Collagen Is A Building Block For Healthy Aging

We have all heard this word; COLLAGEN. In fact, I think I say it about a hundred times a day. It comes up constantly in my line of work and we are all bombarded with products on tv and social media, that will "generate collagen", as well as given info about treatments that do the same. So why do so many of us barely understand how it affects our skin, yet we take supplements for it anyway? Partly I feel many of us have a fear of aging and will do anything we can to stop it in its tracks and partly because we think it is a miracle supplement. It is true that this protein does play a part in our "youthfulness" but there's more to it for sure. Okay, so here are the "sciencey" facts; Collagen is one of the main building blocks in our body. It is a protein and makes up about 75% of our body including, bones, tendons, ligaments, skin and even your blood vessels, eyes and teeth! There are at least 16 types of Collagen and the 4 main types are Collagen I, II, III and V. Collagen I is made of densely packed fibres, providing structure to your skin, bones, fibrous tissue and connective tissue. Collagen II is found in elastic cartilage which cushions your joints, Type III supports the muscles, organs and arteries and finally Type IV helps with filtration and is found in the layers of your skin. You could think of Collagen as the "glue" that holds our body together, literally. In fact, the word comes from the Greek word "kolla" which means glue.

So this is a lot right? So many people are concerned with anti-aging as well as prevention, that it makes sense that supplements, products, treatments and education are all out there for us. To what degree can we affectively increase Collagen, or prevent loss of same, is a little debatable but science does show that there is something to it. Absolutely, I've seen improvement in the texture and firmness of the skin of my clients with the use of Collagen stimulating treatments,. So do I personally think Collagen can be affected? Yes. We also know that Collagen supplements do assist people with cartilage degradation and it only makes sense then that it affects the "whole" body, not just one small part. Even better than taking a supplement, ensure your diet is full of all the building blocks for Collagen such as Vitamin C rich fruits and peppers. Proline rich egg white, dairy, cabbage and mushrooms. Glycine rich foods found in animal products, as well as Copper which is found in some organ meats, sesame seeds, cocoa powder, cashews and lentils. So while you work on that, we at New Day will concentrate on your skin from the outside, in. To say that we are obsessed with prevention and helping you achieve super healthy skin, is an understatement!

So how to age gracefully? Simple changes that can help are to stop spending time in the sun, don't eat too much sugar and refined carbs and do not smoke. Those things are "poison". Sugar and refined carbs interferes with collagen's ability to repair itself and too much sun reduces Collagen production as does smoking (not to mention its ability to impair wound healing).

Treatments that affect Collagen positively are endless. Anything that stimulates your skin will help. This includes targeted skin care products, chemical peels, micro-needling, LED light therapy, High Frequency and Radio Frequency as well as IPL Laser Skin Rejuvenation. The trick, not that it's a "trick", is to be consistent. Consistency with wearing SPF, consistency with facial treatments and living well. All of those things will help you age in a healthy way. There is no one "pill" or supplement that is a miracle. Remember it's okay to have smile lines and not everything can be erased or prevented but again, that's okay because aging well is beautiful.