagen is actually a kind of protein, which is protein. Our body has the ability to produce collagen, but as we age, collagen will gradually be lost. When the rate of loss is faster than the rate of collagen production, our skin will begin to age, lose its elasticity, sag and grow wrinkles.So this is why many people obsess collagen so much, and as long as manufacturers claim that the products are added with collagen, the price will be more expensive.
Our body needs enough raw materials in the process of making collagen. One of the most important raw materials is amino acid with the help of some catalysts such as vitamin C. Amino acid is the most basic raw material for making collagen. Several amino acids are connected to form peptide, and several peptides are combined to form protein. Our human body has many kinds of protein compounds. Collagen is one of the most important proteins, about ⅓ of total protein in our body.
Collagen itself is very large, it cannot be directly absorbed by our body. Most of the collagen on the market is hydrolysed, which means that manufacturers cut collagen into smaller molecules, usually in peptide form, which will be easier to absorb. Peptide will be decomposed into amino acids in our gastrointestinal tract, it is already decomposed into its most primitive form before it reaches our skin. These small molecules, amino acids will enter our blood, and then be distributed to various places where protein needs to be made, such as our skin, cartilage, joints, hair, nails, muscle tissue and so on.
Now, you should begin to understand, in fact, no matter what protein you eat today, whether it is bird’s nest, collagen powder, or eggs, it will eventually be broken down into very small molecules in the stomach and intestines， which is amino acid that can be absorbed by our body. So basically you don’t need to buy such expensive products to supplement collagen. You can eat more high-protein foods such as milk, eggs, fish, which can also help the production of collagen.
However, if you find it difficult to get these high-quality proteins in your usual diet, it is more convenient and effective to consume these collagen products directly.
If you ask, are collagen products effective in anti-aging and firming the skin? In fact, many studies have shown that it is effective.
Of course, you should pay attention when choosing collagen products. It is best to choose those hydrolysed collagen, that is, collagen that has been chopped, which will be easier to absorb. Also, I mentioned earlier that Vitamin C is a very important catalyst in the process of making collagen. So if the collagen product you buy contains vitamin C, it will have better results. Otherwise, you have to add on by yourself. The effect will be more obvious if the dosage is above 5000mg.
So the collagen that you eat has been proven to improve the skin, so the collagen applied to the skin should be more effective, right? Because it is directly on our skin, I believe many people have this mindset.
Can it really penetrate into our skin to fill in the collagen that we lost?
I’m sorry that the collagen applied on the face cannot penetrate the surface layer of our skin, because its molecular size is big. At most, it just stays on the surface to hydrate.
But if it is chopped into peptides, which are relatively small molecules, it may be absorbed by the skin and can induce the skin to produce collagen. So you will see some anti-aging and wrinkle-reducing products on the market containing peptide.
Then, you will often see those health supplements on the market containing type 2 collagen. What is the difference between that kind of collagen and the collagen we eating for beauty purposes? Can it help us maintain skin while improving joints?
In fact, collagen is mainly divided into 5 types. Most of the collagen in our skin, hair and nails are type 1 collagen. Type 2 collagen mainly exists in our joints and cartilage. Therefore, the type 2 collagen on the market is usually extracted from animal cartilage, which is the parts of chicken feet, beef tendons, and pork leg that we often eat. After we eat these collagen, it does not go to our joints intactly to supplement the collagen there. It will also be broken down into amino acid in our intestines and stomach, and then these amino acids will go to where we need to make collagen. How our body uses these amino acids we cannot control it. But most of it still goes to your joints, and then a small part may go to your skin. And if there are other health supplements in the product, the effect will be better, such as hyaluronic acid, glucosamine, and chondroitin. These could have achieved better efficacy in improving joints.
Finally, my suggestion is that if you are still young, under age 25, you can get protein sources from diet. Because the collagen in your body is quite sufficient. If you are a woman over the age of 25, or men, especially if your daily eating habits are relatively unhealthy, it is acceptable to supplement collagen products in an appropriate amount to maintain skin elasticity and firm. There is a more important point which is to do sun protection, because ultraviolet rays are very harmful to our skin, it will definitely accelerate the aging and dullness of our skin.
