Tag Archives: detox

The Health and Beauty Benefits of Collagen Supplements

Collagen may sound like some sort of anti-aging gimmick, but the truth is that collagen is one of the most prominent proteins found in our bodies. Collagen is found not just in our skin, but also in our muscles, bones, blood vessels, tendons, and our digestive system.

Here are some of the reasons collagen supplements have become extremely popular recently, and why you should consider taking them to improve your health, from the inside out!

 

Collagen improves digestion

Collagen soothes the lining in your stomach, heals damaged cells, and provides your body with essential amino acids. Those amino acids that come from increased collagen production helps to heal the lining of your digestive track through reducing inflammation and irritation within your body.

 

Collagen boosts your metabolism

Collagen boosts your metabolism by providing lean muscle mass and by allowing your body to properly absorb the nutrients you consume throughout the day. As we age, collagen levels naturally deplete in our bodies, but that’s when we need it the most. With increased collagen production,  our muscle mass increases, posture becomes better, our bones are stronger and we’re able to burn more calories – who doesn’t want that?

 

Collagen helps to curb your appetite

Collagen is the perfect meal replacement. The best part is is that collagen can be easily added to just about anything- I like putting a scoop in my coffee and smoothies in particular! A study actually found collagen to be more satisfying and filling than any other source of manufactured protein.

 

Collagen can reduce anxiety

Collagen contains glycine, an amino acid with major anti-anxiety properties. A lot of us don’t have enough glycine naturally in our system and low glycine levels can cause a lot of problems in our bodies, including anxiety. A simple dose of collagen can do wonders for not just our overall health, but our mental health as well.

 

Collagen promotes a good night’s sleep

The glycine found in collagen that helps to boost our mood can also help you sleep better at night. While you may think that collagen would make you drowsy because of that, you’d be wrong- collagen can also be used to help keep us awake and alert throughout the day.

Daily essentials: our Collagen + Yacon Syrup 👋 #ZINTing

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Collagen improves the health and the appearance of your skin

Collagen production begins to decrease as we age, due to pollution, excess sun exposure, etc. The decrease of that natural collagen production leaves us with wrinkles and poor elasticity. As we increase our levels of collagen through supplement intake, our skin can become firmer, smoother, and our skin cells care able to turnover normally, increasing the elasticity and circulation. Collagen has also been found to reduce the appearance of stretch marks and cellulite due to that increased skin cell turnover and the improved elasticity that comes with it.

 

Collagen helps to reduce joint pain

Collagen production isn’t just beneficial for our skin; it’s also essential to having healthy joints. When our bodies don’t produce enough collagen, our joints, tendons, and ligaments become swollen and stiff. Collagen helps to create a barrier that allows our joints to glide smoothly without pain.

 

Collagen is great for hair, teeth, and nail health

Collagen is most commonly known for it’s amazing effects on our physical appearance. While it’s great for our skin, it’s equally beneficial for our hair, teeth, and nails! Collagen protein is what makes up our nails, teeth, and hair. Supplements allow us to increase the natural production of collagen to strengthen our bodies. Collagen has even been found by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology to reverse the signs of hair loss.

Collagen naturally detoxes your body

Collagen works to detox your system, increase blood flow, and improve heart health by minimizing the damage that is done to your liver by toxins.

Top 5 Overrated Health Crazes

Some health crazes or fads are worth paying attention to, especially the ones that are backed by solid research. Unfortunately, many health crazes (both those that have been around for decades and those that are relatively new) can make you far less healthy; so being able to discern between the ones that help versus hinder is important.

A few examples of health crazes that are worth learning more about (although they still, like everything in the world of nutrition and fitness, might not be right for you), are intermittent fasting, low-carb diets, and interval training. Why? Because these “fads” have the science to back them up, unlike the following five overrated health crazes.

Juicing as a Meal Replacement

health crazes

Juicing with vegetables can provide some benefits, as long as you do it with food or between meals, not as a meal replacement. There’s no arguing that eating whole veggies and fruits is far superior to juicing them, unless you have a medical condition that says otherwise; and studies show that a great deal of nutrition is obtained from the fiber content of our produce, not to mention that various antioxidants and other micronutrients are lost in the juicing process.

Also, fiber has been shown to play a key role in the prevention of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. 

Detox Diets

There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to detox, but the human body is wise and does not need some crazy, crash-detox diet like the Master Cleanse to do so. In fact, your body (if given the right nutritional tools) is able to effectively cleanse itself via the liver and kidneys — AKA our natural detoxification pathways.

Supporting your body with gentle, food-based cleanses is one thing — like cutting out processed/packaged foods and focusing in on whole, nourishing ones; but most juice fasts and extreme detox plans can actually do more harm than good.

Nutrition Bars

health crazes

Aside from a few healthy options that are on the market, most nutrition bars are not worth the money or calories. The vast majority are packed full of added sugars and artificial ingredients like flavoring and coloring agents, preservatives, binders, and more.

If you do go crazy for the nutrition bar craze, be sure to stick to bars with very short ingredient lists that are made of only whole foods. Lara Bars and Clif Kit’s Organics aren’t bad options; or better yet, make your own at home.

Low-Fat/No-Fat Diets

No health craze is more damaging than the low-fat/no-fat diet model, which has been touted as being the best approach to weight loss for decades. Thankfully, this dietary myth has been slowly but surely debunked, but many still fall back on the false claim that dietary fat = body fat, and that dietary fat causes heart disease.

health crazes

This craze isn’t only ineffective for weight loss; it is downright dangerous for your health. In fact, having too low of a fat intake can lead to weight gain, high triglyceride levels, and lowered testosterone in men, not to mention a much higher likelihood of eating unhealthy foods in the form of sugar and refined carbs.

Furthermore, the human brain is composed largely of fat, and needs healthy dietary fats to survive and thrive. Without them, we experience lowered cognitive function, hormonal imbalance, and poor cell repair and maintenance.

Soy 

Last but certainly not least, we have the soy craze. Because soy is incredibly cheap to produce, it is packed into all sorts of processed foods and turned into oil. Even without meaning to, you probably already consume a lot of soy if you eat any processed foods.

Unfortunately, soy should not be considered a health food for various reasons. One, soy contains compounds called isoflavones that work as endocrine disruptors, meaning they interfere with normal, hormonal estrogen receptors in the body. Studies show this can lead to reduced estrogen levels. While further research is needed, some studies suggest that this disruption could be a cause of breast cancer.

Soy might also contribute to thyroid problems, and multiple studies have shown that it is a bad idea to give processed soy to infants, which is frightening considering that it is one of the main ingredients in many commercial baby formulas. One study found that soy formula caused early onset puberty in girls.

The bottom line is this: do your research. Health crazes will come and go, and some can offer some very real health benefits. Others, on the other hand, can harm your health rather than support it, so researching current fads is critical. At the end of the day, a diet simply based on real, whole foods that come from nature is your best bet.