Building a Healthy Mind and Body with Collagen
If you pay attention to the latest trends in natural health, you likely have heard people discussing the power of collagen. This protein can be found throughout our bodies, everywhere from our muscles to our hair.
As we get older, our bodies also naturally start to produce less of this protein, which leads to our skin becoming increasingly wrinkled, our hair losing its beautiful hydration, and our joints beginning to ache.
However, what many people may not realize is the incredible impact this protein can also have on our health. Collagen not only helps to keep our skin looking plump and fresh, but it actually can help our bodies fight off sickness and stay healthier.
In other words, taking care of your skin, hair, and joints with collagen can also help you stay healthier throughout the winter and spend less time blowing your nose as the cold and flu season comes along.
These supplements can directly impact your immune system and the health of your entire body. Here is what you need to understand to see how collagen can have such an incredible impact on your overall health. You will see the many reasons why adding collagen supplements to your routine can benefit your entire body, helping you look and feel your best.
The role of gut health in your body’s health
Gut health has attracted a lot of attention, from scientists to natural health advocates. It turns out that the ability of our gut to digest food in a healthy way can have a direct impact on the rest of the body.
When the gut becomes inflamed, the rest of the body suffers. Many people suffer from a quite a common problem known as a leaky gut. With a leaky gut, toxins can escape from the digestive tract and start to erode the body’s health.
This leaky gut can result in a variety of digestive conditions. Collagen, however, has a direct role to play in the healing of the digestive tract. Collagen is found throughout the digestive tract, supporting its function. In particular, collagen helps with the connective tissue that helps to protect the lining of the digestive tract. By taking collagen supplements, you can help to restore the health of these connective tissues. And the digestive tract begins to heal.
Inflammation in the leaky gut begins to get better, allowing the body to better absorb important nutrients from the food and supplements you consume. Inflammation throughout the body also begins to subside, which helps the entire body start to feel healthier and become more equipped to fight off illnesses.
As an added bonus, as the gut health improves and you increase the amount of collagen in the body, water absorption will also improve, which adds a boost to your overall health.
The importance of liver health
Throughout the day we are regularly exposed to a variety of different types of toxins. Even as we might try to stay healthy, they can be found in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink.
Your body regularly works to ward off these toxins and protect you from the harm they can cause. In particular, your liver is regularly called upon to help your body detoxify from the exposure to these toxins.
This detoxification process aims to filter out these dangerous substances to limit the harm they can do to the body. As your liver takes care of this critical process, it uses a lot of glutamine and glycine to create an antioxidant known as glutathione.
Collagen helps tremendously with this process because it contains both of these important amino acids in high amounts. Therefore, your collagen supplementation will help your liver do its job well.
It will support your body filter out these toxins and reduce the impact of potentially dangerous pollutants.
Supporting your immune system
Your immune system has the critically important job of identifying potential invaders and then having to make the cells to fight them off. It battles countless different microbes every day.
This adds stress to the body. Giving support to the immune system can help it stay strong enough to keep fighting and continue to keep your body healthy.
Once again, collagen comes in to play here. An important amino acid, known as glutamine, plays an important role in keeping the immune system healthy.
It helps to keep those critical immune system cells in optimal condition, which in turn makes these important fighters stronger in their battles against attempted microbe invasions.
Collagen is rich in glutamine. When people regularly take collagen supplements, they help to supply their body with the amino acids it needs to keep repairing and stimulating the fighting cells of the immune system.
With strong immune cells, you will find that your body does a better job of fighting off infections, healing from illnesses, and recovering from various injuries.
Keeping your spine healthy
You see, collagen is found in the joints, such as the knees and elbows. As people age, the slow-down in the production of collagen can make them more prone to stiff and sore joints.
In turn, this can make it very hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle, complete with exercise. Exercise, however, also helps to strengthen the immune system and keep the body healthy.
Without sufficient collagen, the bones themselves run the risk of losing density and becoming brittle. Brittle bones that break easily also post their own set of health struggles, including basic mobility or even infections.
Collagen, however, can help protect the joints and bone health. The joints become strengthened by the increased production of collagen, this helps them keep the joints running smoothly and without pain.
When we move throughout our day, we often do not give much thought to the health of all the bones and their ligaments that run throughout the body. However, once people begin to experience joint pain, they often find themselves thinking about their bodies constantly.
Meanwhile, the amino acids found in collagen also play an important part in keeping bones healthy. Your body can use the elements found in collagen to keep up the bone density of your skeleton and help you keep moving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for years to come.
Protecting the mind
When it comes to our moods and energy levels, serotonin plays an important role, and when it comes to the production of serotonin, the digestive system plays an important role.
In fact, more than half of the body’s serotonin is made in the digestive system. Therefore, the health of the digestive tract also plays an important role in the health of the brain. The link between diet and mood is an important one.
Once again, remember the important role that collagen plays in the health of the digestive tract. The amino acids in this important protein help to strengthen the protective aspects of the digestive tract, making it easier for the tract to heal.
As the digestive tract begins to improve its function, it can also directly impact the body’s production of serotonin, the ‘feel-good’ transmitter. This helps to improve your mood and your energy levels, keeping you healthier in mind and body.
As you maintain a positive mood and find yourself with more energy, it becomes easier to support the immune system with a healthy lifestyle and ample exercise. Collagen can do so many amazing things for our bodies.
From helping hair look more hydrated and healthy to alleviating the joint pain and digestive issues that people often discover when they get older. The benefits of this protein, however, extend even beyond these.
Collagen can have a tremendous impact on the overall health of your body, from your brain to your spine. Consider how collagen might be able to benefit you this winter season.
