Did you know? Happy New Year!! In 1562 the pope changed the New Year from April 1st to January 1st. Some people stayed with celebrating April 1st and they were called fools…which leads us to April Fools…whose really the fool? Now is the time to celebrate the New year!
April is a time of regeneration. The whole Earth is bursting with new life. Let’s harness this energy to learn more about our skin and how we can regenerate it!
Each week this month, we’ll touch on a different skin support from a natural holistic angle. Since you care the most about your face skin, since that is what everyone see’s we’re gonna focus on this the most. But note, that your skin everywhere can reap the benefits from holistic skin support.
Does drinking collagen actually help your skin??? My answer might surprise you.
Our bodies don’t make collagen by taking in collagen. Our bodies make collagen by using building blocks to make stronger collagen. You get these building blocks from your food, or supplementation if your food is deficient in it or you are trying to boost it. If you drink collagen, your body has to break it all down and then try to rebuild it…depending on your body’s agenda. Sorry you don’t get the say here, the body decides what building blocks go where and what is the priority. This means that your eye cells or heart cells or the connective tissue in your anus get the building blocks, before your face skin.
If you don’t have the building blocks to build good connective tissue and therefore skin you might start to notice more wrinkles and sagging than normal. I think it is most important to consume the very nutrients that your body needs to make skin and connective tissue than it is to consume collagen. I’d put the money elsewhere.
Think of a garden wall, with stones stacked together like this:
Then contrast it with this wall, held together with mortar.
Which wall is stronger? The wall in the first picture I could kick it over very easily. Now the second wall is very strong, it is held together with mortar. I would not be able to kick it over. One could argue that the mortar brings the strength to the wall.
Collagen is the mortar to the whole body. Strong healthy collagen holds you together and keeps a nice matrix
Some important collagen building blocks and skin support:
Vitamin C: Real whole vitamin C from food. We’re not looking to intake a large amount of synthetic Vitamin C aka ascorbic acid. The real type from food is only what the body knows how to use. If it’s found in nature, the body understands it, after all it’s what we evolved to use. Something made in a factory the body doesn’t know how to use it well, it will do the best it can, but it’s not great. Vitamin C is the number one synergist in collagen formation. I like to use Cataplex C from Standard Process.
Manganese: another important building block to collagen, combined with Vitamin C- this is an important mineral.
Wheat germ oil: you can use this topically (at night, or taken internally)
Guta Kola Complex: This has been known as ‘Botox in bottle.’
These herbs have been traditionally used in herbal preparations to:
- Promote healthy skin*
- Promote healthy blood circulation*
- Support healthy capillaries*
- Provide antioxidant activity*
DermaCo:
These herbs have been traditionally used in herbal preparations to:
- Support normal flushing of toxins from the body*
- Encourage the healthy function of the organs of elimination*
- Promote normal healthy skin renewal and integrity*
- Maintain healthy skin*
- Cleanse the blood and support lymphatic system function*
- Promote healthy liver and intestinal function*
- Encourage healthy bowel function*
- Support healthy kidney function*
These are all great skin supports from the inside out…. remember that’s what we do around here. You can check out there products: HERE.
(Note this is not medical advice you’ll have to check with your own trusted health care provider when adding in anything new)
The Sun: Important to make sure that you use a clean sunscreen when you are out in the sun for very long periods of time or where the sun is very reflective (spring skiing, on a boat, at the beach) You want to make sure your face is covered to avoid sun damage in excess, not always but sometimes. Here’s a cleaner sunscreen that we use, sparingly: HERE
As far as consuming collagen- I think it can be a great addition to up your protein intake, but I wouldn’t plan on it helping your skin much.
