Holistic Health: Mindset, Body & Energy

Collagen, a family of proteins naturally occurring in the body, is one of the main building blocks for your bones, skin, hair, muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

It gives the skin structure and support and keeps the skin smooth and supple as we age. Therefore, collagen health should be a focus if we want to look younger as we age, rather than resorting to botox, filler and so forth.

What breaks down collagen and slows it’s production:

1. Ageing – collagen starts to break down from late 20s – can’t really avoid this, BUT keep reading for other interventions….
2. Life stages – going through menopause and beyond as estrogen drops as estrogen helps with collagen production, hence hormonal balance is key. There is herbs, nutrition and the use of bioidentical hormones if needed.
3. UV radiation from sun – do not sunbake!!
4. Pollution – through the generation of free radicals from pollutants in the air, then it reaching the skin – hence it is important to cleanse skin at the end of the day and use moisturiser as a protection.
5. Smoking – one of the fastest ways to age the skin, – lungs are also full of collagen. Stop smoking! It has no health benefits.
6. Stress – chronic stress reduces the ability of the skin to repair and produce more collagen.. Cortisol stress hormone breaks down collagen.
7. Diets that include alot of high fat, high carbs and refined sugar and foods cooked at high heats are associated with chronic inflammatory diseases eg. heart disease, cancer – see AGEs below.
8. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are harmful compounds that are formed when protein or fat combine with sugar in the bloodstream. Foods that are boiled are steamed and slow cooled (moist heat) have less advanced glycation end products (AGE) than those that are baked, BBQd, toasted, fried, deep fried or grilled. Red meat also has higher levels of these AGEs. Processed foods are high in AGEs too. AGEs dramatically affect collagen metabolism and our overall health.

A few additional notes re: sun exposure….

UV from sun production activates enzymes in the body which basically eat up collagen. Sun protection is so important – every day eg. hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, shade etc. However, it is important to have a little sun exposure as vitamin D is so important for so many functions in the body – hormones, immune health, bone health, blood sugar regulation and so much more!

What can we do about helping with collagen levels and hence our appearance:

1. Minimise sun exposure and have sun protection
2. Do not smoke!!!!!
3. Minimise stress – meditation, walking in nature, EFT, good sleep, proper breathing,
4. Protein rich foods – raw material for collagen production – eg. fish, lean meat, eggs, legumes etc.
5. Vitamin C rich foods is really important in our diet eg. 5 serves of vegetables (esp dark leafy greens) and 2 serves of fruits (esp red sources which can include lycopene which is a great antioxidant to help environmental stressors). Berries are great as is kiwi fruit and citrus.
6. Vitamin A rich foods – to help damaged collagen and boost collagen eg. carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, red capsicum, greed leafy veggies, mango, papaya, eggs, fish, liver.
7. Omega 3 fatty acids – are anti-inflammatory – fatty fish, walnuts, chia, flaxseeds.
8. Collagen supplementation – there is quite a few studies that show it’s benefit with skin hydration, elasticity, denseness. I have been taking collagen supplementation every day for the past few years and I feel it has helped. It is generally considered safe however always check with your healthcare practitioner.
9. Bone broths – I have 1 a day at the moment – however if you are histamine sensitive which I am, caution with this. I start to get a runny nose if I do too much. With the cooler weather I quite enjoy it and add some collagen powder to it to boost protein levels. I use the Best of the Bone collagen concentrate with medicinal mushrooms from Woolworths.
10. Garlic – if you can tolerate it, those with FODMAP issues with struggle with this, it is a source of sulphur, which is needed for collagen production.
11. Maintain hormonal balance – you may need assistance with this – estrogen is important for skin health but too much is problematic in other ways.
12. Minimise sugar – sugar contributes to advanced glycation end products in the skin that destroy collagen. It also affects blood sugar which in turn affects stress levels such as cortisol. Blood sugar drops and cortisol spikes!
13. Consider topical retinol/retinoids – not ideal for everyone but can boost collagen production and an FDA approved treatment in the US for wrinkles. I don’t use this.
14. There is a procedure called micro-needling at clinics that improves collagen synthesis and is minimally invasive. It is also known as collagen induction therapy – for a reason!
    
    I have never had this done in a clinic (I do hate needles) BUT I do however, have a derma roller which is a form of an at home microneedling essentially, but is not the same needle diameter as in clinics – it doesn’t pierce the skin which anything that does can potentially lead to infections if not cared for properly.
    
    I use the derma roller once a fortnight generally, although sometimes it’s monthly. It doesn’t pierce the skin as per microneedling in clinics BUT you do get the redness for hours which can feel a little like a light burn and hence I do at night so I wake up and it’s all fine. You need to always use a alcohol on the derma roller after and properly put it away in it’s case.
    
    Microneedling and dermarolling, helps with product penetration on the skin as well and has been shown to improve hair growth but it really makes my scalp itch when I’ve used another derma roller I bought once for the scalp solely.
    
    Microneedling and derma rollers do have quite a few contraindications where it is not suitable so if interested speak to a professional about it’s use for you and your skin.
15. Red light masks and red light treatments in clinics for skin collagen production.

Share with me below, anything you have tried and found useful for your skin or whether any of the above has been insightful and something you might adopt/research/continue with….