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When it comes to Collagen Supplements, you may not realise that the origin and benefits will differ from product to product. The Collagen in your Food Supplement will either be Bovine or Marine Collagen and the benefits of each can differ. Its not always clear what the differences between the Bovine and Marine actually are.
What is Collagen?
Collagen peptides are made up of a series of Amino Acids, that play an important role in the body. Collagen is the most abundant form of protein in the body, around a third of our total protein content, and is found everywhere. The biggest problem with Collagen however is that our natural production of Collagen dissipates over time. This reduction in Collagen is more evident in women, who lose 30% of their Collagen during the 1st 5 years of the menopause. What does this drop in Collagen mean for our bodies. Well the first sign of this natural aging process is the formation of wrinkles and fine lines. Collagen is what gives our skin is bounce and spring. With time it loses this spring and wrinkles start to develop. Collagen is “the glue that holds us together”, so taking a high quality Collagen Food Supplement can show almost immediate effects.
Factors other than age also contribute to the decline in our Collagen production, such as poor nutrition, environmental toxins and exposure to UV rays to name a few.
Bovine Collagen
Proto-col Collagen Supplements use Bovine Collagen sourced from Grass-fed cows for their products. They take cow hides, that would otherwise have been a waste product of the meat industry, and boil them down to extract the collagen. Bovine Collagen contains both Type I & Type III and Proto-col’s Bovine Collagen is 98.4% digestible in the gut. Type I is the most abundant Collagen Type that our bodies use, but Type III is also important in giving structural support to our muscles, organs and blood vessels. The Bovine Collagen is broken down in the gut into the amino acids that make up the protein. These amino acids are then able to be used all around the body to build the necessary proteins.
It isn’t the actual Collagen that we ingest that is used to supplement our own Collagen production directly. Our brain actually detects the abundance of free Collagen in our system and believes that this Collagen is being lost. It therefore stimulates an increase in our Collagen production to make up for this perceived loss. The amino acids are then distributed around so we can make the new Collagen.
Marine Collagen
Viviscal Professional Supplements use a Marine Collagen Complex that they call AminoMarC. Marine Collagen comes from the skin, bones and scales of fish, which again would otherwise would be waste products of the food industry. Marine Collagen only contains Type I Collagen, and while its not necessarily important to how our body uses the Collagen, it does mean there will be a difference in the Amino Acids that are part of the Supplement.
In all you may find that a Bovine Collagen Supplement will lead to a better result as it is a more digestible and well rounded type of Collagen. Both Bovine and Marine Collagen Supplements will work for everyone and the results from either will be seen just as quickly as each other.