Collagen has been all the craze the past few years. You've probably even heard of a few friends or family members talking about collagen — and for good reason!
But did, you know that there are two different kinds of collagen available? There's bovine collagen and marine collagen. As if figuring out collagen alone wasn't confusing and overwhelming enough, now you have to figure out the difference between these two different sources, too.
Don't worry because we're going to give you all the science-backed facts you need to figure out which of the two is the best one for you.
But before that, let's give you a run-down of what collagen and collagen peptides are to help you further understand the importance of collagen in general.
What is collagen?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies out of 20 other proteins. It's responsible for keeping our skin, bones, and connective tissues together and makes up approximately 25% to 35% of our entire protein content.
Without it, our bodies would have no structure, making it one of the most important types of protein in our system.
The 3 types of collagen worth noting
There are actually at least 16 types of collagen found in our bodies but there are only three main types of collagen that are worth discussing today:
Type 1
Type 1 collagen is the most common type of collagen found in our bodies. It makes up around 90% of our skin, hair, and nails, but it can also be found in our organs, teeth, and bones. This is the type of collagen that is responsible for beauty-boosting and anti-aging effects.
Type 2
Type 2 collagen is known for improving gut health and is also the main component in our joints and cartilages. It helps improve flexibility and reduces joint pain and inflammation. This is the collagen you turn to if you want to improve joint health and avoid joint problems such as osteoarthritis.
Type 3
Type 3 collagen is often found together with Type 1 collagen. Some people consider these two as the same types, but instead of beauty-boosting benefits, it's mainly known for maintaining good cardiovascular health. Having low Type 3 collagen has been associated with life-threatening conditions such as ruptured blood vessels.
Why Supplement With Collagen In The First Place?
Collagen is naturally found in our bodies but sadly it doesn't last forever. By the time we turn 20 our natural collagen levels start to decrease by 1% every year.
That's why we start to get wrinkles, our hair begins to thin, our nails become brittle, and our immunity worsens leaving us more susceptible to all kinds of health issues. That's the main reason why collagen is important and why more people should be taking them.
There's just one little problem. Collagen is made from a tightly wound chain of amino acids. This is how it is able to keep our body's structure together.
Because of this, it makes it difficult to break down during digestion. This means collagen in its full-length and tightly woven structure is not really beneficial when taken orally.
So how are you to supplement with collagen then? It's all thanks to collagen peptides.