Collagen & collagen loading

Boosting collagen levels with collagen loading

• Most people have a dreadful collagen intake from food.
• Most people are also deficient in key micro-nutrients that support collagen production.
• Collagen production declines with age.

The secret to boosting collagen levels is to use collagen loading. (1) Maximise a varied source of food based collagen (2) Take collagen building blocks and (3) Supplement with hydrolysed collagen and (4) ensure good levels of the key micro-nutrients.

• Vitamin C is vital for collagen production as it is a cofactor for lysyl hydroxylase and prolyl hydroxylase, which stabilise the triple helix of collagen. Extreme vitamin C deficiency results in scurvy, which causes our collagen containing tissues to break down. The RDA for vitamin C is 90mg, but a theraputic dose is 2000mg or higher (taken in 2 does per day). The best fruits for vitamin C are guava, kiwi, pineapple, watermelon, berries and papaya. Although most fruits contain a good amount. If you have bleeding gums and bruise easily, then you might have mild scurvy!
• Bone broth should be your #1 food choice. Generations ago, families used to cook the bones and carcasses of birds and animals to create bone broth. Cooking styles changed and we moved away from eating meat on the bone and meat with skin. Bone broth is rich in minerals that supports bone and join health. Bone broth contains lots of collagen, glutamine, glycine and proline. Bone broth shortens recovery after exercise and helps with sports-related injury. Celebrites are big fans of bone broth, including Kobe Bryant, Gwyneth Paltrow and Elle MacPherson.
• Eat the skin of animals and fish. If you just eat filleted fish or clean cuts of meat, you are throwing away the best parts. Skin contains a huge amount of collagen. Also try and eat meat that is on the bone.
• Hydrolysed collagen powder. This is reduced to small peptides, which can be ingested easily by the body. Hydrolysed collagen has a much smaller molecular weight in comparison to native collagen or gelatin. 90% of hydrolysed collagen is digested and available as small peptides in the blood stream within one hour. Go for grass fed products or quality fish collagen. It's better to take 2 or 3 types as each will have a different amino acid profile.
• Vitamin E (actually a group of 8 compounds called tocopherols) is a fat-soluble antioxidant which scavenges for free-radicals. Vitamin C and vitamin E act synergistically. When UV-activated molecules oxidise cellular components, a chain reaction of  polyunsaturated fatty acid oxidation takes place. Vitamin C, glutathione and CoQ10 all also recycle vitamin E in our bodies. The intake of natural vitamin E products helps against collagen cross linking and lipid peroxidation, which are both linked to ageing of the skin. Almonds and sunflower seeds are the best for vitamin E (but almonds contain quite high %PUFAs). Sweet potatoes would really help too. Take a look at eating watermelon, it’s packed with natural antioxidants such as lycopene (huge amounts), vitamin C and citruline. Many studies point to the benefits of taking lycopene with vitamin E. Vitamin E supplements are
• Manganese is required for the activation of prolidase. This is the enzyme that provide the amino acid, proline, for collagen formation in human skin cells. You get manganese from nuts and seeds. It is also stored in the livers of animals. Most multivitamins contain the RDA of around 2-4mg.
• Glycine is essential for many muscle, cognitive and metabolic functions.  Glycine accounts for one-third of the amino acids in the collagen molecule, so it's found in high concentrations in the skin, connective tissues and muscle tissue. Glycine can be synthesised in your body from choline, or from other amino acids (threonine or serine). But a high dietary intake is recommended. Glycine can be taken in supplement form, but it’s also plentiful in natural food sources. Pure food grade gelatin or hydrated collagen can be supplemented. The best food source of glycine is bone broth. Most people already get around 2g of glycine daily from their diets, but needs differ a lot depending on someone’s level of activity and state of health. Daily doses of up to 50g are safe. Our recommendation for a healthy dose would be 5g of glycine supplemnet before your first meal (glycine blunts the blood sugar response) and 3g before bed (glycine is great for winding down to a deep sleep).
• L-proline helps heal cartilage and cushion joints. Proline make up about 15 percent of collagen. Proline aids the body in breaking down proteins for use in healthy cells. Along with lysine, proline is a precursor for hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine. The body uses hydroxyproline to make collagen. The best dietary sources of L-lysine are beef, chicken, turkey, fish like tuna, whitebeans, pumpkin seeds and eggs.
• L-arginine improves wound healing. The highest amount of arginine is in turkey breast, with pork and chicken having good amounts too. Fish and animal skins are also rich in arginine. L-arginine is a super supplement, as it helps improve circulation. It follows many metabolic routes within the body, such as converting to the amino acids proline and glutamate. It also serves as a precursor for the synthesis of protein, nitric oxide and urea.
• Whey protein (raw & undenatured) provides the amino acids (cysteine, glycine and glutamate).  Whey is considered a “fast” protein, because it is rapidly digested in as little as an hour. Cheap whey protein contains a lot of casein (the curd). Casein is a “slow” protein that is digested over several hours.