How do you build a collagen savings bank?

Do you want to maintain that youthful glow and supple skin as the years roll by?

It all comes down to one strategy: Collagen Savings Bank.

But not all collagen strategies are created equal, and some will waste your money and dash your hopes.

Let’s discuss how you can build what I like to call your “collagen savings bank,” a reserve that keeps your skin looking ten years younger over time so that as my Aunt said to me, “You’ll be the best-looking person in the old age home!”

What is Collagen and Why Should You Care?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies, largely found in our skin, bones, and connective tissues. It’s what gives our skin its firmness and elasticity. Think of it as the scaffolding that holds everything together. As we age, our natural collagen production declines often due to eating browned meat, sugar, dairy products and sun exposure, leading to common signs of aging such as wrinkles and joint pain. This is where the concept of a collagen savings bank comes into play—investing in habits, practices and products that boost and preserve collagen levels long-term.

The Common Misconception About Collagen Supplements

Many turn to collagen supplements as a quick fix for dwindling collagen stores. These products come from the skin and bones of fish, cows, pigs or chickens. However, when you consume collagen from these supplements, it doesn’t directly translate into new collagen where you need it, like in your skin. Instead, these proteins are broken down into amino acids by your digestive system, which your body then uses as it sees fit. They might become part of your collagen network, or they might be used for energy, muscle building, hormones or a myriad of other protein needs that your body has.

Effective Strategies to Boost Your Collagen Savings Account

Understanding how to genuinely increase and preserve your body’s collagen is crucial for maintaining youthful skin, healthy joints, and overall vitality. Here’s a closer look at how you can support your body’s collagen production and safeguard it against breakdown.

1. Nutrition that Maximizes Collagen Production

Nutrition plays a pivotal role in collagen synthesis. Here are key nutrients and their sources that can enhance your body’s natural ability to produce collagen:

• Vitamin C: This vitamin is essential for collagen synthesis. It serves as a co-factor for two enzymes involved in collagen synthesis: prolyl and lysyl hydroxylases. These enzymes aid in stabilizing and cross-linking collagen molecules, which is crucial for collagen formation. Foods rich in Vitamin C include citrus fruits like oranges and lemons, berries such as strawberries and raspberries, and vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, and kale.
• Proline and Lysine: These amino acids are building blocks of collagen. Proline can be converted to hydroxyproline, which constitutes about 13% of collagen. Lysine helps form hydroxylysine, which is involved in binding collagen fibers together. Sources include wheat germ, cabbage, asparagus, and mushrooms.
• Zinc and Copper: These trace minerals act as co-factors for collagen synthesis and antioxidant defense systems that protect collagen fibers. Zinc plays a role in the production and remodeling of collagen, while copper activates an enzyme that aids collagen maturation. Zinc can be found in spinach, pumpkin seeds, and lentils. Copper-rich foods include sesame seeds, cashews, and soybeans.

2. Here is How to Avoid Spending Your Collagen Savings Account

Protecting collagen from breakdown is equally important as stimulating its production. Here are factors that accelerate collagen degradation and how to mitigate their effects:

• Sugar and Refined Carbs: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) form when protein or fat combine with sugar in the bloodstream. These AGEs damage nearby proteins and can make collagen dry, brittle, and weak. You’ll see this in the crisscross wrinkles on skin. Reducing intake of sugary foods and refined carbs can decrease AGE formation.
• Smoking: Cigarette smoke contains chemicals that alter the collagen and elastin in the skin. Smoking also narrows the blood vessels in the outer layer of the skin, which reduces blood flow and depletes the skin of nutrients and oxygen necessary for collagen production. Quitting smoking is critical for protecting your skin’s collagen so you don’t look ten years older than you truly are.
• Sun Exposure: UV radiation will break down collagen and inhibit synthesis through the formation of free radicals. It can also activate enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that degrade collagen. Using broad-spectrum non-chemical sunscreen, wearing protective clothing, and avoiding peak sun hours can help protect your skin.
• Avoid eating browned meat: Barbequed meat creates AGE’s or advanced glycation end products which interfere with collagen production and cause wrinkles in the face.

3. Regular Exercise Replenishes Your Collagen Savings Bank

Physical activity boosts overall circulation, increasing the flow of nutrients and oxygen to your skin, which is beneficial for collagen production. Here’s how different types of exercise can help:

• Aerobic Exercise: Activities like running, cycling, and swimming improve cardiovascular health and blood circulation, helping to deliver more nutrients and oxygen to the skin.
• Strength Training: Building muscle mass through strength training exercises can help plump up the skin from beneath, thereby reducing the appearance of sagging and wrinkles.
• Facial Exercises: Specific movements and expressions can strengthen the muscle fibers underneath the facial skin, improving collagen support and skin elasticity.

Boon Broth: A Plant-Based Collagen Boost for that Collagen Savings Bank

Want help in boosting your collagen savings bank?

Enter Boon Broth, our delicious plant-based broth that supports your body’s natural collagen production.

Unlike animal-derived collagen supplements, Boon Broth provides the nutritional foundation that encourages your body to produce its own collagen. It’s chock-full of natural plant nutrients rich in vitamins and minerals essential for collagen synthesis and overall skin health.

Boon Collagen Reviver

We offer a 14-Day Delicious Plant-Based Boon Broth Gut and Skin Reset Kit. This reset is designed to support your skin and bone health by boosting your body’s own collagen savings bank. You consume our delicious plant-based Boon Broth and its sister product Boon Collagen Reviver, the carotenoid supplement, along with healthy + delicious plant-based meals for 14 days. All without harm to animals or the planet! It’s a triple win!

You’re provided with a guide and tons of yummy recipes!

Discover more about our Gut and Skin Reset and how it can transform your skin health here.

Embracing a plant-based diet could be the key to not only better health but also radiant, youthful skin. Try our reset program today and experience the benefits of truly building your collagen savings bank for yourself!

References

1. Pullar, J. M., Carr, A. C., & Vissers, M. C. M. (2017). The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients, 9(8), 866. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9080866
2. Wu, G., Bazer, F. W., Davis, T. A., Kim, S. W., Li, P., Rhoads, J. M., Satterfield, M. C., Smith, S. B., Spencer, T. E., & Yin, Y. (2011). Arginine Metabolism and Nutrition in Growth, Health and Disease. Amino Acids, 37(1), 153–168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-009-0378-0
3. Rucker, R. B., Kosonen, T., Clegg, M. S., Mitchell, A. E., Rucker, B. R., Uriu-Adams, J. Y., & Keen, C. L. (1998). Copper, lysyl oxidase, and extracellular matrix protein cross-linking. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67(5), 996S-1002S. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/67.5.996S
4. Gkogkolou, P., & Böhm, M. (2012). Advanced glycation end products: Key players in skin aging? Dermato-endocrinology, 4(3), 259–270. https://doi.org/10.4161/derm.22028
5. Morita, A. (2007). Tobacco smoke causes premature skin aging. Journal of Dermatological Science, 48(3), 169-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdermsci.2007.06.015
6. Quan, T., Qin, Z., Xia, W., Shao, Y., Voorhees, J. J., & Fisher, G. J. (2009). Matrix-degrading metalloproteinases in photoaging. Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings, 14(1), 20-24. https://doi.org/10.1038/jidsymp.2009.8