Collagen supplements are frequently associated with having beautiful skin, leading people to assume that only women should have them as their beauty supplement. However, along with dermal health maintenance, collagen is essential for many other vital functions in our body.
Being responsible for 30% of the body's protein - Collagen is the most prevalent protein in humans. It is concentrated in fibrotic tissues, like the skin, tendons, and ligaments. Also, it is abundantly found in the gut, intervertebral discs, bone, cartilage, corneas, blood vessels, and the dentin of teeth. It's actively involved in tissue regeneration, repair, and immune function.
Healthy, supple skin and strong muscles, teeth, bones, and joints are ensured by sufficient collagen reserves in the body. It is crucial to maintaining your body's health; however, after the mid-20s, humans tend to lose collagen at a rate of approximately 1 - 1.7% per year. Although the pace of collagen loss may vary depending on the individual, collagen loss does occur regardless of gender as we age.
In addition to natural aging, Collagen is lost due to various modern lifestyle factors, including smoking, stress, UV exposure, high sugar, inflammation-causing diets, lack of sleep, and UV radiation, in both men and women.
So the question of whether men need collagen supplements has a single answer – YES! In this article, let us look at collagen's benefits for men and how to choose a good collagen supplement. Let's get started!
6 Benefits of collagen peptides for men
1. Of course, the improvement in skin health is the most well-known benefit of collagen peptide supplementation. The importance of skin to overall health extends beyond its aesthetic value. It serves as the first line of defense against every dangerous external factor. Hydrolyzed collagen supplements help lessen and delay the formation of face wrinkles, increase skin hydration and suppleness, and strengthen the skin's moisture barrier.
2. As collagen improves muscle condition, strengthens joint tissues like ligaments and tendons, and improves joint flexibility, collagen peptide supplements are proven to enhance athletic performance and endurance.
3. Supplementation with collagen peptides has been shown to increase hair thickness by increasing the number of hair follicle cells. This may help you to maintain healthy hair, beard, and mustache.
4. Being actively involved in tissue growth, repair and regeneration, collagen peptides help speed up wound healing and damaged tissues. It may also help to speed up recovery after exercise.
5. If you are a fan of resistance training and bodybuilding, you would be thrilled to know that collagen peptide supplements can enhance body composition by significantly reducing fat and increasing fat-free mass.
6. Collagen peptides will be of great help if you guys are experiencing joint pain from hard labor, intense training, or diseases like osteoarthritis. Collagen peptide supplementation is a great way to ease joint pain and enhance joint functionality.
How to supply collagen to your body?
Collagen can be classified as exogenous and endogenous collagen. Our bodies may produce endogenous collagen using components from our diets, such as vitamin C and amino acids. Exogenous collagen, on the other hand, comes from external sources, such as protein supplements or the diet.
Natural collagen is present in various foods, including chicken, fish, shellfish, and egg whites. Bone broths are a rich source of collagen from the bones, tendons, and cartilages of animals. It's one of the best natural sources of collagen for men.
Other foods, including green leafy vegetables, garlic, cashew nuts, tomatoes, citrus fruits, tropical fruits, beans, bell peppers, etc., can support your body's production of endogenous collagen as they supply essential vitamins and minerals required for collagen production. If you find it challenging to include collagen-rich foods or the foods supporting collagen production in your diet, then you can go for a good quality collagen supplement that will do the job for you.
How to choose the best collagen supplement?
Decided to go with the supplement? Great! Collagen supplements are one of the best ways to provide your body with collagen and let's see how to select a good one. Usually, collagen is a big protein molecule and is not known for having good digestibility, be it from diet or supplements. But hydrolyzed collagen, which is formed when collagen is reduced to small peptides, has good digestibility and absorbability. It's also referred to as gelatine, collagen hydrolysate, gelatine hydrolysate, hydrolyzed gelatine, or collagen peptides. Thus the first point to remember is always to go for a collagen peptide supplement.
The next point to consider is the raw material used to source the collagen. An ideal collagen supplement should provide you with all the essential types of collagen, including types I, II, III, V, VI, VIII, and IX. Now, it's best if all the peptides are obtained from a single source, which is very difficult nowadays. Thus, most manufacturers combine two to three sources to get full spectrum collagen peptides in their products.
Great idea, right? Nope! Because being from different sources, each might have different digestibility and absorbability. Thus, in the end, will all the essential peptides be available for our body's utilization remains a question.
So, now what's the solution? It's New Zealand's cattle Bones and Ligaments. How? The only animal source with all seven collagen peptides—Type I, II, III, V, VI, VIII, and IX — is 100% live-grass-fed, free-range New Zealand beef cattle bones and ligaments. Be careful, there is collagen coming from New Zealand that is scraped from the hides (skins) of cattle, but this only contains two peptides, I & III. The greatest collagen source available in the market, validated by research and analysis conducted by Massey University in New Zealand, comes from 100% grass-fed, free-range, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free New Zealand cattle bones and ligaments; it contains the complete muti-collagen spectrum from ONE source; NZ cattle bones and ligaments. It's the best collagen supplement.
There will be another question in your mind which is 'when to take collagen peptides,' and we would say it's better to include it in your daily routine as early as your mid-twenties.
There we are! Collagen For Men is as vital as for women. We hope the article was helpful for you guys. Any doubts? Kindly comment below!