Beyond MAY 2017 Issue - The Power Of Foods BEYOND_ThePowerOfFood issue_050417 | Page 12

I
t is made up of non-essential
amino acids including
proline, glycine, arginine, and
glutamine. While our bodies can
and do produce these amino acids,
as we age our body’s ability to
make them as needed slows down.
This is why we get wrinkles and
aches and pains in our joints as
we age. Add in lifestyle factors
including a low nutrient, high
inflammatory diet, environmental
pollution, and stress, this process
slows down even quicker. Not
good! Luckily we can help our
body out and consume collagen
from an outside source.
BENEFITS OF ADDING IN COLLAGEN
Collagen, in the form of bone broth, is
one of the oldest known healing foods, It
has been used in traditional medicine for
thousands of years! Chicken soup when
you’re sick truly does help you feel better
faster (when made with bone broth.)
SKIN AND HAIR
Collagen makes up around 70% of the
protein in our skin. As collagen production
slows, our skin will show it first. It will
become thinner and lose its elasticity,
thus creating wrinkles. Luckily, it appears
that consuming gluten can actual reverse
this process and decrease wrinkles! A
double-blind study saw a 20% reduction in
wrinkles after participants collagen in it’s
peptide form for 8 weeks. (1)
JOINT HEALTH
Just like our skin, our joints will lose
moisture, become stiff, less mobile and
painful. A double-blind study out of Penn
12
State University performed at 24 week
long study to see if adding in collagen
hydrolysate would have any effect on
joint pain in athletes. They found that
those who were treated with the collagen
hydrolysate reported less joint pain while
at rest, walking, and lifting. (2) It has even
been found to be an effective treatment for
osteoarthritis and other joint disorders. (3)
DIGESTIVE HEALTH
It has been found that people who have
digestive issues like leaky gut, dysbiosis,
or digestive related autoimmune disease,
also have lower serum concentrations of
collagen in the intestinal lining. Collagen
has been found to restore the lining of the
intestinal tract and help keep its integrity.
(4) Consuming collagen can support a
healthy digestive tract.
DETOXIFICATION
One amino acid collagen contains
is glycine. Glycine is a precursor for
glutathione and might improve Phase
II detox. Phase II detox is when the liver
wants to remove a toxic chemical or drug,
and render it less harmful. Glycine is one
of the amino acids necessary to help bind
to these chemicals, help make it water
soluble and then be removed from the
body. (5)
HOW TO GET COLLAGEN
Bone broth, collagen protein powder, and
collagen peptides are 3 ways to consume
this awesome protein.
BONE BROTH
Bone broth is the most gentle on your
digestive tract. I love this form because it is
nutrient dense, easy to make, and, again,
easiest on the gut. If you have an inflamed
intestinal lining, this form will be the least
likely to cause stomach upset.