Collagen is a key protein in the body. In fact, there is more collagen than any other protein type in your body. The amino acids that make up various types of collagen are the building blocks of many of your body’s components. As a result, a lack of collagen is very noticeable.
Why Would a Person Be Short on Collagen?
Since the body makes its own collagen, you may wonder what would cause a person to have a shortage. For one thing, the body uses a lot of collagen for everything from repairing wounds in the skin to building new cartilage. Add to this the fact that the body makes less collagen as we age, and you have the recipe for a shortage. In fact, it seems that from around our mid-20s, we no longer keep up with producing as much collagen as we use.
There are plenty of ways to supplement your body’s collagen supply, but before you run out and buy a supplement, you should see if your body is actually building up a collagen debt. Let’s look at some of the indicators.
Symptoms of a Lack of Collagen
Here are some of the issues that can result from a lack of sufficient collagen protein in the body.
- Joint pain – Cartilage is made from collagen. Since cartilage is the material that makes your joints move smoothly, a lack of sufficient collagen can result in the joints beginning to break down. As a result, you may experience increased levels of pain in your joints.
- Wrinkles – Collagen gives elasticity to your skin and helps it to retain moisture. If you don’t have enough collagen, wrinkles start to form, and the skin becomes dry. This can be related to decreasing collagen levels, but it can also be due to sun damage that zaps collagen from your skin.
- Loose teeth – Collagen is necessary for keeping the teeth anchored. A lack of collagen may result in a receding gum line and loose or sensitive teeth.
- Leaky gut – Leaky gut can be related to both diarrhea and constipation as well as pain and bloating. However, leaky gut is more than a problem in the bowels. It means that the passageways in the intestines that allow nutrients into the bloodstream are not functioning properly. As a result, some good nutrients may be blocked, and some toxins may be allowed into the bloodstream rather than being excreted.
- Slower healing – Your skin needs collagen to heal wounds. It is especially important for serious wounds such as burns and wounds that grow infected or leak puss. Wounds may become slow to heal without the proper collagen levels in the body.
- Muscle aches – Since collagen is a pivotal protein in the formation of connective tissue, a lack of this protein can lead to muscle aches.
- Cellulite – Cellulite is formed by fat pushing up through the soft tissue of the body to the skin level. As a result, the skin becomes lumpy or dimpled in appearance. The formation of cellulite may be related to the loss of elasticity in the skin due to a collagen shortage or because of the lack of raw materials for the connective tissue.
- Circulation problems – The walls of the blood vessels and certain organs are also formed with collagen proteins. Depleted collagen levels can, therefore, have cardiovascular effects as well.
- Thin hair – Collagen plays an important role in keeping the hair follicles healthy. As a result, a lack of collagen can cause thinning hair or even problems with the texture of the hair itself.
This is just the short list of problems that can occur when your body doesn’t have all of the collagen it needs for maintaining the different body systems. A lack of collagen can affect many other things, even the formation of the placenta when a woman gets pregnant.
Since there are so many ways to see when a person lacks collagen, the next logical question is: what is the best way to increase collagen levels in the body? Warrior Strong Wellness has two options for you.
Collagen Supplements to Help You Meet Your Body’s Needs
Since collagen in the body is all about supply and demand, we make two supplements to help you increase your body’s collagen supplies. They each have their own unique makeup of amino acids to help your body in different ways.
- Collagen Peptides & Bone Broth – This grass-fed bovine-based bone broth supplement features three different types of collagen. It’s the perfect supplement for repairing leaky gut. However, collagen from cows also has the right amino acids for fighting the effects of aging in the skin, repairing muscles and cartilage, and supporting healthy hair growth.
- Multi-Collagen Protein Powder – Our multi-collagen protein powder provides collagen from multiple sources to give you a mix of types 1,2,3,5, and 10 of this protein. It is great for everything from boosting your digestive and immune health to encouraging muscle repair after a good workout.
Regardless of the collagen supplement that works best for you, our protein powders can be stirred into hot or cold liquids, blended into your smoothie, or even baked into your next batch of muffins.
Warrior Strong Wellness is happy to be a part of your journey toward better health. We also want to give back to the community, and that’s why part of our proceeds go toward childhood cancer research. So place your order today and do some good for yourself and for the kids.
About The Author
Warrior Strong Wellness
Warrior Strong Wellness provides innovative and high quality transformational supplements and raises awareness and funds to fight childhood cancer by giving a portion of our proceeds to childhood cancer research. In our weekly blogs, we share wisdom about wellness and living a Warrior Strong lifestyle.