What is collagen?
Posted by Shubhi in Health Care on Sunday, August 7, 2011
Collagen – you all must have heard the word but may not be very sure about what does it actually mean? Alright so collagen is a type of natural protein, which is fibrous in nature, present in human body. Oookaaay, but what more? Why is it so important for healthy and toned skin? And more importantly where and how can it be consumed for healthy and toned skin? Relax, all of your questions, and more, will be answered here today.
So first: Why is collagen important for human body?
Most of you probably don’t know but collagen is one of the most vital proteins in our body. Roughly around 30% of all proteins are made of collagen, which is usually found in connective tissues such as skin, bone, cartilage, muscles, and tendons.
Ok, once again, sure…but what does it actually do?
Well as you all may already know that proteins are essential to keep our skin firm. Imagine our body as a bed and collagen as the mattress. When it’s young, it’s firm. As it ages, it starts to wear out and we need to take good care of it to make it last longer. What collagen does; it is the main builder component in dermis, which is basically the sensitive connective tissue layer of the skin located below the epidermis, containing nerve endings, sweat and sebaceous glands.
Hmmm, I see. So what effects does it have on us then?
Alright, so as we age, collagen in our skin begins to break. What happens is when we are young and our skin is still healthy, collagen strands slide into each other easily and returns to normal after we stretch our face or smile. But as we age, those collagen strands begins to melt, skin loses its elasticity and does not return to normal after any stretch or a smile. Hence, you notice wrinkles and lose skin on your face.
OMG! That’s the reason? What do I do now? How do I consume more collagen?
Well that is certainly one of the main reasons, indeed. But no need to panic; you can easily adjust your diet in a way to consume more collagen rich food products. Stay tuned for more information right here.
