Page 34 - Scene Magazine September 2023 48-09

Nutrition Scene
BY BRIAN
NESSEL
debated topic in the past year, with new studies and opinions coming out from well respected Universities. So let’s talk about it and give you the bad, the good, and the in between.
to our survival and abilities necessary for survival, are the parts that get the goods first. Our bodies, however, have no vanity. And our skin, as long as it’s intact, is designed to take a beating. Our biochemistry really doesn’t care if we are wrinkly. So when we take collagen, your skin will be incredibly low on the priority list for where your body wants to put those amino acids.
What is collagen? Collagen is a type of protein – it really is like a glue that holds many of the body’s tissues togeth- er, like skin, tendons, ligaments, bones, and cartilage, according to Keith Baar, PhD, professor of molecular exercise physiology at the University of Califor- nia, Davis. When your BODY makes more collagen, these tissues become thicker, stronger, and healthier. When your body is making less collagen, you’ll see these tissues become more frail and vulnerable. One of the easiest tissues to see collagen deficiencies, is the skin. The more sun you are exposed to over your lifetime, the more your col- lagen breaks down, and you lose elastic- ity and tightness. The result is you will see more... WRINKLES! Which is why collagen supplementation is nearly a billion dollar market. But, does it work?
Studies have shown that people with tendon and ligament injury have seen a difference in their healing while engag- ing in collagen supplementation. Not
Now I know people will say, “But I’ve taken collagen and it’s helped my face and hair!” Scientists have ad- dressed this, too. Often when people de- cide to take collagen, they also include it in a better diet. They’re getting more nutrients in general, so it isn’t necessar- ily the collagen that’s making hair and skin look and feel better. My suggestion is this – do both. Take the collagen just in case science hasn’t figured it out
yet. But, ONLY do it if you’re going
to include it within a healthy, balanced diet full of green leafy things. Because here’s the real secret – the more green leafy things you eat, the better ALL of you will be – scientifically discovered, cited, and documented. Find it out for yourself.
Over the past couple years I’ve been asked more and more about supplementing col- lagen products into your diet. This has become a highly
Because collagen is a protein, collagen supplements are broken down in the same way every other protein is broken down – into simple amino acids. And, once that happens, your collagen isn’t collagen anymore, it’s a bunch of amino acids that then have to be put back together with amino acids your body provides, and made into proteins again. When your body supplies it’s own amino acids, then it decides where it’s going to go and what it’s going to do. And this is where it gets tricky.
actually makes sense when you look at how we are built. Our bodies prioritize the most important parts of us to get the nutrients and amino acids we take in. So, parts of us that are necessary
What is collagen?
a significant difference, but enough to be scientifically distinguishable. In that aspect, scientists CAN say that collagen does have some impact on the healing of soft tissue related injuries. And that makes sense, because our bodies are built to fix damage that our bodies find important to our survival. Good news, right?!
Well, here is where the news gets a little less positive. Other than two stud- ies that have been paid for by supple- ment companies, there is no scientific evidence that collagen supplementation has a positive impact on hair, skin, or nails... (actually a little more on nails, but not on hair or skin). And, that
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