Shop Now
Beef Collagen
What are the main causes of collagen depletion in the human body?
What are the main causes of collagen depletion in the human body?
Collagen, as you probably know, is a kind of scaffolding protein in the human body. Although it is best known for keeping skin plump and joints supple, it also plays an important role in maintaining the health of your gut and your connective tissues.There are 6 main factors that affect the level of collagen in your body, and although you can control some of them, you can’t control them all.
Let’s start with what you can’t control.
Age, and with it, changes in hormone levels.
Our bodies lose collagen every year, once we reach adulthood - from our mid-twenties onwards, we lose about 1% of our collagen each year. This is because we produce less collagen as the fibroblasts in our skin become less active.The bad news for women is that collagen production in our body is particularly affected by the hormone Oestrogen. Oestrogen levels decline with age, falling rapidly during perimenopause and menopause. This is one of the reasons why osteoporosis is of particular concern for women as they get older.
So what about the things you can control?
Sunlight and Air Pollution
It is lovely to sit outside in the sun, but bear in mind that it isn't always beneficial for your body.
Exposing your skin to Ultra-violet (UV) rays from the sun can push certain enzymes into over-drive, which results in collagen being broken down faster than you can make more to replace it, and photoaging occurs. When this happens, the deep structure of your skin is weakened.
Sitting outside can also expose you to various air pollutants such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in car fumes. These can result in oxidative stress, which damages lipids, proteins and even DNA, and can speed up the breakdown of collagen.
Smoking
Closely linked to pollution, is smoking. It is well-known that smoking is harmful for your general health, and it is also known for aging your skin. Tobacco, and the smoke it generates, contains many chemicals which can reduce collagen in the body by creating free-radicals which damage the collagen producing cells.Smoking also has the effect of reducing the levels of certain nutrients in your body (eg vitamin C, which is a collagen-building essential), and increases the activity of enzymes that act to break down the scaffolding of the skin. In addition, chemicals in the smoke can cause blood vessels to narrow, thus reducing the supply rate of nutrients to the skin; smoking also reduces the amount of oxygen getting into your body, both of which will adversely affect collagen levels.
Studies have shown that smoking can decrease collagen production by about 20%. (Type I collagen was lower by 18% and Type III collagens lower by 22%)
Excessive Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol can adversely affect collagen repair and renewal in your body because it can cause dehydration, it overloads the liver and it can affect your sleep.Sleep is very important. While we are asleep our body is in ‘repair mode’, during which it releases growth hormone which act to stimulate the production of collagen - the tissues in our body are being replenished as we sleep. Poor sleep, or no sleep, can slow down this process, so when excess alcohol leads to poor sleep, our collagen level suffers.
Stress
High stress levels can impact our collagen levels by affecting our sleep, but also because of the very nature of the stress itself. Our main stress hormone, Cortisol, actually breaks down proteins to provide us with the energy our stressed body thinks it needs ,and one of the most plentiful proteins in our body is collagen! Long term, chronic stress can be linked to the loss of collagen in skin, joints etc, which causes the body more stress…and so it goes on!
A High Sugar Diet
A diet high in sugar is bad for your overall health, and, of course, it adversely affects your collagen level as well.
A high-sugar diet can lead to an increased rate of glycation - this is where sugar molecules in food bind to protein molecules in the skin. Collagen is a protein, and so when glycation happens, the collagen in the body becomes less flexible, more fragile and more easily broken.
To Summarize
To give yourself the best chance to maintain your natural collagen levels, use a good-sunscreen, avoid air pollution, don’t smoke, don’t drink excessive amounts of alcohol, reduce your stress, sleep well, and eat very little sugar.