How to identify the symptoms that you could have a collagen deficiency
With winter on its way, is your body sending you the sign’s that it’s collagen-deficient? If your neck is drooping, your hair is drying out and your joints ache, these are all warning signs that you may be collagen-deficient. And the worst is yet to come.
Catherine Clark, the Owner and Founder of Harvest Table says that while there is no way to measure the amount of collagen in your body, you can generally tell when your body doesn’t have enough.
“Collagen deficiency strikes nearly everyone over the age of 30. As you age, your body naturally begins to manufacture less collagen. But this is the glue that holds your body together and without it, your body literally starts falling apart. So if you have any of the signs that you may have a collagen deficiency, it’s time to act,” Catherine explains.
Catherine shares five of the key signals that you could be collagen deficient.
1. Wrinkling
It’s not just your imagination, winter really is harder on your skin as cold air and wind strip away the skin’s hydration. That’s why you will often see more wrinkles appearing in the colder months, especially on your face. The great news is that collagen will keep your skin strong and elastic. Collagen aids in the skin’s hydration and helps wound repair and stretch marks by improving skin elasticity. It will also help your fingernails and hair grow and keep your teeth strong.
2. You lose flexibility
If your collagen stores are running low, you may lose some flexibility and find that your tendons and ligaments are stiffer. Whether you head indoors during winter or brave the cold outside, collagen can aid in exercise recovery and muscle growth. Glycine and arginine, two of the most important amino acids found in collagen, play a role in helping to form and repair muscle tissue, healing injuries, sparing tissue wasting, boosting the metabolism and aiding in muscle development.
3. Joint pain
Another all too common problem you may experience is joint pain. Though we often assume this is a natural part of ageing or caused by over-exercising, it can actually be due to a collagen deficiency. Cartilage is the buoyant, rubber-like tissue that covers the ends of long bones at the joints and it’s mostly made up of collagen. A collagen deficiency leads to more bone-on-bone movement, which can cause excessive friction that will lead to inflammation and may eventually progress to arthritis. Collagen will assist your body in preventing joint stiffness, swelling and pain.
4. Cellulite
A collagen deficiency can also result in worsening cellulite. When the fatty tissues underneath your skin push upward against your body’s connective tissues, the skin at the surface begins to pucker, resulting in cellulite. As your levels of collagen reduce, your skin becomes less firm, grows thinner and becomes more vulnerable to damage. The result is the all too familiar “orange peel” look that worsens with age. Collagen will boost your cell renewal and the skin’s suppleness and will reduce the all too obvious signs of cellulite.
5. Digestive problems
Uncomfortable bloating and other gut symptoms can be an indication that your body needs more collagen. A lack of collagen in the gut can lead to intestinal permeability or “leaky gut syndrome” and symptoms include constipation, diarrhoea, brain fog, fatigue and an impaired immune system. Again, this is easy to reverse if you boost your body’s collagen levels.
Catherine says that the easiest and most efficient way to address a collagen deficiency is to look after your body with the right diet and supplements. “While we often think of wellness in terms of what we can see and apply on the outside, there’s a lot that can, and should, happen on the inside,” Catherine explains. “By supplementing your diet with collagen and making it part of your daily routine, you can vastly improve your skin and boost immune, cardiovascular and digestive health. Healthy winter skin and joints are only one scoop away.”
Harvest Table has a wide range of collagen products that are available from www.harvesttable.co.za. Follow Catherine on Instagram: @whole_healthy_me.
