Thinking about adding collagen as part of your everyday routine? As an expert on the science of collagen – I am affectionately known as the Collagen PhD – I put together this collagen primer to help you get started.
Collagen is So Important for Health and Beauty Because:
Collagen is one of the most important supplements you can add to your daily diet. Collagen is the connective tissue in every structure in our bodies. It makes up 1/3 of the entire body’s protein and makes up 70-80% of our skin, our largest organ. Plus- Our natural collagen production declines in our early 20′s (and sun exposure doesn’t help). Diminishing collagen can make skin lose elasticity and moisture leading to drier, less supple skin, and lines and wrinkles, brittle nails and can contribute to thinning, dull hair.
Collagen is highly beneficial to maintaining an active lifestyle as it repairs muscles and aids in recovery during and after exercise. It strengthens joints and ligaments and may reduce exercise-related joint pain. Collagen’s amino acid profile makes it highly beneficial for your gut health, too. By eating unheated collagen daily, you will maximize all of the incredible ways collagen fuels your body and overall wellness from the inside out.
How to Make Collagen a Part of Your Daily Routine:
Glow Beauty Fuel wants to make it easy and fun to add collagen to your everyday life. That is why we spent years creating absolutely delicious bars that make it a low calorie, low sugar treat powered with the proper amount of collagen plus 100% of your daily beauty supplements.
Collagen powders are another way of taking collagen- the measuring and mixing takes a bit more effort to add to your routine. AND we learned from recent studies that adding collagen powder to morning hot beverages actually diminishes the structure and the beauty results of collagen. So, we recommend one yummy bar a day- Eat Don’t Heat!
This is When to Start:
Science tells us that our natural collagen production declines in our early 20’s. We recommend starting taking collagen then, but it is also never too late to start, as benefits and results will begin in as little as 4 weeks.
Collagen Creams are Great, But:
We love the way creams feel and the temporary effects they have. But the collagen molecules in them are too big to penetrate beyond the upper layer of the skin, the epidermis. We recommend using topical beauty products for comfort, and temporary results. But for long term results – beauty really does come from within- and we really are what we eat.
How to Identify the Best Collagen to Take:
There are different types of collagen and lots of marketing out there- it can be very confusing. We researched all the collagens currently available. Here is why we chose ours.
We researched lots of different types of collagen and our strong belief is that our high-quality bovine collagen, with its low molecular weight, is simply the quickest and most efficient to be absorbed, and helps deliver the best results.
We only use the highest quality bovine collagen: single-source, pasture-raised, grass-fed, GMO-free, hormone-free, antibiotic-free.
The unheated collagen peptides we use are highly bioavailable: 95% are absorbed by the body and end up in the highest concentration in skin, hair, and nails.
Our collagen is ethically and sustainably raised, and our manufacturing partner utilizes earth-friendly practices. It is also kosher-certified.
Some collagen products frankly taste terrible and ours does not. We love eating great food, so delicious is paramount. You will crave our bars every day of the week.
You may have seen products containing marine and poultry collagen or claiming to contain vegan collagen. Vegan collagen is not yet on the market (despite the claims) but we eagerly await seeing the science and results.
Glow Beauty Fuel uses Bovine collagen as it contains type I and type III collagen which marine and poultry do not.
Type III collagen is highly beneficial for skin, hair, nails and connective tissues in the body, including the gut.
Marine collagen is inferior to bovine collagen in overall proline content, a key contributor to collagen’s many benefits.
How Much Collagen to Take Daily:
There are no official dosing guidelines for collagen.
Independent studies (studies not performed by companies selling collagen) confirm that 2.5-5g of collagen daily are highly effective for beauty results.
Glow Beauty Fuel followed the science by providing 6g/6,000 mg per bar plus synergistic hyaluronic acid, hibiscus flower extract and vitamin C to turbo-charge collagen’s effects.
When to Expect Visible Results:
Independent studies show that there are visible skin results in as little as 4 weeks.Results may include increased skin hydration, increased skin fullness and firmness, and decreased fine lines and wrinkles.
Nail results will be fully visible once the old nail is completely replaced by a new nail, in approximately 12 weeks.
Your collagen-fortified hair follicles will produce stronger, more flexible hair, but it will take time to become noticeable, as hair grows on average 1/2 inch per month.
