Collagen works wonders in providing your body with multiple health benefits. But as you age, collagen loss can slowly become a concern you’re trying to escape. With that in mind, we’ve got a wide range of collagen supplements that can help you to address collagen loss with age. Discover everything you need to know about collagen loss in this article, including the causes of collagen loss and how to slow down collagen decline.
What is Collagen Loss?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body that helps to support and provide structure to your skin, bones, ligaments, and tendons. However, we can become more susceptible to collagen loss as we age due to the decline of the essential amino acids we need to produce collagen. This loss of collagen can lead to visible signs of ageing, such as fine lines and wrinkles.
What Causes Collagen Loss?
Collagen loss becomes more apparent in your mid-twenties. The most common cause of collagen loss is the decline of glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and arginine, the amino acids that are needed to produce collagen. Without these amino acids, both your collagen and elastin fibres may become thinner and looser.
Although collagen loss is a natural process that occurs when you get older, environmental factors such as UV exposure, pollution, and free radicals can also speed up collagen loss.
Tips and Tricks to Prevent Collagen Loss
There are so many ways you can protect yourself from collagen loss, and here are a few you should include into your routine.
1. Change Your Diet
Your diet plays a key role in your overall health and wellbeing. Adapting your diet to include more collagen-rich foods, such as lentils, leafy greens, or citrus fruits, can help boost your collagen levels and protect you against collagen loss.
2. Use SPF Every Day
UV exposure, even when it’s not necessarily sunny outside, can contribute to collagen decline. Incorporating sunscreen into your skincare routine can help prepare and protect the skin from UV rays, while helping to boost your collagen levels. You should apply sunscreen every day, even when it’s not sunny, to maximise your protection.
3. Try Collagen Supplements
Introducing collagen supplements into your routine is an easy way to help boost the essential amino acids you need to produce collagen. Collagen supplements are best suited for those aged 25 and over – taking collagen supplements younger than this may not allow you to reap the full benefits that you would when you’re older.
At VITAL PROTEINS, we have a range of different collagen supplements that can help to address the signs of collagen loss and boost your collagen levels.
How to Use Collagen Supplements
Suitable for everyday use and all lifestyles, we recommend our Unflavoured Collagen Peptides. This super versatile collagen powder features 18 amino acids to support your collagen production and can be added to any recipe without disrupting the flavour.
Simply add two scoops of unflavoured collagen powder to your smoothie, coffee, tea, or oven bake to help you address collagen loss with age.
For more ways to get creative with your collagen check out this collagen smoothie recipe here:
Everything You Need to Make the Perfect Collagen Smoothie
The ultimate collagen smoothie recipe from Vital Proteins.
