Hello ! I’m Rebecca from Naturally COS and in this edition, I wanted to talk with you about collagen. And in an already saturated market, it may be hard-to-find accurate information amongst the noise. What we put into our bodies and how should matter. And if ever in doubt, ask questions. Ask the nurse with the injection about each ingredient, ask the health store about the supplement and how many grams of collagen are in each service. Ask the skincare specialist about how the collagen in the sheet mask can penetrate the dermis. Knowledge is the key.

Collagen in its original form is completely natural and naturally occurring. We all have it in our tissue. However, from the age of 30 it decreases by 1-2% daily. And the two types of naturally occurring collagen sources outside of the human body is marine and bovine. Fish and cattle. Marine peptide collagen provides a more efficient absorption than bovine, however the two are equally as beneficial. And if you’ve ever been curious what collagen looks like, it’s a jelly like substance from cooled down broth.
Before we discuss the types of collagen, I wanted to share some myths. Here we go:
1.      Myth 1: Collagen and gelatine are the same thing
2.      Myth 2: Collagen peptides are absorbed into the dermis and form native collagen
3.      Myth 3: Vegan collagen is naturally occurring
Now you might be asking how you get this type of collagen into our body. There are a number of options and below I will outline some of them.
·      Collagen Injections – Quite popular. Should only be administered by a medically trained and qualified nurse. There are a number of chemicals included in many of the fillers and from the ones I researched, bovine collagen. The benefit is, its injected so it bypasses the skin layers.
·      Collagen Supplements – Collagen from wild caught fish or grass-fed cattle is great. And the less ingredients the better. Effective supplements should contain 2.5-15gm of collagen.
·      Collagen in skincare – Collagen cannot be absorbed through the dermis unless it’s broken down into smaller peptides and amino acids. If your skin care offers collagen, it’s an opportunity to confirm its effectiveness.
·      Collagen broth – My favourite and by far the most natural and most effective. Place fish or beef bones into a liquid base with some vegies and herbs – cook up and voila. Make a broth from leftover fish or beef bones. It’s my pick for great absorption, nourishment and getting the best possible natural collagen intake.
Need ideas for a broth recipe? Hit up your local bookstore for some amazing and nutritious recipes.
As always, spread kindness like it’s jam on toast.
Rebecca x
Naturally COS