Collagen products are popping up everywhere. While collagen is probably most well known for its touted skin care benefits and as a major component of lip enhancers and injections, some celebrities, like Kourtney Kardashian, are suggesting that people drink it. Products derived from collagen are not just in skin creams and dietary supplements but even in pillow covers and clothing. Kardashian is even selling collagen supplements.
Collagen is the body’s most abundant protein, made up of amino acids, or peptides. It literally glues our bones, cartilage, skin and blood vessels together. It’s what makes our tissues grow, mature and move. Its presence under your skin can keep it from sagging over time.
Because our bodies begin to lose collagen in our 20s, skin creams and treatments made from the connective tissues of animals seem like an effective way to combat age. And, it has few side effects.
But there’s a catch – or two. As a female interested in aging gracefully and as a scientist who studies collagen, I have found the plethora of collagen-based products to be interesting. I have been involved with studying collagen for over a decade as our lab is working to develop a collagen made solely in a laboratory instead of sourcing from animals. I have asked other collagen-knowledgeable colleagues what they think of everyone putting it in their coffee, and I get some smirks.
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