Eating foods that contain vitamin C and antioxidants, avoiding smoking, limiting caffeine intake, and protecting the skin from sunlight may all help preserve collagen or boost its production.
Collagen levels decrease with age and, unfortunately, there's no way to prevent this. The good news is that there are several cosmetic treatments that can rebuild or restore collagen.
Your body begins to lose collagen when you turn 30. The effects become noticeable after several years. Even though this is a natural process, it's possible to speed it up with UV exposure, pollution, bad habits, and poor diet choices. While it's possible to accelerate collagen loss, it's also possible to slow it down.
How can I naturally rebuild collagen? You can naturally support the collagen production process by using topicals such as vitamin C and retinol, collagen peptide supplements, eating a nutrient rich diet, and avoiding habits that damage the collagen (such as poor sleep and sun exposure.)
UV damage is the main cause of skin collagen loss accounting for up to 80-90% of the appearance of skin aging. UV exposure causes both, less collagen to be produced, and. it also increases collagen degradation via matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and other proteases in the skin.
And with consistent, daily supplementation, the best results are achieved from 12 weeks. As for how long to take collagen supplements, collagen works by replenishing collagen peptides to stimulate its production.
Bone Broth
This tops the list of food sources that contain high amounts of collagen. You can buy bone broth at the grocery store or make it yourself. To make bone broth at home, simply cook beef, pork, poultry, or fish bones in water.
Just five minutes a day of regular tapping:
encourages lymph drainage which helps eliminate the damage from free radicals; enhances our skin's ability to breathe by improving the flow of oxygen; plumps the face and smoothes wrinkles by stimulating collagen production; normalizes the activity of oil and sweat glands.
So caffeine is a collagen killer and we should steer clear? Not exactly. "It's worth remembering that coffee doesn't destroy collagen, it inhibits its production," says nutritional therapist at the Pulse Light Clinic, Lisa Borg.
As you age, your body naturally makes less collagen. The slow-down can start in your mid-to-late 20s. That causes a variety of conditions that we usually accept as part of getting older. Signs of collagen loss include wrinkled skin due to elasticity loss and stiff joints.
Some studies show that taking collagen supplements for several months can improve skin elasticity, (i.e., wrinkles and roughness) as well as signs of aging. Others have shown that consuming collagen can increase density in bones weakened with age and can improve joint, back and knee pain.
Human studies are lacking but some randomized controlled trials have found that collagen supplements improve skin elasticity. [3,4] Other trials have found that the supplements can improve joint mobility and decrease joint pain such as with osteoarthritis or in athletes.
Zinc. Zinc, a cofactor in the production of collagen, plays a vital role in collagen synthesis. This mineral is essential to cell repair and helps protect collagen in the body from damage. Zinc deficiency can reduce the amount of collagen produced, therefore getting adequate amounts is important!
Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides is our top choice because it is NSF certified for sport and gives you 18 g of protein with no added sugar or artificial sweeteners. It's not only a great option for adding collagen but also gives you a good dose of protein if you're looking to up your intake.
Systemic scleroderma: Scleroderma causes abnormal collagen growth and affects the skin, joints and other organs, and is often characterized by swelling in the fingertips, joint pain, spider veins and calcium bumps. In serious cases it may cause kidney disease and heart failure.
The "Classic" Face Massage: One of the most common facial massages practised by beauticians and involves pinching, tapping, stroking and kneading the face and is thought to promote collagen production.
Crackers, cookies, cereal, pasta, bread and baked goods contain sugar and chemicals that are damaging to collagen molecules, thereby diminishing the quality of the tissue, and can erode the quantity of your collagen as well.