Collagen Peptides; what's all the fuss about?

As I get older (**sighs dramatically**), and with thanks to a deep understanding I have developed with my body through my yoga practice, I’m becoming increasingly aware of how my body feels and performs day to day. The truth is that it just doesn’t feel as good as it used to, and it certainly doesn’t feel as good as I want it to. I’m a total nerd when it comes to understanding how the human body functions; I spend a lot of time with my nose in books and online articles trying to understand it all, and once I pull on little piece of string I’ve been known to untangle a WHOLE WEB of yarn! That’s pretty much how I got started on my collagen revolution…

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First off, I want to start by telling you that I’m not a pharmacist, scientist or doctor. I’m a curious soul. I’m sharing this article on collagen peptides because of the major improvement I’ve seen in my own health since I started taking them, and so my opinions are formed based on my own reading, feeling and research.

The role of collagen in the body

I first begun to understand the role of collagen in our bodies from reading Your Yoga Your Body, and I discovered that pretty much everything in our bodies is made up of collagen. Collagen itself is a protein, which is comprised of four essential amino acids that make up the building blocks for our hair, teeth, skin, nails, tendons and ligaments as well as a whole host of other body parts including our blood vessels. Collagen actually comes from the Greek word “kólla,” which means glue, because it pretty much IS the glue that holds us together.

Why do we need collagen?

From our mid-twenties onwards our bodies slowly begin to produce less and less of this very important protein, hence the fine lines, thinning hair, creaky joints and so on. It sucks, frankly, and I have no interest in sitting idly by whilst my body creaks and sags it’s way into retirement. So much of our health must, first and foremost, come from a healthy, balanced and organic diet, but the world we live in doesn’t make this particularly easy and it certainly doesn’t make it cheap so it falls to us to better educate ourselves on what our body needs and where to we can get it from.

Adding Collagen to your diet naturally

Collagen is found abundantly in the bones and connective tissues of animals like chicken and cows, so bone broth created from organic, pasture raised animals is a great way to easily add a boost of collagen to your diet. If you have never made a bone broth before it’s SO easy; just chuck the leftover bones from your Sunday roast into a slow cooker and leaving it on low for 12 hours or more. I usually make my bone broth from chicken bones, I add in a few vegetables and I leave out onion and garlic so that I can feed the broth to my dog too (onion and garlic is poisonous for dogs). I use it stews, soups and stir frys; it adds a punch of flavour and health to everything.

Collagen Peptide Suppliers

Bone broth is a great way to naturally increase your collagen intake. But it is time consuming and suppliers of collagen peptides understand that we need something quicker and easier, so they have stepped up to the plate by producing this collagen in a concentrated powder form. Even better, they have broken down the amino acids in collagen, so not only are their products highly concentrated, they are very easy for the body to absorb.

I spent a LOT of time researching high quality collagen providers in the UK (honestly my screen time report from that period is pretty embarrassing) and if you’re curious about what a collagen peptide supplement can do for you here are my recommendations:

HUNTER & GATHER - Hunter & Gather produce extremely high quality, pasture-raised bovine collagen powder. Their collagen is lab tested to ensure it is free from heavy metals, toxins and allergens such as soy, wheat, dairy and nuts. In short, this stuff is THE BUSINESS!

GARDEN OF LIFE - Garden of Life produces extremely high quality supplements, and their collagen powder is no different; it is pasture-raised, non-GMO tested and gluten free.

RAW BEAUTY LAB - Raw Beauty Lab has created a vegan collagen superfood that is packed with organic, plant-based antioxidants and Vitamin C that, together, naturally increase collagen production in the body. I’m really excited to have stumbled on this product because, to-date, natural collagen supplements have only ever been animal-based and not suitable for vegans. Raw Beauty Lab is changing the tune and I am listening! You can use my code WILDKATYOGA for 10% discount on your Raw Beauty Lab purchases.

How to use collagen

Simples. Add it to your morning coffee, your smoothies, soups or shakes - it dissolves easily and is *tasteless. I’ve found that some brands do have a very slight flavour, which you can sometimes taste in coffee or tea but for the most part you won’t even notice, and the next thing you know you’ll have hair like Cindy Crawford, nails like Catwoman and your joint pain will start to ease within two weeks! I found that it really is very powerful stuff!

*RBL’s Vegan Collagen has a strong and delicious fruity flavour - ideal for smoothies and overnight oats

So there you have it folks, I hope this has provided you with some valuable insights into the power of collagen and all the goodness it has to offer us.

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