Is Taking Collagen The Key To Anti-Aging?

I first read about this about a month ago in a blog about some beauty secrets in Hollywood. Needless to say, it intrigued me because at 52, I need all the help I can get. The spackle and sanders are getting expensive. LOL

Seriously though, I was interested even more in, not so much the beauty benefits, but the other health benefits that have do do with aging. So, for my overall health, I have stated drinking a scoopful with my morning coffee. Above is day one with no make-up (No hair combed either, sorry about that. I could have at least put my finger through my mangy mane) showing my skin imperfections and life lines. I will take a similar selfie each week to gage the anti-aging progress or lack of progress. We'll see.

Most everything I'm reading is positive about the use of collagen, both taking it AND applying it to your skin. There aren't supposed to be any side effects either. Here are some of the awesome things that, taking collagen, should happen.

According to draxe.com, here are seven benefits of taking Collagen:

1. Improves Health of Skin and Hair
Collagen for skin? It’s considered the No. 1 collagen benefit for a reason. As we age, collagen production declines — it’s happening as you read this! You’ll notice it physically: looser skin, more wrinkles and less elasticity. Increasing collagen levels can help your skin look firmer, increase smoothness, and help your skin cells keep renewing and repairing normally.
2. Reduces Joint Pains and Degeneration
Have you ever felt like you’ve got “skeleton legs,” the types that feel extra stiff and cause pain when you move? Yup, that’s likely a loss of collagen rearing its ugly head. That’s because when we lose collagen, our tendons and ligaments start moving with less ease, leading to stiffness, swollen joints and more.
3. Helps Heal Leaky Gut
If you suffer from leaky gut syndrome, a condition where bad-for-you toxins are able to pass through your digestive tract, collagen can be super-helpful. It helps break down proteins and soothes your gut’s lining, healing damaged cell walls and infusing it with healing amino acids.
4. Boosts Metabolism, Muscle Mass and Energy Output
A boost in collagen may help increase your metabolism by adding lean muscle mass to your frame and helping with the conversion of essential nutrients. One of glycine’s most important roles is helping form muscle tissue by converting glucose into energy that feeds muscle cells. And remember that retaining muscle mass is crucial as you age, since it helps support posture, bone health and burns more calories than fat. When consuming collagen, you can benefit from also consuming vitamin C to ensure your body can convert the collagen into a useable protein. This can begin to restore the source or your energy and vitality.
5. Strengthens Nails, Hair and Teeth
Ever had peeling and splitting nails? Well, a lack of collagen could be to blame. Collagen protein is the building block of your fingernails, hair and teeth. Adding collagen into your diet regimen can help keep your nails strong and possibly reverse signs of hair loss.
6. Improves Liver Health
If you’re looking to detox your body of harmful substances, improve blood flow and keep your heart young, collagen is extremely helpful. That’s because glycine helps minimize damage your liver experiences when it absorbs foreign substances, toxins or alcohol that shouldn’t be passing through it.
7. Protects Cardiovascular Health
The amino acid proline helps your artery walls release fat buildup in the bloodstream, shrinking the fat in the arteries and minimizing fat accumulation. Proline is needed for tissue repair within the joints and arteries, plus it helps control blood pressure. As part of collagen found within joints, it buffers our bodies from the effects of vibration or shock and helps us hold on to valuable cartilage as we get older. It’s also linked with the prevention of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) since it helps our arteries stay clear of dangerous plaque buildup.