How does Collagen help Perimenopause Symptoms?
What is Collagen?
Collagen is a protein which is found in the skin, tendons, ligaments and connective tissue of all living animals and most abundant in mammals. It makes the foundations of our bodies, it’s what holds us together. Collagen fibres are in connective tissue that are like pieces of string of all different shapes and sizes that connect our bones together. They stabilise our joints or hold the ends of two bones together. They protect our joints and make sure everything works as it should.
The collagen in our skin is what gives it volume and a youthful appearance, as we age the collagen in our skin breaks down and that’s when we start to see wrinkles and fine lines.
Source of Collagen Supplements
Collagen supplements are mainly from the skin and bones of cows (bovine) and fish sources (marine).
When you see vegan collagen supplements advertised, they are promoting supplements with nutrients that may help boost the body's ability to make collagen.
Hydrolysed collagen peptides which are short chains of amino acids are considered the best form of collagen for ingestion and are easy for the body to digest.
Losing Collagen
It’s not clear when we start losing collagen. Some studies suggest that we start losing 1% of collagen a year from the age of 20. This increases in perimenopause and menopause with the falling of oestrogen levels and as part of the natural ageing process.
Health Benefits of Collagen
Collagen can help to
- Build tissue and maintain joint health. Studies show that supplementing with collagen can be useful for treating osteoarthritis and other joint disorders.
- Maintain muscle mass.
- Rejuvenate skin, hair and nails
- Preserve the youthful appearance of your skin. Studies have shown that taking collagen peptides will support skin elasticity, hydration levels, and promote youthful texture.
- Improve gut health - it can help repair and grow muscle tissue in your gut lining. Find out here how to work on your gut health.
Foods that contain Collagen
We don’t eat as much collagen in our diets anymore because we tend not to eat nose to tail.
To help maintain a healthy, strong and mobile body, we need adequate amounts of collagen in our daily diet, so make sure you eat the skin, tendons and connective tissue from good animal sources such as:
- Chicken - don’t just eat the breast, try the thighs, skin, legs and wings
- Fish and shellfish - eat the meat and the skin
- Bone broth
- And supplement with hydrolysed collagen peptides supplement. I would suggest finding a supplement that is at least 3g of Collagen per serve (the SheBANG! Peri Chai Latte contains your daily requirement of Collagen).
My final thoughts…
Perimenopause is a time when we are in a pro inflammatory state, gut integrity is declining, maintaining muscle mass and joint health is important.
For these reasons, in my professional opinion as a Clinical Nutritionist, supplementing with collagen in perimenopause is extremely helpful for all the reasons above so absolutely a good idea to include in your daily routine.
Do you take a collagen supplement? Which ones? Have you seen/felt a difference? Tell us all about it in the comments below.
Did you know our Peri Chai Latte contains 3g of Hydrolysed Collagen Peptides per serve.
